The ideal was to establish a set of basic academic standards that all students should achieve, hold the schools accountable for meeting these standards for all students, ←and→ then give educators the choice of how to meet the standards. The way NCLB is currently being administered must be fixed, otherwise we will have both new ←and→ seasoned talented teachers leaving the profession in droves. Although reading ←and→ math tests would remain in the administration's proposal, schools could also include student performance in other subjects as part of overall measurements of progress. Critics say that the current education law has narrowed the curriculum for students:→ Many teachers zero in on math ←and→ reading at the expense of other subjects to help students prepare for the required tests. (Douglas) Students need a well-rounded education," the blueprint declares, and it cites disciplines including history, civics, foreign languages, and the arts.
A student’s mindset comes from negative labeling from parents or teachers, or stereotypes based on race and class. Even though students get fixed mindsets from many ways, parents will be a major factor, parents always gives their children negative labeling which causes them to have peer pressure. In the nonfictional article, “The Case of the Purloined Paper”, written by Brigid Schulte, she
A nation’s children are at risk from a failing education system. School systems all over the United States are making attempts to change and improve the school systems and quality of education. In the documentary Waiting for “Superman”, director Davis Guggenheim explores the crisis and uncovers the truth behind the shocking issue. Due to the United States failing education system, students are not receiving the education they deserve which will contribute to their lack of success in life; therefore as educators, parents, political leaders, business people, and concerned citizens we need to work together to accept the truth to save our education system. What are the problems our schools face?
Why Schools Are Failing Our Children January 23, 2011 There are many problems plaguing our schools and which affect the quality of education that our children receive in our pursuit to give them the quality of education that we want them to receive. It has become an issue that has compounded itself over the years and with each solution to a problem seems to bring more problems. The main problems that face our schools today are funding, curriculum, staffing, state mandates, and federal mandates. These problems must be addressed fully to allow children to have a proper curriculum that engages the brain in thinking and problem solving to give our future a chance to be more successful than the generations before. The issue with financing schools is not a new problem.
Standardized tests punish all students classified under minorities, special education, and those who do not comprehend the English language. For students in underfunded schools, it is difficult to compete with the middle class, the wealthy, and the educated in a well-funded schooling environment. According to Education Week, “No Child Left Behind” also includes the increasing numbers of high-school dropouts as schools focus on the middle range of students to neglect the lowest performers. Students who do not meet proficiency requirements on given standardize tests may have their diploma revoked and in worse case repetition of the grade may be required. It reflects badly on the school when this occurs, and often provokes investigation into the administration’s wrong doings.
Payne stated that students should learn the “hidden rules” of the middle class from their educators so that they have another set of rules to use if they choose to do so. Impoverished students, compared to students of middle or upper class, often have a lack of proper funding, thus, a lack of appropriate resources to use in their education. Due to this, they are often unprepared for school, not having the money to purchase books and other educational tools. Both authors realize this, but argue that the responsibility lies on different shoulders. Payne states that impoverished students face inequality at school, insinuating that the school should be responsible for helping to provide for these students so that they can have a better education.
Schools get labeled as failing when they can get all students to the level that the state says they need to be. But there are so many issues to take into consideration. I do think North Carolina teachers, as well as any individual who has
2). Instead of searching for a better educational environment, students look for better tests numbers. Lang Wood goes on by stating “Students can easily become discouraged and negative about education in general, which affects their learning ability” (par. 2). In addition to what Lang Wood believes, Stephens claims, students who are taking the test suffer from stress in result of worrying about passing it.
They stress day and night over these overrated tests, like previously stated channeling out the imagination, curiosity and good will. Besides being an imprecise measure for students, they use them to judge a teacher’s performance as well, essentially used to either reward or punish them. Standardized test are not helping us very much right now. In conclusion, the usage of standardized tests should be discontinued or by the very least lessened. These tests are not helping people, it’s initially having a negative effect on students and teachers.
Each perspective snowballs into the next creating a ripple effect that that can be the root cause of many other social issues of today. To look through a functionalists perspective you have to look at why the system is not functioning as it should causing the failure. Why is there is a lack of funding, teachers, resources, overcrowding, and graduating students who are ill prepared for real life. The system it seems is actually set up to fail. Each state has federal laws in place to regulate tests, curriculum, how much funding each school receives, to scholarship, and grants.