American education’s failing report card is a national embarrassment.
In a Washington Post analysis, education experts concluded that the United States is headed to its “worst year ever in the nation’s history of education rankings.”
From a post-9/11 world, our education system has become more focused on military careers for young Americans and less focused on nurturing the human potential of our children.
What’s wrong with our system? You’re probably aware that our school system no longer considers the ability to pass an entrance exam (the SAT) to be part of a student’s success. Why is that? Because the system is more concerned about getting these talented kids into the military.
Many of our students feel let down. This year’s poor grade-reporters came from a wide variety of backgrounds, but all had one thing in common: parents who had been disappointed in the educational system for years. The schools that their kids attended felt they could not turn them around. They didn’t even try.
Schools are failing. They see a “gift” being given to the economy and they act like it’s a “bargain.” That is, they turn their backs on all their students – especially the ones who are the least qualified for the school system.
Some teachers have been fired for being able to provide a better education for their students, but the schools are more concerned with their bottom lines than they are with the education of their students.
This is a national disgrace.
We need to wake up! The American education system is failing and it cannot be fixed with more money. We need to demand real accountability by school districts – to take on the system where it hurts schools the most: in the districts with the least potential for turnaround.
This is going to take a lot of work to change, but I hope to see change soon.
We need to be able to look at student test results and not be impressed by something like a 7th grade math grade average. We need to look at student test results and see that a school district is losing the most children to the achievement gap (for the same reasons as the