Whats Going Wrong in Public School
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What is going wrong with schools? There is a lot wrong with schools, and easier question these days is, Whats right with schools? Sadly the list would be shorter. The public school system in America today is sadly lacking, not just in the field of academic achievement. Children are, in effect, risking their lives by attending school. Critical attacks from disturbed students are spreading like a plague. Every year, there is increase in the number of students who give up education after high school and start working in minimum wage jobs/unskilled jobs. Stereotypes between smart and dumb students and racism are the biggest issues student faces in school education system. The public education system always gives priority to students who are smart in study, where on the other hand, students who are not smart in study never get chance to prove their inborn talents. School education system wants the bright students to be the brightest in every aspect and starts giving them more and more work pressure; but they dont know that it is not at all uncommon for the brightest students to become problem students in the environment full of stress and frustration. The movie Stand And Deliver directed by Ramуn Menйndez as well as authors Michel Moore and John Taylor Gatto illustrate in their work the darker side of the education system. As illustrated in these works, from the lack of government support the students face a type of stereotypical inequality or racial inequality that develops the negative attitudes toward the low self-esteem and they learn to fail because schools are failing.
Many people want us to believe that the problem with school lies not in the idea of public education, but in the way public schools are managed and funded. “Walk into any public school, and the odds are good that youll find overflowing classrooms, leaking ceilings, and demoralized teachers” (Moore 157). There is big decreases in the number of college students going for teaching profession, and there is big shortage right now. The main reason behind this is that government dont pay enough money to this teachers and government gives a lot of stress to the teachers. Not only does the government, but also the students and their parents play the similar role. Students should respect the authority of teachers. When the teachers dont get polite response from both government and students then teachers change their profession. ” Its that they lost the confidence in the system theyre now finally qualified to be a part of. I dont know why Im losing sleep over this. I dont need it. I could be making more money, with less hours, and have people treat me with respect” (Movie). The movie itself illustrates the problem of shortage in teaching field. Jaime Escalante came to Garfield to teach computer science but instead he ends in classroom of AP calculus where comments like “Were seniors. This is our year to slack of” are common. Moore and Gatto both state that we need teachers who could encourage them and not give up. Teachers fill up their students heads with full of random stuff with no attempt to illustrate the point of what theyre learning. Students are not taught with the knowledge that needed to solve problems in real life, but they are taught whats in the text books. All that students learn are stray facts that dont add up to anything. From what they taught from school, they cant integrate what they dont understand, so they just to pass the test and afterwards they forget everything. The end result is that students fail to think beyond a distinct level by the time they are finally released from their high school prison. “There are a lot of teachers who suck, and theyd be better suited to making telemarketing” (Moore 160). Its governments job to provide their union with great teachers and that can be done when they (government) should start giving more fund and more attention toward education. The other main issue after the lack of government support is the stereotypical inequality or racial inequality.
Todays public schools are monopoly of inequality. The education gap in the U.S. between different races is growing wider and wider, and equal education opportunity is being undermined. Although free universal public education was adopted early in U.S. history, equal opportunity has never been realized. In the movie Escalante stated that “those (AP Calculus) scores would have never been questioned if my kids did not have Spanish surnames and come from barrio schools. You know that ” When ethnicity and culture are made indistinguishable, schools become full with stereotypes. The school which supposes to teach students that we are all equal is the cause of racism. Moore argued in his essay saying that students learn stuff which they are forced to learn. Also, students tend to learn more from the environment where they
spend most of their time in. “They learn that to rock the boat could get them rocked right out of the school. Dont question authority. Do as youre told. Dont think, just do as I say”(Moore 168). Both movie and Moores essay illustrates that how racism is followed by various grop od people, directly and indirectly. Most of the time in past and at some point in present, racism have been mainly practiced by teachers and they are the one tell their students to follow it. Racism has its roots in the belief that some people are superior because they belong to a particular race, ethnic or national group. In any measures, racism weakens childrens self-esteem and grind down the educational process. The racism experienced by students at school may result in very significant psychological impact which can also result in early school dropout and lower educational outcomes.
There is significant relationship between self-concept and academic achievement. Self-esteem and achievement go hand in hand and they feed each other. ” Weve built a way of life that depends on people doing what they are told because they dont