Generation Y: Education In The United States
Essay 3
The Education of Generation Y
The United States of America is known as a superpower and a leader among industrialized countries. Yet the education system seems to be falling behind, with results that do not match what would be expected of such a powerful nation. In the past years it has been noted that Generation Y has fallen victim to an educational gap between the United States and the rest of the industrialized countries because of overconfidence and depression that in turn cause job opportunities to become much more scarce along with economic problems for the country.
The issue of an educational gap in the areas of math and science between the United states and other developed countries is one to be concerned with and therefore …show more content…
it is important to understand what it actually means. Beginning with the fact that the United States “ranks 9th in Science performance and 10th in Math” according to USC Rossier Online in “U.S. Education Spending and Performance vs. the World”(U.S. Education Spending). This results are not too bad as they are in the top 10 percent yet they don’t add up to the vast amount of money being invested in education by the United States annually. The United States spends a total of 809.6 billion dollars, or 7,743 dollars per student, a year on education standing in first place and followed by Japan with only 160.5 billion dollars annually and the United Kingdom with 5,766 dollars per student shown by the infographic in USC Rossier Online (U.S. Education Spending). Nevertheless both Japan and the United Kingdom demonstrate to outperform the United States in both Math and Science as the same article states. But if there is enough money being invested what is the cause?
With so much money being invested it reasonable to assume that the economic side is not the cause but perhaps the way in which students are being taught along with the students’ attitudes towards education. American students have had an idea that they are capable of anything they want to achieve. However when confronted with a difficult task, students become discouraged and their education is not the exception.When it comes to testing this leads to students being reluctant to try again and sometimes may even lead to depression. This can be clearly understood from Bill Watkins, who created the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting in the California Lutheran University, and states that the California’s High School dropout rate went from “less than 11 percent...[to an]...approaching 22 percent” when the No Child Left Behind Act was passed (Watkins). Meaning that standardized tests encouraged the students to give up on their academic life. Perhaps not all students will be discouraged from pursuing a higher education to such a degree but a small sense of insecurity sure begins to build up. To add to this, members of Generation Y are known to suffer of depression that may give way to even lower performance. According to the Journal Educational Research Review, written by University of Leuven professor Filip Dochy of the Department of Educational Sciences along with two other professors , if a person is depressed it can affect “the effort they spend” on a task and therefore cause a decrease in a students efficiency (Van). Others go on to say that the problem goes back to inequality in schools for simply living in an area rather than in another or as said in a PBS article a “variation between and among schools” (Galston). Implicating that only some schools are doing well while the rest of the schools suffer with less resources. So if the United States is not performing where expected but stays at the top, what exactly is the problem?
The real issue is in the effects of not performing high enough which include a skilled worker shortage as well as a doubtful future economy for the nation.
In the past decade technology has taken a very large leap forward and as a result a great amount of new tasks can be completed in ways that were not possible a decade ago. Chris Hopkins, professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, states that “nearly one-third of employers undertook major strategic changes in the last year requiring higher skill levels from employees” (Hopkins). In other words education is becoming more important to the job market every time and if domestic workers are not available the market will turn to foreign workers. Perhaps domestic jobs will not be taken over by foreign workers but the potential jobs overseas will be lost to other workers such as those from Japan and the United Kingdom that are ranking at higher levels in“critical areas essential to remaining competitive in the global workforce” which are “literacy, basic math, and problem-solving skills” as described by Professor Chris Hopkins (Hopkins). In the same sense the journal Achievement Growth affirms that “a nation’s growth rate of GDP is very closely related to the level of international test scores in math and science” so the better the scores the higher the growth and vice versa (Hanushek). It is therefore safe to conclude that education levels can greatly affect a nation’s future for good or for
worse.
In conclusion, education is a key factor in determining the future economy of the nation and it is therefore important to consider the educational gap between the United States and other developed countries that is caused by a bad strategies such as standardized tests and the incorrect attitudes that students can be taking. Although this issue goes beyond these causes and effects there is no way around the fact that it is occurring. So whether you are an employer, student, teacher, or government official, this issue is real and there is no easy way out.
Works Cited
Galston, William. "Is There a Crisis?" PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.
Hanushek, Eric Alan, Paul E. Peterson, and Ludger Woessmann. Achievement Growth:
International and US State Trends in Student Performance. Harvard 's Program on
Education Policy and Governance, 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
Hopkins, Chris. "Personal Finance: American Education Gap Costs Jobs."Timesfreepress.com.
Chattanooga Times Free Press, 16 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
"U.S. Education Spending And Performance vs. The World." USC Rossier Online. University of
Southern California, 08 Feb. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
Van Dinther, Mart, Filip Dochy, and Mien Segers. "Factors affecting students’ self-efficacy in higher education." Educational Research Review 6.2 (2011): 95-108. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
Watkins, Bill. "Do Standardized Tests Raise Dropout Rates?" Newgeography.com.
