Author: krm6220

Throughout this blog post, Education in America has been the topic being discussed. From its flaws, to teachers, to the money, to stereotypes, so much has been talked about. To wrap up this blog, I would like to talk about the things that education does for us – the good. Without an education, almost all of us, if not everyone, would not be where we are today. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are to have an education system in the United States that lets us learn so much. In other countries, they do not have this privilege. “Of the worlds 787 million children of primary school age 8% do not go to school. That is 58.4 million children.” (Our World in Data)

            As the quote above says, so many children do not have the privilege to an education. In the United States, most children attend a well-funded school that provides for a well setup future and the option to go to college or pursue some type of higher education. In college, it is a privilege to have so many majors and classes to study. In schools, we are constantly socializing. Pearson Accelerated states, “Mental health workers and researchers have found that we can support our mental health by connecting with others, developing a sense of meaning or purpose, building coping skills and having a goal or hobby. One way to engage in all of these activities is through learning and education. Research shows that education can improve mental health by broadening your intellectual, social and emotional horizons. Attending school can also expand your knowledge, help you meet new people, further your goals, improve your career and even help you build better coping mechanisms.”

            For most of us, I can say that education has shaped our entire lives. At this level, education has provided us with friends, different perspectives, leadership positions, knowledge, opportunity, and so much more. If I did not have an education, even at a young age, I could not imagine what my life would have consisted of. Especially when you are younger, education and school is the primary way to make friends. Although education in the United States has its flaws, these benefits are only some of the many that we receive. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of a true education.” (The Washington Post) It is so important to remember how important our education is to us. Throughout this blog, I hope that you learned more about Education in the United States flaws, benefits, and all that is in between.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/01/20/mlk-intelligence-plus-character-that-is-the-goal-of-true-education/

https://ourworldindata.org/children-not-in-school

https://www.pearsonaccelerated.com/blog/education-boosts-mental-health/

In recent years, going to college is something that the majority of high school graduates do. Whether you choose to continue your education after college is a different matter, but it still affects the way that society views the education system. As of October 2021, 61.8 percent of 2021 high school graduates ages 16 to 24 were enrolled in colleges or universities, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, often, we do not think about the 38 percent of high school graduates who do not go to college or look down upon them. In this blog, I want to address the question, why? 

While college is something that is a great choice after graduating high school, there are many times as a society that we fail to consider the other options or look at them as inferior. In my opinion, this is something that we must change. It truly is simple; college is not meant for everyone. Why are we acting like everyone who graduates must go to college? Why is it that when someone answers “I’m going to trade school” or “I’m working” that in the back of many people’s heads they will assume that this person is lazy or will not do anything with their life. 

Not only are those who don’t go to college sometimes looked at as inferior, but they are not appreciated enough. Most people who are plumbers, landscapers, construction workers, truck drivers, and so many more do not go to college, but we need them all just as much as we need a college-educated society. By the way, half of these occupations will make just as much money in the end as someone who earned their bachelor’s degree. Visual Capitalist states, “Households with at least one person with a bachelor’s degree earn $81,629 per year in salary” According to zip recruiter, plumbers can make $97,000 per year in salary. Not only will they make as much money, but they will have zero debt from their education. One thing is for sure; college is expensive. Education data states, “The average cost of attendance for a student living on campus at a public 4-year in-state institution is $25,707 per year or $102,828 over 4 years.” At this cost, some people also choose to not attend college simply because they cannot afford it.  

To conclude, it is essential for us to have these individuals who do not go to college as much as we need the ones who do. Just because someone doesn’t go to college doesn’t mean they don’t work hard. For example, many individuals who do not go to college work the same amount of hours as someone who sits in an office all day. At the end of the day, college is not the only option, and we must open our eyes more to the other alternatives.  

