I’ve said it before. Our society is
obsessed with data. This has bled into our education system. Students are
assessed constantly. Honestly, it is surprising they have time to learn
anything between all of the tests they have to take. These aren’t one page, 10
question tests either. These assessments can take an hour or more, and I’m not
just talking about those for high school students. Anyone who has spent an hour
with a first-grader can attest that sitting for extended periods of time and
focusing on one thing is contrary to their nature. So, who is to blame for all
of this nonsense? Let me assure you that it is not the teachers. They are just
trying to make sure that their students actually learn something when they’re
not busy jumping through hoops. We are going to take an in depth look at the
education system in the United States and the many problems that plague it.
First we will discuss the classroom environment and the many struggles that
teachers face, then next week we will look at those pesky assessments, and all
of the problems that stem from them.
One of the main issues with our education
comes from a disconnect between the ideal and the practical. In a perfect
world, a teacher could assess each
individual student to identify their areas of strength, and the areas in which
they need additional help, then custom tailor a plan of action for each student
to insure maximum progress. In the real world, teachers in the United States
typically have over 20 students in their class, and rarely do they have
assistants. Add on top of that, the spread of students. Remember, grade level
is based on age, not ability. A fifth-grade class might have reading levels
ranging from first-grade to eleventh-grade. As ridiculous as that sounds, it’s
not an exaggeration. And that doesn’t even include all of the special cases.
Now put yourself in that position. You
have 25 students, one that struggles with Nancy
Drew, and another asking you about the metaphorical meaning of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Additionally, two students are English as a second language learners, coming
from Somali and Mexico, respectively, and have been in the United States for
about a year with no prior English instruction. Their parents also speak no
English, and are unable to help their children with their school work. Yet
another student is dyslexic and, while perfectly capable with comprehension
when read to, struggles with the fundamentals of spelling and syntax. Two more
of your students come from impoverished homes (a low estimate, really). One is
the fourth child of a single mother who works two jobs in order to provide for
her family and has little time to devote individual attention to each of her
children. The other comes from a broken home with an abusive father. This child
is frequently absent, and often unfocused when present. You have six hours a day
with these students split up between reading, math, lunch, physical education,
special assemblies, perhaps music or art, and science and history if you are
feeling really ambitious. Your students are assessed quarterly by a
standardized exam, and each student is expected to make adequate progress based
on their grade level and national averages. The ESL students and the documented
dyslexic student are given accommodations due to these factors,
however, the two students that lack adequate support from home are treated the same as any other student despite their obstacles.
Sounds easy enough, right? Well it might
be hard work, but you’ll be well rewarded for your efforts. In fact, you will
get paid about the same as a general manager at a McDonalds®. Well, not at
first, of course, but after about four or five years on the job you’ll get
there. Let me just take this time to recognize all of the teachers in this
country for everything that they put up with. Now, how do we fix it? I am not
even going to pretend like I have the solution to all our education based
problems. I do have an idea where to begin though.
One of the main struggles of a teacher is
accommodating all of their students’ individual needs. Since grade level is
based on age, this can vary widely as I demonstrated earlier. I believe the
entire education system should be restructured. I feel that teachers could be
more effective if everyone in their class was reading the same book, be that
Dr. Seuss or Shakespeare. This would also alleviate the problem of teachers who
were trained to teach middle childhood having to adapt to first grade level
instruction. This wouldn’t be without flaws, of course. You certainly couldn’t
have a class of six-year-olds and fourteen-year-olds together without a whole new
set of issues. It would be a start though. The start of a process of trial and
error and of continual development.
Then there is the obvious step toward
improvement. The reallocation of resources. The greatest thing you can invest
in is education. You want to lower unemployment? Invest in education. You want
to lower crime rates? Invest in education. You want to decrease healthcare costs?
Invest in education. Well-educated individuals are more likely to find
employment and less likely to resort to crime (why would you steal when you
make a six-figure salary?) Okay that makes sense, but smart people get sick too,
right? True, but that job they got, came with health insurance, they also have
a better understanding of nutrition and the money to buy fresh foods. The real
kicker? Low health literacy alone accounts for over a billion dollars a year.
That is money that is essentially wasted due to a lack of education. Trust me
when I say, invest in education and you will make your money back and then some.
-AMS
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