Task Three Question

Would you like to explore the problems in our educational system and provide your own opinions and solutions?

1/3 of students today drop out before graduating high school.  An alarming number of teachers are leaving the profession within five years.  The U.S. ranks 21st and 17th in the world in science and math even though we're the richest country in the world.  (The Today Show, “Education Nation Series”)

I’m sure there are more than these 3 problems within our educational system, but these are the three issues I’m going to explore. First, we need to ask ourselves why: Why are so many students dropping out, why are teaching leaving within the first five years and why is the United States 21^st and 17^th in the world in science and math scores.

I think students are dropping out because they are bored, not challenged and not understood. If a student isn’t interested in a subject they tend to day dream and not pay attention; some of these behaviors maybe a result of poor eating habits and lack of stimulation. It’s been proven that if students eat right and exercise they tend to be more alert and willing to pay attention and even participate in class. I blame the teachers for not challenging the students. If all the teacher does is give the student busy because they don’t care. How is that the students fault? They have been taught since preschool to listen and do what they teacher says and if the teacher tells them to do busy work, they do it. In our diverse society, I can see how a student can go without being understood. Majority of the teachers only relate to those students that are “normal”. I think it’s hard for a teacher to show interest in a student, when that student may be into activities that the teacher doesn’t agree with or doesn’t want to understand.

My suggested solution is to fit the student to the activities or classes they enjoy, similar to the college environment. Sure there are going to be core classes that I student must pass, but give them more options and let them feel like they are in control of their education, instead of the education controlling them.

As far as the teachers leaving the profession goes, many of them don’t realize teaching is harder than what they thought it would be and the pay really does suck. Within the first five years, they get burned out by the amount of time they have to dedicate and start looking for something new that will pay more. Majority of them don’t realize it takes a master degree and a doctrine to make substantial income in the teaching profession.

I think a multiple year job-shadowing or internship would be beneficial in the longevity of teachers today. Make sure they completely understand and know the responsibilities of a teacher and the lack of financial reward that comes with it.

Test results are very touchy subject to discuss, there are so many variables to tracking test scores, and it’s hard to justify the importance of them. I want to refer to the five Ws: Who, What, When, Where and Why. Who’s taking the tests, inner city or suburban students? What did they cover? When were they taken; time of day and day of the week? This can really affect the results of a test. Let’s say it was right after lunch and the student ate too much, they are going to be lethargic during the test, resulting in lower scores. Where were they taken, inner city or suburban schools? Why take them at all? The only fair way to rank the United States students against the rest of the world is to give the same tests to everyone at the giving time; then and only then will we be able to compare results evenly and fairly. This is what I mean; give the tests to the United State’s students at 8:30am on a Tuesday and continue with this procedure for the rest of the world that is being compared.