To be inducted into the National Honors Society, to me, would be my greatest accomplishment in Lenape High School. To know that my intense hard work paid off in the end would institute the self-confidence in myself in which I know that I can take the world by storm. Growing up in the shadows of two brilliant older siblings, shining both in academics as well as athleticism I’ve always had to fight to make my name prominent in my family. Essentially, I wished to shine the light on myself for a change. Now the question lies before me: “why should you be inducted into the National Honors Society?” The National Honors Society is an organization that only exceptional students and members of the community are inducted.
The US Department of Education said the "… testing is a normal and expected way of assessing what students have learned" (US Department of Education 2004). Yet, opponents feel that standardized tests are nothing more than a grievance on all involved and put a burden on the already strapped education budgets, and “…according to the Texas Education Agency, the state spent $9 million in 2003 to test students, while the cost to Texas taxpayers from 2009 through 2012 is projected to be around $88 million per year” (Martinez 2011). Those against standardized go on to say that standardized tests benefit the test companies because “the billion dollar…industry is notorious for making costly and time-consuming scoring errors” (FairTest 2006). I, like millions of students, have experienced these tests firsthand countless times, and am an avid opponent of standardized testing. I do not believe these tests are a useful tool in the progression of our academic knowledge or intelligence.
This is how cliques develop. The most famous cliques that I remembered at my school were the bullies, nerds, partiers, jocks and the snobby rich girls. The members of these cliques then compete to stay in and try to climb to the top of their group. In high school we are all labeled, sometimes not by choice, some we are proud of, while some we want to
The NEA has great influences on Congress, state senators, and the Supreme Court, along with representatives lobbying for court verdicts on state and federal programs. With the NEA’s help, we have developed an expensive, broad educational structure, however we still have thousands of students graduating who cannot spell, read well, write an essay, demonstrate basic math skills, demonstrate basic knowledge of American history, and so on. For an organization, that “accomplishes” so much, there are way too many children graduating from school who do not have the basic educational needs to obtain a job. The NEA stresses the importance of getting support and federal aid to improve the schools and education, but there is no improvement. Our education system has developed a curriculum that teaches no moral values, biblical lessons, or enough basic educational necessities for that matter.
The percentage of high school drop outs in United States is very high, and some these students that drop out end up in prison or other terrible places such as drug dealing or gangs. In the documentary they also showed some schools with a lot of gang activity and gang violence. Parents of these students work very hard to pay taxes and keep there children in school, in hop that there children will get a good education. Some parents take tons of loans so they can send there kids to a private school, because the public schools are not teaching there students well. These hard working parents and dedicated teachers all want to see America with a brighter future, they are doing what they can to make sure that there children grow up to be important part of a good generation.
Parents are increasingly concerned about the standard of the Thai education system. Those dissatisfied with the poor quality of the Thai government schools transfer their children to private or international schools, but not everyone can afford the cost of these schools. If quality education in Thailand continues to only be the privilege of the wealthy, many unwelcomed social implications will arise. Therefore, Thai authorities must immediately overhaul the country’s education system in order to ensure that all children, regardless of their backgrounds, get the best education possible. This will promote social equality and help prepare the nation’s youth for the competitive 21st century workforce, benefitting each individual and the country’s socio-economic development in today’s globalizing world immensely.
Courtney Rosenthal Mrs. Crowe AP Lang- Period 3 25 March 2014 American Ignorance American high schools have changed for the worst since the evolution of the education system; initially, it was about actually receiving an education and gaining knowledge. But in today’s society, American high schools have developed into a flawed system that has adverse effects on its students. There are flaws in the inadequate system such as heavy testing and the teaching of irrelevant information. In order to mend these issues the education system needs to be reshaped and refocused to create a more constructive system. Throughout my personal career in high school, as a current eleventh grader in the public school system, I’ve found the testing
High school itself is surrounded with the pressure of getting good grades for a future education and also the pressures of drugs, alcohol, boys, sports and adult influence. “The National Scholastic Journal took a poll of a group of one hundred students at random, “In today’s generation high school students believe the pressure they face has switched from peer pressure to pressure based of off social media” (Baur, 2013). Teenagers are hardly given a break & the media seems to add on to the pressures. A teenager’s biggest fear is to be considered an outcast. The media states in order for you to fit in you have to be thin.
(“States Seeks to Block ‘No Child Left Behind’”). Even gym and recess are being reduced in schools around the United States due to teaching being pointed towards the test. This has only caused a negative effect as the number of obese children has risen. Standardized test and the NCLB Act are only harming the health of children- mentally and physically. Furthermore, United States needs to follow the following guidelines that countries more advanced in education than the United States have been following.
Ever since then, every grade level has to take a state test. Many public schools had to defund the arts programs to improve the state test scores in the required subjects. Schools that are performing the lowest are pressured to concentrate on having more qualified teachers to teach reading, math, and history classes rather than art, theater, and music classes. Kathleen Manzo with knowledge of education and social policy finds the problems is that the budget cuts and the shortage of teachers will cause less time for the resources that can be used in the art programs. Without the arts, the school is reducing the capability to give young students a complete education.