The world is constantly changing and those who fall behind fail to adjust, quite like the American public education system. Although policymakers are doing their best to create changes to the American public education system, but not all of them are student-friendly. Public education in the USA still has got plenty of room for improvement. It will not be wrong to say that they are in a state of crisis. While some of the issues had been long-standing one, others are quite new that has been bought about by technological advances, policy changes and general change that occur with time. If you need assignment writing service then you should contact our top assignment writers.
American critics believe the root to most of the problems with education lies in the sheer lack of focus on the results. On that note, here are 9 major problems faced by the public education system.
1. Poverty
As per a report from Technorati, 22% of US children are living below the poverty level. According to American graduates, poverty is defined as a family of four with an income level of $23,050 or lower. It has been noticed students below the poverty level are experiencing the highest dropout rates. Taking inadequate food or sleep leads them to underperform in their studies. Despite knowing the problem, schools can only do something if they have something to go around.
2. Bullying
Another major problem that students face in public education is bullying. It may not be a new problem, but it has deeply impacted students’ learning aptitude. Technology has opened up more opportunities for bullies to act upon their victims through social networking, posting, texting and other visual interactions. There have been quite a number of suicides that can be traced to bullying. Even today, laws are still not clear on cyberbullying, which leads to more challenges. This is because teachers, parents and even administrators do not know how to handle such issues legally. If you need Bioinformatics assignment help then you should contact our top assignment writers.
3. Inequality
The US education system is flawed with inequality. It is considered to be one of the most unequal systems in the industrialized world since the learning opportunities are completely based on their class or social status. Students who belong from low social status also known as minority are often marginalized when it comes to curriculum, quality education, resources, quality educational infrastructure, skilled teachers, allocation of funds and opportunities. Schools in poor neighborhood are neglected often and they do not get the quality standard education as compared to schools from rich cities and neighborhood.
4. Family Factors
Family factors also play a huge role when it comes to the ability of teachers to teach students. Teachers and principals both agree that what children go through at home impact students’ propensity to learn. Some of the serious issues that students encounter are poverty, violence, single parents, divorce, and many others that affect their learning in school. There is only limited to what administrators and teachers can do with children in less-than-ideal family environments.
5. Technology
Students are getting increasingly addicted to technology and thus often get distracted from their schoolwork. Due to this, teachers often cannot properly keep students’ attention and interest when trying to teach them new concepts.
It has become a necessity for classrooms to be equipped with proper technologies to cater to the requirements of the 21st century students. Unfortunately, cash-strapped schools are struggling to gather proper funding to integrate technology into their classrooms.
6. Behavioural Issues in Students
Public school teachers are often found complaining about students being apathetic and disrespectful towards their teachers. According to a poll from the National Center for Education Statistics, problems such as absenteeism, apathy, tardiness, and disrespect are some crucial challenges faced by teachers. These issues are usually seen at the secondary school level.
7. Student Health
In the US, obesity has reached an epidemic proportion. Poor eating habits lead students to lower performance. Obesity also increases the risk of other major health conditions like diabetes, and high pressure, resulting in higher rates of absenteeism and more academic issues.
Let’s move a national school lunch movement took the initiative to introduce healthier eating options into school lunchrooms across the country. In 2012, the US Department of Agriculture added new guidelines for making sure students in school get more nutritional quality of the meals.
Physical activities are becoming mandatory for all students irrespective of their ages. Yet the country seems to be a long way to offer and promote better health conditions on a large scale.
8. Size of the Classroom
You will find several areas in the country that has got classrooms that are literally bursting out. Fairfax County in Virginia looked into proposals for improving the size of the classrooms within the budget they have.
Classroom numbers are bound to get affected when the money is tight Teachers have repeatedly mentioned that they cannot focus on the needs of every student when the number of students exceeds 30. However, students who are living in poverty or are a minority and male students happen to enjoy benefits the most from smaller classroom sizes.
9. Funding
Budget cuts are probably the problem that is bringing more problems for more public schools in recent years. The pandemic had been the major cause of schools losing funds. Less funding leads to fewer resources, smaller staff and fewer students. As per the Century Foundation (TCF) 2020, the US public education system seems to be underfunding K-12 schools by an approx $150 billion on an annual basis. This they are robbing over 300 million resources from school children that they require for being successful in the classroom. Many have agreed that funding has caused many of the problems arising in public education in the first place. Public schools have got many problems, and identifying them is half the battle.
SUMMING UP,
Identifying key issues in public education in the USA is one step closer to resolving them. School is where students can nurture their critical thinking, so administrators or the State Government must maintain a respectful classroom climate. Despite all political rhetoric and societal emphasis on school, the American education system still seems to be underperforming in various ways. There need to be improved curricula, and community-based problems should be properly addressed to provide students with a better future.
AUTHOR BIO: Gary Davidson is a professional blogger who mostly writes on academic issues faced by students in the USA. He is also associated with MyAssignmenthelp.com, one of the top assignment help services in the USA. He also loves playing baseball in his free time.
