Education Standards in America

Chaotic Standards in America There is a prevailing notion that the United States needs to improve its education system dramatically. The people doing the actual educating are under incredible adversity to perform well. Many feel more beaten down this year than last. Some are walking into their classrooms unsure if this is still the job for them. They have built up invisible wounds from years of trying to educate the constantly changing American child effectively enough that his international test scores will rival those of children flourishing in wealthy, socially-advanced nations. The American child has changed, and not necessarily for the better. Many harsh voices argue that teachers must change by “simply” working harder. The favored switch for achieving this prescribed augmentation of the American schoolteacher’s work ethic is fear, driven by a progressively more precarious employment situation. Teachers by and large are not afraid at all, they are just tired of the constant unrealistic demands put upon them. This is what the American public school appears to look like in 2012, driven by compulsive adherence to standardized testing. The fate of children, their schools, and their teachers are based on these school test scores. The idea of education has always been to give a extensive base of learning to students. Schools are required to give young minds exposure to reading, writing, and arithmetic. As students get older, the information taught should build on this base to expand learning to history, advanced math, science, and other academic pursuits. What has historically separated a vocational education from a college prep course of study is the inclusion of the many small details that would never appear as a question on a standardized test. While on the surface, it might appear teaching for a test is designed to cover the material necessary for a good education could be a good thing. However, the reality is that there are several flaws to this logic when

Cited: Kuhn, J. (2012, September 12). The Exhaustion of the American Teacher. Retrieved October 28, 2012, from The Educator 's Room: http://theeducatorsroom.com/2012/09/the-exhaustion-of-the-american-teacher/ Partanen, A. (2011, December 29). What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland 's School Success. Retrieved October 28, 2012, from The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/ Teal, A. (2009, Feb 9). 5 Reasons Why Standardized Tests Are Bad for Our Children. Retrieved October 28, 2012, from Yahoo.com: http://voices.yahoo.com/5-reasons-why-standardized-tests-bad-our-children-2590074.html?cat=9