What is Wrong With the American Education System?
If you are concerned about the academic quality of American education, you might wonder what is wrong with the system. The reasons for this are varied, but some of the most common reasons are listed below. The education system is broken because of a lack of parental involvement, overcrowded classrooms, and inadequate resources. The consequences of these issues are disproportionately felt by students of color and by families of lower income. Teachers are emotionally and physically drained.
Lack of parental involvement
While some schools are attempting to encourage parental involvement, not all do so effectively. Parents may not be able to attend parent-teacher conferences, participate in sports events, or attend parent-teacher conferences, but schools can communicate with them in alternative ways. Parents can also support students at home by creating a conducive environment and holding children accountable for their work. The following are examples of programs that have been successful in increasing parent involvement.
The results of this study indicate that greater parental involvement improves student achievement. However, teachers and other school personnel disagree about the extent to which parents should be involved. For example, many teachers resisted involving parents in personnel matters because they viewed this as an inexperienced role. Teachers also regarded developing curricula and selecting textbooks as important tasks that needed expert judgment. Nevertheless, the NCLB limits parental rights to the areas in which they are likely to influence student achievement. It also requires schools to develop parental involvement policies in conjunction with parents. It also requires schools to obtain parental feedback and make decisions about the use of the Parental Involvement Fund.
The survey was conducted with a representative sample of parents, teachers, and school leaders. The respondents were predominantly white (61.5%), female (58.8%), and had varying socioeconomic statuses. While the level of involvement varied across racial and socioeconomic groups, it was generally found that regular school discussions and reading helped improve reading test scores for black and Hispanic children. Similarly, reading to children in elementary schools helped improve children’s reading achievement.
Overcrowded classrooms
Overcrowded classrooms are one of the major issues facing schools in America today. With decreasing funding for schools, class sizes have increased dramatically. A perfect class would have between 15 and 20 students. However, many classrooms are now over 30 students. There are even cases where there are more than 40 students in one classroom. With such a large number of students, schools must find practical solutions to reduce classroom overcrowding.
Overcrowded classrooms create several disadvantages. Large classes tend to lead to high levels of classroom discipline problems. Overcrowding creates more opportunities for students to engage in conflict with their peers and cause general disruption. It’s also harder for even the most dedicated teacher to maintain a positive classroom environment. Overcrowded classrooms also encourage bullying, which is known to negatively affect academic performance. It’s no wonder that many schools are now looking for ways to reduce overcrowding in their classrooms.
In addition to this, year-round schools are an excellent solution to overcrowding. Studies show that year-round schools alleviate overcrowding by almost half. And, by reducing student-to-teacher ratio, more than half of all schools can lower overcrowding. In addition, schools with higher percentages of minority enrollment are less likely to report extreme overcrowding.