Due Date: February 12, 2015
Lab 1 Stupid in America
EDUC 13001-6301
Stupid in America
Are kids really stupid in America? Some people believe it is not the students who are stupid, they believe it’s the system that’s stupid. Schools argue it’s because of the money. They need more money to give a better education. In John Stossel’s documentary we can see that money is not the problem, a school in Kansas received more than what it usually does and instead of doing better in the test scores they actually did even worse. Charter schools is a main example why money shouldn’t be a problem, they receive less money that regular public schools yet their test scores are excellent. Studies have showed that as the schools money goes up the kid’s scores and the number of graduates stays flat without any improvement, this shows money is not the problem.
Newark New Jersey has a teachers union, the worst scores, and the worst dropout rates and, that’s not all, it pays 22 thousand dollars per student. Yet they do not have enough textbooks for everyone. How does that even make sense? Where is all the money going? Unions cost the state, the tax payers, and everyone more money and reward crappy teachers with the paycheck they do not deserve and that should go to a good teacher instead. I believe that is not fair that the crappy teachers get the same paycheck as the good teacher and especially if a teacher is not even teaching their students or helping them improve, the principles are not able to fire any teacher because they have to go through so many steps because of the teachers union. For example in the documentary they talked about a teacher sending inappropriate emails to a student, and when the school found out they couldn’t really do anything about it because the teachers union protected the teacher. Of course the rules are not as crazy anymore it is easier now to fire a teacher who does those kind of things, but you still have to go through so many steps to fire a teacher. In Texas we don’t have a union and I believe that is a good thing because the bad teachers won’t take advantage of the union.
Charter schools receive less money than public schools, yet their grade scores are the high and their dropout rates are low. They do not need to spend 22 to 10 thousand dollars per student like public schools do to have the best scored yet they do. Nationwide, Charter schools spend around 1,800 less per student. Although the biggest reason for the difference is teachers’ salaries. Charter schools spend about 1, 200 less on instruction which mostly means the people providing the instruction than traditional public schools. That’s partly because the teachers at charter schools tend to be earlier in their carriers and at the lower end of the salary schedule meaning they do not get paid as much as teachers in public schools. Also they know there Is no teacher union to back them up meaning their job is always at risk if their teaching skills are not good enough, which is a good thing because that way you know there won’t be any teacher who is slacking and bringing her students down instead of helping them improve. In Charter schools you have to do a lottery to get into the school because of the enormous amount of parents that want their kids to go to charter schools.
John and his crew gave international tests to the kids in Belgium and New Jersey. Belgium kids got 76% correct, New Jersey’s got 47% correct and New Jersey’s kids in general test above average and stay in an above average school. A kid in Belgium stated that “the test was so easy that if kids in America couldn’t do it they are really stupid” New jersey’s kids defended themselves saying they don’t believe they are stupid, they believe it is the schools. By 4th grade kids test above average but once they get to high school majority get left behind. Movies show America students are stupid and that the teachers are boring, and it is true in most cases. You only need a 2.2 GPA to become a teacher, which proves that most of the people becoming teachers may not be that bright and why do we want someone who barely knows what they are doing teaching others. We need teachers who choose that career because they want to help others improve not someone who just chooses teaching just because of the benefits or because they do not want to break their heads so they are choosing the easy way.
Kids in America are not stupid, it’s the system that is stupid and we have got to work on our system because it depends on our future, the kids are our future and how are we going to trust the world to our future kids if they don’t know half the things that are going on. Instead of focusing on the money we should be more worried about the test scores and prioritize it. Although yes money does intervene in students learning appropriately and in better conditions but it shouldn’t be what matters the most. If Charter schools can do it with a few money so can public schools, because more of the money does not even go to the students it just goes to the staff as was showed in the video. Just like money shouldn’t be a priority the teachers unions shouldn’t either, all it does it gives bad teachers benefits they do not deserve, probably work 3 times less than the good teachers yet receive same pay and bonuses. Not only that but if the teachers is not teaching, the principles are not able to fire them, they would have to go through a million steps that at the end of the day they still won’t be able to fire them. Charter schools for example fire the teacher that is not doing well. Which can also lead to a teacher being fired unfairly. Although why would the principle fire a good teacher that is helping them look good. Charter schools believe that If a teacher is not teaching well they should fire them asap and I agree why do you want a teacher that is not teaching. Likewise this video let us all know that kids in America are not stupid it’s the system that is stupid and we need more teacher who actually want to teach to help students over achieve in whatever it is they want to do.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In the TED Talk How America’s Public Schools Keep Kids in Poverty spoken by Kandice Sumner, she spoke of the unfair advantages that richer kids have over poor kids in America when it comes to the education system. She first opens up her speech by telling her audience about her children, all of which have the ability to become something wonderful, but because their “real” parents lack the money they can’t. I believe that she is correct, and that is simply because the system is faulty. I believe that the American education system relies too much on money provided, typically, by the surrounding neighborhoods in the form of property taxes. These taxes are the sole reason that schools are failing, next to an assortment of reasons as well. Property tax is, just as its name implies, taxes on people’s properties.…
