The Pros and Cons of Education in The United States

Education is one of the most important rights that all individuals should have access to. It is the stepping stone to success and opportunity in any society. Each country has their own set of laws concerning education and the educational system. The educational system in Asia differs from the educational system in the United States. However, they all follow the same set of standards in order to shape tomorrow’s leaders to become successful adults and influential individuals. Our world is constantly changing and it requires a society that is well versed in understanding the problems deriving from cultural differences and tolerance of one another’s beliefs and perceptions. The United States is one of the countries that has an enormous diverse society, therefore, their schools contain a huge level of diversity between students and educators. With such a diverse society, the educational system should accommodate and encourage this level of diversity as it has a lot of pros to education and the school system. However, as all things, there are both pros and cons to all educational systems.

In the United States, education has evolved throughout the years. With the arrival of people from all over the world came the development of stereotyping and discrimination. Unfortunately, this is one of the cons of the major level of diversity that is found in the United States. Discrimination started off first and foremost with the oppression of African Americans in the U.S. With the movement of Martin Luther King and Martin Luther Kind Jr., came the light of change of racism, discrimination, and social oppression. African American children began to attend school with the white population and slowly but steadily, their rights as humans began to take place. Unfortunately, in a school setting, a lot of bullying is a result of how other children differ in their looks, backgrounds, or cultures. As people advance into the 21st century, one can only hope that discrimination diminished in all aspects of society. However, that does not seem to be the case in most schools. According to Barret, McEchin, Mills, and Valant (2017), currently, black and poor students are suspended at much higher rates than their white or non-poor peers. This proves to show that discrimination is an unfortunate reality in most schools that develops into a negative aspect of the schooling in the United States. Another con that is available in U.S. schools is that they are overcrowded. Usually, the smaller the classroom the better the individual student experience (Lynch, 2015). Now-a-days, more and more children are in desperate need for one-to-one tutoring. Children are in desperate need for this classroom attention in order to grasp and understand concepts more effectively. Additionally, the greater the classroom size, the less effective a single teacher is at providing the best educational experience to all the students.

On the other hand, the schooling in the United States does have some pros over other school systems around the world. Firstly, the school system in the United States is very inclusive. Not only does it include children from all cultures and backgrounds, it includes individuals that are “school-age” citizens. For example, if an older individual did not finish his school education back in the day, they are given the means to complete it now if they choose to do so. Additionally, education in the United States is funded annually. According to Terry Heick (2015), Americans annually fund education to the tune of a projected $821 billion in 2013. Furthermore, all schools in the United States promote literacy. Educators are well aware that literacy is an anchor for social, economical, and financial improvement. With more educated individuals, the society can strive greatly as it advances into the future. Moreover, educators and school staff acknowledge that there are socioeconomic influences that take place in a child’s education. Educators are aware that socioeconomic status greatly affects the academic performance of a child. Therefore, they try their best to help those children that suffer from low socioeconomic status to the best of their ability.

In conclusion, education is essential for the development of any child. Often, it differs from one country to another but it follows the underlying principals that is universal in educational systems world-wide. Americans are committed to changing for the better and that is shown through their development as a society throughout the years. The cultural diversity is a major development that is not simply established in any society. All individuals of any society are subjected to the negatives that comes along with change. However, a society is considered successful if they work together as a single unit towards overcoming such disparities and learn to live and develop efficiently together.

References

Barrett, N., McEachin, A., Mills, J., & Valant, J. (2018, January 09). Discipline disparities and discrimination in schools. Retrieved October 27, 2018, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2017/11/20/discipline-disparities-and-discrimination-in-schools/

Heick, T. (2015, November 21). 10 Things Public Education In America Is Getting Right. Retrieved October 27, 2018, from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/10-things-public-education-in-americsystem-is-getting-right/

Lynch, M. (2017, October 15). 10 Reasons the U.S. Education System Is Failing. Retrieved October 27, 2018, from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2015/08/10_reasons_the_us_education_system_is_failing.html

 

1 comment

  1. Amanda Elizabeth Bright

    I think you brought out many important issues in history that happened with education. Discrimination because of someones race is a huge one and something that the United States seen a lot of at one point in time. I also liked your title and feel like it fit perfectly for what you were trying to prove and like with anything in life there are always pros and cons to something and I feel like you explained them perfectly. I also agree that education is essential and everyone needs to have it today and in the future.

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