 

Sources:  

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm 

Average Cost of College [2023]: Yearly Tuition + Expenseseducationdata.orghttps://educationdata.org › average-cost-of-college 

How Americans Make and Spend Their Money, by …Visual Capitalisthttps://www.visualcapitalist.com › how-americans-mak… 

The 22 Highest Paying Plumbing Jobs in 2023 – ZipRecruiterziprecruiter.comhttps://www.ziprecruiter.com › Highest-Paying-Plumbing… 

            Is it fair to judge a person’s intelligence on a standardized test? In my opinion, I think that it is not fair, however, some may disagree. Standardized testing is defined by American University as “Examinations administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. They typically rely heavily on question formats, such as multiple choice and true or false, that can be automatically scored. Not limited to academic settings, standardized tests are widely used to measure academic aptitude and achievement.” In America, standardized testing has become a normal practice whether it is for class placement, college admissions (SAT), medical school (MCAT), law school (Bar Exam) and more.

            The question is, is this the best determinator of our successes? While many may say yes, I do not think it is for several reasons. The first being that everyone learns differently and has a different learning style. The National Library of Medicine states, “Academic performance in different forms of assessment is influenced by learning style.” There are different learning styles, the three main ones being visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. While the first two are easy to determine what they mean, a kinesthetic learning style is defined by Bay Atlantic University as “Kinesthetic learning links the process of learning to physical activity.” This is just one reason that standardized tests are not fair. For example, it is easier for a visual learner to perform well on a standardized test compared to an auditory learner. This is because a visual learner can see similar material beforehand on practice tests and learn it, but an auditory learner cannot always listen to a standardized test beforehand.

            In my own personal case, I have never been someone who scored well on standardized tests. I wouldn’t consider myself a “good test taker,” especially when it came to tests such as the PSAT and SAT. Throughout elementary school, tests such as the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) were never my biggest strength, especially the math portion. My teachers always wondered why I never matched my performance in the class to what I was getting on my standardized tests, as they were completely different scores. Over time, I realized that this was because I was a kinesthetic, or “hands on” learner. Not only did I learn that standardized testing wasn’t the best form of assessment for me, but I also realized I couldn’t let myself be as bothered by it as I was.

            While many might disagree and say that standardized testing is efficient, I strongly think that it is inefficient, and that it is impossible to determine someone’s intelligence based on a singular score. With this, I think that in the future, we should work to eliminate, or reduce, the amount and significance of standardized testing. To conclude, next time you take a standardized test, remember that it is not the end of the world, and that there are so many ways to determine intelligence in different ways.

Sources:

Effects of Standardized Testing on Students & Teachers: Key Benefits & Challenges

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3931542/

What Is A Kinesthetic Learner?

Throughout the years, college has become more and more expensive. According to Education Data, a four-year college degree in the years 2010-2011 costed $8,070 at a public university, and $22,677 at a private university. In total, this comes to around $33,000 and $90,000. Paying $90,000 for a degree that may not be used, is something that is hard to grasp. In 2022, the average cost of a private university was $38,070, according to Business Insider. This means that every year, tuition increased for students.

            You may be asking yourself, why is college so expensive in America, and should it be this expensive? Personally, I know that I have asked myself this question several times.

            A college degree in America is something that sets you up for a job and a comfortable life. While some get out of college and immediately make great money, this isn’t the case for everyone. Some people are drowning in debt, whereas others are not. Forbes states there is “$1.75 trillion in total student loan debt (including federal and private loans.)” Hearing a number like this, to pay for an education, doesn’t sit right with many.

            While many people can attend college, and have the privilege to, many cannot. Those who cannot attend college do have other options, such as trade school, real estate, working, and more. However, not being able to go to college simply because you cannot afford it is something no one should have to experience. It is not fair that the cost of an education limits so many individuals.

            If college wasn’t so expensive, it is possible that more people would attend college, leading to more people in the working world, which leads to a better economy, and so on. However, this is not the case. When people do not attend college, it is often frowned upon and looked as inferior to those who do. For some, it is simply a better option, and it would be a waste of money. For example, if someone were looking to go into construction, and be paid a $60,000 starting salary, why would they spend money on an education, that will cost them at least this same amount of money. It simply is something that is a choice, and for some, working right out of high school is a better option.