- 534 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In an article published by Inequality.org entitled “How America Is Failing It’s Schools” (23 June, 2015), Salvatore Babones argues that “the real crisis in American education is not the schools system,” but rather inequality. He argues this point by providing statistics that prove that highly-concentrated impoverished communities result in lower test scores that, consequently, make America trudge behind international standards; by blaming the public for denouncing the schools that helplessly educate poor children without many resources; and by reaffirming that failing schools are not the result of parents, teachers, or the students themselves, but of inequality. Babones’s purpose is to address and hopefully better America’s equality, eventually…
- 236 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
American schools have the responsibility to create better human beings, and they are expected to do it consistently over the years for all young people. Currently, anyone can observe the differences between the school system today and 10 years ago. The academic rigor and behavioral expectations of American education have declined. The efforts to make students more competitive worldwide and ready to embrace the demanding workforce have not borne out. The Schools are failing our children because of low standards and poor discipline policies.…
- 95 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
You are helping your 3rd grade child with their English homework and you start to think to yourself, school certainly was harder back in my day. Then, you’re out to lunch at the mall on a workday and notice a few high school-age kids skipping school and hanging out, so you ask yourself; is the American education system crumbling? Do we still hold the top spot in educating our children?…
- 1503 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
Have you ever felt like you or your child is not getting a proper education? Are you a student who has below average grades and yet still manages to pass your class? Have you ever wondered why the U.S has gone from 18th in math to 31st? The answer to these questions, and many more that people have been posing is quite simple. Our education has just simply gotten worse. Many people today in society believe our education has gotten worse, though some believe that it is up to standards. I believe that our education has actually gotten worse, because the quality of our education has been going down, our performance has been going down, and our standardized tests are a mess.…
- 887 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Instead of the state paying for a better public school system, they are now paying even more money to keep their inmates confined. It cost thousands of more dollars to house a prisoner in prison for a year than to send a child to school from kindergarden to their senior year in high school. If the states invested in good teachers with qualifications that meet high standards, prisons would not be so crowded. Teachers are what make a school succeed or fail. Without good teachers; students understand little, to no knowledge being presented to them in class causing them to drop out. Shown in this documentary, schools make it impossible to fire a bad teacher for anything short of a criminal act or the teacher qualifies for tenure, which mean that a teacher is ensured their job for life and cannot be terminated. These awful teachers are known as “lemons” and in order for the schools to get rid of them they perform what is called the “lemon dance” with other school, which involves schools swapping their worst-performing teachers at the end of the year in hoping that their lemon isn’t as bad as another school’s lemon. Teachers are broadcasted as heroes, someone that people admire and look up to and is willing to do what ever it takes to make their students succeed in the future. In high school, during my senior year, I had a marine biology teacher, who was presented to teach the class the summer before the next…
- 1194 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Our educational system in America is highly inefficient. It focuses more on standardized testing than it does on helping the students understand the curriculum. I have seen teachers that care more about their paycheck than the well-being of their own students. On top of all this, once you're out of high school, there is college. Of course, it is not required for you to attend. But it's almost impossible to get a well paying job without a degree. To make matters worse, college is unbelievably expensive, making it nearly impossible to go without putting yourself in debt, because the average cost for tuition for a public college in America is $9,139. For example, my own mother almost didn’t pass high school, because her government teacher always put her down and how she was going to fail. My mom was never able to get a college level education because her parents could not afford to give her that privilege.…
- 569 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
• Each state funds their schools as well as the federal government. Each level has their own rules and regulations and mixed agendas. The ‘Blob’ we have created to help make are schools better, is actually making them worse according to the documentary. There is no accountability for producing results for kids. Additionally, one of the rules most schools have is that the children have to live within the district, or city the school subsides in, for them to be eligible to attend.…
- 1246 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The United States educational system is preforming poorly compared to the rest of the world: America is ranked 17th in educational performance, 25th in Math, 17th in Science, and 14th in Reading skills. Disabled, minority, and underprivileged children are lacking the adequate resources to succeed in our school system. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was a revised version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (EASA) proposed by former President George Bush in 2001. The intent was to reform the educational system so American’s schools could have the opportunity to thrive domestically and internationally, grant children equality of opportunity, and boost students K-12 level of understanding in core subjects, such as science, technology, and math. This initiative sought to improve our lagging educational system in the U.S to inch closer to higher achieving educational standards, such as the United Kingdom. However, No Child Left Act is hindering children’s chance of a “healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start, and a moral start in life,” by amplifying undesired pressure on students through standardized testing, increasing federal jurisdiction within schools, and minimizing the roles of additional core subjects, such as social studies and foreign languages. This…
