Education Reform free essay sample

Education Reform It is undeniably clear that we have serious problems with our education system. Talk to any teacher and you will hear the same complaints; overcrowded classrooms, lack of supplies and text books, unfairness of the grading system, discipline issues, drugs, underpaid teachers and the list goes on and on. The result; our children can’t read, spell or solve basic math problems without a calculator. Many students can not even find their own country on a map. In the midst of debates going on in many different levels, the big question is how can we fix these problems? The National Commission on Excellence in Education delivered a devastating assessment of American education in 1983. According to the commission’s findings; 23 million American adults were illiterate by the simplest tests of reading and writing. Almost 13 percent of all 17 year olds in the United States were functionally illiterate. Illiteracy among minority young was a scaring 40 percent. While this act has made little headway in reform, it has been a step towards the right direction. Even though students are receiving education, they still are not getting the adequate education in order to succeed. The government has been giving money to programs on the verge of reforming the education system. The federal government has implemented new ways in support against the fight wherein, better education can be achieved. The creation of charter schools is one way in the fight towards reform. Charter schools provide a way to encourage learning hrough smaller classes, teacher performance based pay to ensure quality education, and better materials. Sam Dillon in his article, No Child Left Behind Act, shows one step the government has taken towards reform. On Sept. 1 3, 2011 † in an important first step to improve a provision of the No Child law and in a rare display of bipartisanship † the House approved a bill supporting the expansion of charter schools, the initial part of a legislative package planned by Republicans to carry out a piecemeal rewrite of the law. The bill tweaks an existing federal grant program that rovides start-up money for new charter schools † current ly about $250 million† and adds some quality control provisions (Dillon 32). Since supplying federal monies to this type of schooling, charter schools are a valuable asset to school districts everywhere. A study conducted by Chester E. Finn, Jr. , in Charter Schools in Action, labels charter schools as a hybrid between public schools and the most highly prized features of private schools (for example: self-governing, able to hire whomever it likes, control over curriculum). These charter schools are available to all who wish to ttend, are paid for by tax dollars, and all actions are held accountable to state and local authorities for good performance as well as decent behavior. These alternative schools are authorized to run tor a specific period, usually about tive years, and are able to get their charter renewed, if successful, after the allotted time. Finn and his associates spent two years visiting sixty schools in fourteen states and assessing the accomplishments of each program (Finn 214). Students and parents like their charter schools. Three-fifths of the kids say their teachers are better. Half are more interested in their schoolwork. Three-fifths say the charter school is safer and has better discipline than the school their child would otherwise be attending. Four out of five plan to keep their child in the charter school as long as its available (Finn 216). Families and teachers are turning to charter schools for educational reasons (Finn 216). Factors stated by parents and teachers included smaller class size, the schools educational philosophy, committed parents, and better teachers (Finn 216). Implementing more money to charter schools has significantly improved academic erformance. The current Obama administration provides money to charter schools along with the implemented Voucher Program, where parents of children can receive financial support in order to open up the possibilities of better education else ware. The federal government is enacting better ways to support a crumbling educational system, although these proposals are not going to change the problem at hand overnight. There are other ways in order to help reform aside from providing money to schools in need. One of these ways was a simple suggestion made by Paul Goodman. In order to better help our education system; he suggests students take a break or a leave of absence from education after graduating high school. Paul Goodman proposed this strategy: an individual out of high school should have a requirement that he or she be required to wait a minimum of two years in order to attend a college or university. By doing so, you open up the students life to incorporate outside influences, such as life experience and a chance to greatly mature as an individual in the process. This break opens the mind to the Joys of learning again. Students in todays society are less often to further education out of creature of habit, as opposed to need. By eliminating the student to continue education right after high school and provide the student with real life experience, this gives the student a break from education and a choice later on to continue their education if they desire. The theory could be accomplished with a pilot program utilizing a half a dozen of prestigious schools. In a society of must do attitude, the sending of subliminal messages of hope by forcing education based on television commercials, equirements, and opportunities that higher education is a must in order to be successful, society sends the message by pushing students to succeed in education, otherwise they will not attribute to society. The theory which has benefit for those burnt out on education, also provides a window of opportunity for success in the future, giving the student the choice to further education or not. There is a twofold process required to help Jump start education for a 180 degree turnaround. This is by way of going to the root of the problem, parental responsibility or guidance. Some parents should be held accountable along with school districts in the success of our youth. California has passed a law where parents have the ability to conduct change in education. Using the new state law known as the parent trigger, organizers at an underpertorming school in Compton Ca. , where parents collected hundreds of signatures within a particular school district, were able to effect change, allowing the community to turn public schools into a charter school. By doing so students would spend more time in smaller classes with specific curriculum and a staff of new teachers. In essence, the law creates a parents union, which advocates say will provide powerful and needed counterweight to teachers unions and district bureaucracies. If 51 percent of parents in a persistently failing school sign a petition, they can force the school to change into a charter, close it entirely or replace the principal and teachers (Medina 4). Similar legislation has passed in Texas, Ohio and Connecticut and is being considered in nearly a dozen more states † but California, the earliest adopter, is furthest along. With opponents and skeptics arguing that parents lack the expertise o make important policy decisions better left to career educators, the Compton case is a prime example of how challenging it can be to create change (Medina 5). At the same time, government has encouraged or provided tools for parents to inflict change. The hard case to argue is we know students do not come with disciplinary problems, which contribute many issues within each individual student. In order to contribute to the success of students, parents must also be accountable for their childs actions. It is not always the case, in the state of economy plaguing our nation; arents are struggling to make ends meet or have no source of substantial income. The child is solely responsible for their own actions and there are laws in place to not only protect the student from receiving an adequate education, but holding the parents responsible to ensure that success. These laws although are not being enforced, are a result of law enforcement cutbacks, school district cut backs and the overwhelming of court cases. The school districts would enforce state and local law in conjunction with local authorities, by imposing fines for some parents failing to ensure their child is in chool and monitor their behavioral problems in school and at home. Doing so is a long fought battle, with most counties and school districts lacking the necessary funds to incorporate programs. Programs to help out of control youth, educate parents to become more responsible, instead of letting a child in the household do what they want with no guidance. It is totally understandable that some parents cannot be with their kid 2417, but school districts can implement programs and ways for parents needing help with their child, whether at school or at home. This could improve parental relationships while becoming more involved in their childs life. Whos to say its going to work if it is not tried. Educational reform is not only necessary in todays country, but for the overall survival of our economy and future. Education should be our main priority and should be embraced by all for the future of our educational system. No Child Left Behind act requires that test scores increase in every school every year, to meet the requirement that 100 percent of students reach proficiency by 2014. According to a ew research report, 31,737 of the 98,916 schools missed the laws testing goals in 2009, vastly more than any level of government can help to improve (Dillon 32)