            Overall, I believe that college is way too expensive. Although I think it is too expensive, I do not think that it should be free, as it could be taken advantage of and be less valuable in the end. If the cost of college is reduced, it would allow more people who want to attend college to be able to, decrease the amount of debt in America, and so much more. In years to come, this is something for future generations to fight for so that everyone has an equal opportunity at a college education.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/student-loans/average-student-loan-statistics/

https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-college-tuition#average-annual-tuition-at-private-4-year-colleges-and-universities

https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-by-year

Growing up, how many times did you think about how much your teachers did for you? Whether it was teaching you how to do addition or how to navigate the tough situation you were in, teachers have always been supportive people, especially at a young age. Teachstarter states, “If you’re an elementary school teacher, you’re probably used to 4- or 5-years old’s wandering into your building on the first day of school. After all, most American students start pre-K somewhere around age 4 and kindergarten somewhere around age 5.” At the age of 5, you are not considering how much your teacher does for you and how much they get paid for it.

            As we get older, we start to notice how much work teachers do. Despite having a summer break and multiple vacations per year, there is no denying that teachers don’t get paid enough, especially elementary school teachers. Dealing with young children and middle schoolers is hard enough but overseeing 20 is another story. Every kid is different and having to cater to each of them is not only difficult, but can be draining and time consuming, leading to teachers working longer days than what they signed up for and are being paid for. With this, CNBC states, “K-12 teachers report the highest burnout rate of all U.S. professions, with more than four out of every 10 teachers noting that they feel burned out “always” or “very often” at work, according to a June 2022 Gallup poll.”

            Insider states, “The median necessary living wage across the entire US is $67,690.” On the other hand, USA Facts states, “In 2021, the average K-12 public school teacher nationwide was paid $65,090.” The thought that the average teacher isn’t making the living wage, is simply shocking, and a perfect example of how teachers are overworked and underpaid. Along with being overworked and underpaid, it leads to younger generations not wanting to pursue their passions, because of money. It is hard to go into a career that does not pay well and pay for school.

            Overall, teaching is a profession that is essential to society, even though it is overlooked. For all that they do, they should be paid and appreciated more, and in the future, hopefully this can happen. In one of my future blogs, I plan to look into the cause of why teachers are so overworked and underpaid.

Sources:

https://www.teachstarter.com/us/blog/what-age-do-kids-start-school-around-world/

https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-pay-teachers-the-most-and-least/

https://www.businessinsider.com/living-wage-income-to-live-comfortably-in-every-us-state

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/22/teachers-are-in-the-midst-of-a-burnout-crisis-it-became-intolerable.html

Hi, welcome to my blog. In this blog, I will be discussing the good and bad of education in the United States from flaws, finances, fairness, and more. As many are aware, the education system in the United States is nowhere near perfect. Although it has come a long way, and it is ranked the number one educational system in the world by World Population Review, they also state that “U.S students consistently score lower in math and science than students from many other countries.” If the US is the number one educational system in the world, why might this be occurring?  

Not only does the US public education system flaw in testing scores, but financial aspects. Education Data Initiative states that “Federal, state, and local governments provide $764.7 billion or $15,120 per pupil to fund K-12 public education.” If we are spending this much money on public education, why is there still flaws? So. Many. Flaws. As I dive deeper into my blog throughout the semester, the financial flaws of the United States public education system will be discussed much further, from teachers’ pay to quality of public schools’ buildings.  

As stated above, the United States government provides almost $765 billion per year to public education. With this, so much of this money is coming from taxes paid by citizens. Even citizens who may attend private schools pay taxes to fund public schools, and they are not an option (rightly so, they are provided to people for a reason.) Taxes are paid by everyone, from a sixteen year old at their first job to a sixty five year old getting ready to retire. As someone who attended a public school their whole life up until going to a private high school, I’ve seen differences in private schools funding and public schools funding. For example, private schools struggle because they are not/are minimally funded by the government, therefore relying on donations from students, parents, alumni, and families, whereas public schools struggle because they are not getting enough money from the government, and also get minimal donations.  

From test scores, to teachers, to students, to taxes, governmental costs, school buildings, and more, there is so much to be discussed about the public education system in the United States. As the semester goes on, I cannot wait to learn and share more about these topics which if not already impacting us all, will most likely do so someday.  

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