- 1474 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Educational programs demand effort and dedication to be successful. Barber expresses his concern for the lack of literacy in America. In Barbers essay, he states, “As America’s educational system crumbles, the pundits, instead of looking for solutions, search busily for scapegoats” (Barber, 2014, pp.210). America’s government takes minimal actions toward the educational crisis. The situation resembles a hole in the wall that needs fixed, but instead of fixing it America’s society hangs a picture over the hole. The lack of educational reforms causes the America’s youth to fall behind other countries youth in literacy. The lack of effort from the government, from schools, parents, teachers, and students put a strain on learning. Some American citizens proclaim that they want a change in the school systems, but nothing results from it. Barber states, “With all the goodwill in the world, it is still hard to know how schools can cure the ills that stem from the failure of so many other institutions. Saying we want education to come first won’t put it first” (Barber, 2014, pp.217). Society labels schools as “prisons,” and sadly, some are less safe than actual prisons. The lack of safety forces students to focus on their own safety rather than learning. Not all schools provide safe environments for students; The result of this problem is conflicts and disinterest for learning. The lack of effort put forth by America’s society and government is only one factor in this multitude of…
- 822 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Spending at one school can make a huge difference on the quality of education than from another school. The school spending difference is often significant because teacher’s salaries are based on their experience and approval or college degrees they might have earned. Low poverty schools have more experienced and higher paid teachers, than a high poverty school where the teachers can be inexperienced, low salaries and a high turn over rate. Research in Baltimore found teacher’s at one school in a high poverty neighborhood were paid on average $36,600 a year, where at another school in the same district the average teacher’s salary was $57,000 a year in a low poverty neighborhood. If both schools have twenty teachers the difference in dollars available for the two schools is over $400,000 a year. Think about how much equipment, supplies, and higher quality teachers that much money can provide for a school. School funding in most states is tied to the wealth of the neighborhood. Communities and students that are at an economic disadvantage often need the most help and are unable to receive the quality of education provided by other schools. Every state across the country needs to expand school funding improvements to ensure that every student gets the highest quality education no matter what school district or neighborhood they happen to live…
- 1392 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
The school system in America has long been an issue of discussion and debate amongst people everywhere. The discussions and debates often stem from evaluating the current educational system in order to determine if significant social issues, including increasing regional poverty and declining literacy rates in specific urban regions are related to economic differentiations in the educational system. Many policy analysts have considered the issue of educational funding allotments in order to determine a system that provides greater equity between socio-economically disadvantaged inner-city schools and wealthier suburban, middle class schools (Kozol 83). The foundation for the necessary funding changes have stemmed from the recognition that school funding differences relate directly to sociological issues, including the creation of a cycle of poverty and illiteracy in under funded urban settings.…
- 687 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Every weekday, he goes directly from Trinity Springs Middle School to drive a forklift at Floor and Décor. He works until 11 every night, then gets up and starts all over again.”(N.PAG.). For many people cannot imagine a workday such as that. On that note, how is Erik supposed to be able to grade his papers, and plan his next days material when he has to work everyday off of at best 7 hours of sleep. It is VERY ironic that the state government, the one that claims to support the ideals of living the American dream would cause such a situation as Erik’s. News and Observer writer Terry Grier reports “Many North Carolina teachers start out making just $31,000 a year. It takes five years before new teachers can earn a raise, and it can take as long as 15 years just to make it to $40,000. It takes 35 years to reach the top of the pay scale, which is just $53,000 if you don’t have an advanced degree.” (N.PAG.). There aren't many other places in a community where a person that requires the training that a teacher receives is paid such a measly salary. Let the Educators of our future leaders receive a greater annual income, because it is the only way…
- 643 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Since 1965, when the federal government embarked on its first major elementary and secondary education initiative federal policy has strongly influenced America's schools (www.nclb.gov). Over the years, Congress has created hundreds of programs intended to address problems in education without asking whether or not the programs produce results or knowing they're impact on local needs. This "program for every problem" solution has begun to add up so much so that there is hundreds of education programs spread across thirty nine federal agencies at the cost of $120 billion dollars a year. Yet, after years of spending billions of dollars on education, the United States have fallen short in meeting the goals for educational excellence. The academic achievement gap between rich and poor and Anglo and minority are not wide, but in some cases is still growing wider.…
- 1177 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Unequal funding through out the country demonstrates the unfairness some school districts face. According to "School Funding," an article by PBS, the facts and figures of government spending on public schools is very imbalanced. In order to understand the problems of education in America, it is necessary to look at the way public schools are financed. As the article notes, "expenditures are not equal from state to state because of the different costs of education and inputs and real estate and teacher salaries"(1). An example is New Jersey spending twice as much as Utah per student. It is more striking to see how a district within a state varies tremendously as well. The example it used to compare the disparity is how district spending in San Antonio, Texas ranged from $2,112 to $19,333. (2) Because of that disproportion, low income schools have the short end of the stick.…
- 2077 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays