A Glance at Public Education today

The United States Education system today is failing. It is failing parents, it is failing teachers, and it is failing our students. The need for reform goes way past doing away with No Child Left Behind. The U.S. is in a societal state of flux, and the current educational system is trying to be all things to all people. In an effort to do this, educators and administrators have lost sight of why they are in public education, and have done a grave disservice to students. In a global world, the societal rule books have all been thrown out, and moral relativism has taken over.

In an effort for full disclosure, I am a teacher. I have been now for four years. It has been the four most demanding years of my life. One in which all the walls of idealism about the world have crumbled, and I have seen both the best and worst of humanity. If you want a true snapshot of the U.S., just spend a day or two in a public school. If only parents could or would do the same, they would see a mirror reflected back with harsh reality. You might ask, "What would we see?" They would see students sleeping in class, not bringing even the simplest of materials to class, a complete lack of respect for teachers, drug dealing, teenage sex (yes, on campus), and teachers and administrators looking the other way.

Now, some might say these things have always happened in public schools. To a certain extent, they would be right. There were always students who were not fit for the educational institution, whether it be because their interest lay elsewhere or they were simply too smart. Societal standards have shifted to such a degree today that it is almost impossible for teachers to teach. Kids are being raised by kids. One of my first parent conferences was with a parent of a sixteen year old. The mother walked in, and she was my age. It was very evident within the first few moments of the meeting that the parent was defending the child. The child's problems were the school's fault. Students today are apathetic, self centered, lacking common behavioral skills, and not performing to standards. Simply put, schools are being held accountable, and not the parents or students.

Teachers are put in a no win situation. The more referrals they send to an administrator, the more it appears the teacher does not have control - so why write them up? Administrators will appease the parents of any problem, right or wrong. It is as if the public education system is afraid; afraid to stand up for its students, afraid of discipline, afraid of parents, and afraid of public perception. Since when has perception changed so much that educators have become the "bad guys"? There isn't an educator I know that doesn't have the best interest of all their students at heart with every decision made.

There are bad teachers. All teachers are not meant to teach, or are in it for the wrong reasons. A teacher has to be many things to their students - teacher, adviser, counselor supporter. Some cannot do this. The same can be said of administrators. They become so desensitized to the everyday grind of dealing with the problems that they become oblivious to the all too obvious reality around them. They do not have the sense enough to even back their own teachers. They are more like politicians than educators.

Testing is another major factor. Can students be given any more tests? In the course of the year, in addition to unit tests that are given, students have four additional tests: the high school exit exam, end of course exams, psat, and maps testing (language and math proficiency). Educators are constantly under the gun with high stakes testing, and their scores determine what they teach, and if they get to keep their jobs. The trend is education today is differentiated instruction. It uses alternative assessment methods to test students' knowledge on content. Now, the states are going to give them pencil/paper state exams, but teachers are giving them alternative assessments in the classroom. The dichotomy simply doesn't make sense. How can students be prepared for traditional assessments, when teachers are increasingly being told not to use them? Schools themselves are big part of the problem.

As a technologically advanced society continues to grow, education faces many problems. Community and parental involvement needs to be highly advocated and even required. States like Arizona are currently trying to establish what they are calling "traditional" schools. These schools would require parents and students to sign contracts. The contracts would stipulate that parents must sign homework on a nightly basis, that both parent and student must perform so many school community service hours every year, and parents must volunteer so many hours a year at the school and students must adhere to a strict code of conduct. Not following these guidelines could result in expulsion or not being able to attend the following year. Society, and within the society, the educational institution, needs to rethink the way in which we go about educating the children of the U.S. We are failing our children, at home and at school. Accountability needs to be set not only for schools, but for students and parents.