American Education - Lowering The Bar

Throughout the years, the United States educational system has fallen behind in almost every category, ranging from graduation rates, to classroom performance. The government continues to fight its problems, as they tend to do, with money, as the United States spends more money per student then almost any other country, which averages to about $129,000 per student who completes grades K through 12.


Through the governments astounding $129,000 per student, it seems they still can't find money to pay the majority of teachers a more reasonable salary. Other countries, such as China, recruit teachers from the top of their college classes in order to better their educational system, giving each student the best possible chance to learn from the most well qualified teacher. It has been shown that the majority of students in other countries who face disadvantaged backgrounds are achieving the same success as those who do not face such problems. Also, many other countries have longer school years and shorter breaks, providing students with more time spent in the classroom, directly correlating to more time learning.


Many believe that todays classrooms and teachers are stuck in the past and are not able to keep up with the ever changing world around us. OECD Secretary-General Anger Gurria states, "They don't only produce children who know the matters by heart," Gurria said. "They're educated to understand and face the challenges of real life." As technology continues to increase in classrooms around the world, it seems many US teachers are not able to break the norm and begin teaching students the necessary information needed to succeed in the ever growing world we live in.


Through these provided links, I found some interesting points relating to this problem:

USA Today - Education

CBS News