The Downfall of Education in the USA
”No Child Left Behind.” seems to be failing. With the way education looks these days, more U.S. students are being left behind than ever before. America is a strong, powerful and resilient nation. The US is the “Land of the free, and the home of the brave”. However, America’s educational system is as outdated as that quote is old. The public school system in America is failing students’. The entire educational system is in need of an overhaul. With the U.S. educational system falling far behind other nations, the future of the U.S. at risk. The economic future, economic prosperity, the global position of the U.S. are all at risk. Students’ are not being prepared for life in the 21st century. Teachers are still teaching the same lesson plans of 20 years ago. If schools changed the curriculum to include lessons based on current career and job trends, that in itself would be a step in the right direction. Math, reading and science are all important subjects that should be mandatory however, new subjects need to be integrated to help prepare students for the careers of the future. Engineering, technology, communications are all necessary subjects that will give students an upper hand for when they enter the real world.
Students need to be taught new skills that coincide with today's job market. Academics along with life skills such as communication will help students be self sufficient. Students are not being taught how to survive in todays’ world, they are being taught simple math equations and how to make pottery. Teachers’ need to implement lesson plans that students are able to relate to. Outdated lesson plans that are made up of questions with only one right answer is not adequate material for building minds and
developing critical thinking skills. Students’ need to be challenged, and be given the space and tools to meet these challenges.
“Preparation for tomorrow is best served by meaningful education today” (Eisner, 2003, p. 7) This idea of preparation is critical to our Nation’s livelihood. If education stays the same, so will the next generations. As the U.S. steadily falls further behind academically, the job market will be
next to go. If the U.S. is not capable of educating its people to meet the requirements that technology is creating today and tomorrow, then how will the US survive?
The National Alliance of Business, I. C., & Wheeling Community Consolidated School District 21, I. L found that “Although U.S. industry has been reengineered to be the best in the world, companies today have a difficult time finding the skilled workers in order to stay competitive in the global economy.” (Educational Resources Information Center (U.S.), 1999) This can be seen in almost every job field in the U.S. today. In order for students’ to keep up and earn a decent wage in today’s economy, most students will need a post-secondary education at the very least. Employers’ will hire based on education and skill-much of what today's generation is lacking. Curriculums that are implemented with technology and taught by passionate teachers, will be an important first step in preparing students to become the creators and innovators of the future.