New Geography, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
The Education of Generation Y
The United States of America is known as a superpower and a leader among industrialized countries. Yet the education system seems to be falling behind, with results that do not match what would be expected of such a powerful nation. In the past years it has been noted that Generation Y has fallen victim to an educational gap between the United States and the rest of the industrialized countries because of overconfidence and depression that in turn cause job opportunities to become much more scarce along with economic problems for the country.
The issue of an educational gap in the areas of math and science between the United states and other developed countries is one to be concerned with and therefore …show more content…
it is important to understand what it actually means. Beginning with the fact that the United States “ranks 9th in Science performance and 10th in Math” according to USC Rossier Online in “U.S. Education Spending and Performance vs. the World”(U.S. Education Spending). This results are not too bad as they are in the top 10 percent yet they don’t add up to the vast amount of money being invested in education by the United States annually. The United States spends a total of 809.6 billion dollars, or 7,743 dollars per student, a year on education standing in first place and followed by Japan with only 160.5 billion dollars annually and the United Kingdom with 5,766 dollars per student shown by the infographic in USC Rossier Online (U.S. Education Spending). Nevertheless both Japan and the United Kingdom demonstrate to outperform the United States in both Math and Science as the same article states. But if there is enough money being invested what is the cause?
With so much money being invested it reasonable to assume that the economic side is not the cause but perhaps the way in which students are being taught along with the students’ attitudes towards education. American students have had an idea that they are capable of anything they want to achieve. However when confronted with a difficult task, students become discouraged and their education is not the exception.When it comes to testing this leads to students being reluctant to try again and sometimes may even lead to depression. This can be clearly understood from Bill Watkins, who created the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting in the California Lutheran University, and states that the California’s High School dropout rate went from “less than 11 percent...[to an]...approaching 22 percent” when the No Child Left Behind Act was passed (Watkins). Meaning that standardized tests encouraged the students to give up on their academic life. Perhaps not all students will be discouraged from pursuing a higher education to such a degree but a small sense of insecurity sure begins to build up. To add to this, members of Generation Y are known to suffer of depression that may give way to even lower performance. According to the Journal Educational Research Review, written by University of Leuven professor Filip Dochy of the Department of Educational Sciences along with two other professors , if a person is depressed it can affect “the effort they spend” on a task and therefore cause a decrease in a students efficiency (Van). Others go on to say that the problem goes back to inequality in schools for simply living in an area rather than in another or as said in a PBS article a “variation between and among schools” (Galston). Implicating that only some schools are doing well while the rest of the schools suffer with less resources. So if the United States is not performing where expected but stays at the top, what exactly is the problem?
The real issue is in the effects of not performing high enough which include a skilled worker shortage as well as a doubtful future economy for the nation.
In the past decade technology has taken a very large leap forward and as a result a great amount of new tasks can be completed in ways that were not possible a decade ago. Chris Hopkins, professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, states that “nearly one-third of employers undertook major strategic changes in the last year requiring higher skill levels from employees” (Hopkins). In other words education is becoming more important to the job market every time and if domestic workers are not available the market will turn to foreign workers. Perhaps domestic jobs will not be taken over by foreign workers but the potential jobs overseas will be lost to other workers such as those from Japan and the United Kingdom that are ranking at higher levels in“critical areas essential to remaining competitive in the global workforce” which are “literacy, basic math, and problem-solving skills” as described by Professor Chris Hopkins (Hopkins). In the same sense the journal Achievement Growth affirms that “a nation’s growth rate of GDP is very closely related to the level of international test scores in math and science” so the better the scores the higher the growth and vice versa (Hanushek). It is therefore safe to conclude that education levels can greatly affect a nation’s future for good or for
worse.
In conclusion, education is a key factor in determining the future economy of the nation and it is therefore important to consider the educational gap between the United States and other developed countries that is caused by a bad strategies such as standardized tests and the incorrect attitudes that students can be taking. Although this issue goes beyond these causes and effects there is no way around the fact that it is occurring. So whether you are an employer, student, teacher, or government official, this issue is real and there is no easy way out.
Works Cited
Galston, William. "Is There a Crisis?" PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.
Hanushek, Eric Alan, Paul E. Peterson, and Ludger Woessmann. Achievement Growth:
International and US State Trends in Student Performance. Harvard 's Program on
Education Policy and Governance, 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
Hopkins, Chris. "Personal Finance: American Education Gap Costs Jobs."Timesfreepress.com.
Chattanooga Times Free Press, 16 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
"U.S. Education Spending And Performance vs. The World." USC Rossier Online. University of
Southern California, 08 Feb. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
Van Dinther, Mart, Filip Dochy, and Mien Segers. "Factors affecting students’ self-efficacy in higher education." Educational Research Review 6.2 (2011): 95-108. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
Watkins, Bill. "Do Standardized Tests Raise Dropout Rates?" Newgeography.com.
New Geography, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.