by Joan Inong

Created on: September 16, 2009

The educational system in America has been blatantly showing its problems to American society for the past two or more decades. Out of our lack of concern or lack of ability to act or for whatever reason, we have somehow continued to allow these problems in the educational system to grow and worsen.

The lack of funding has not only allowed our children to be left behind, but has allowed more people in administrations and in the bureaucracy to earn more money. As a former student of one of the largest school districts in the country, LAUSD, I could attest to the old materials and furniture that the students had to deal with. We used textbooks that were forty years old, most of which did not include recent discoveries or knowledge and many of which used old methods to answer problems.

The teachers are not the only ones to blame, though they may play a part in the problem, too. Many teachers do not take the time to develop their student-teacher relationships. They rarely communicate with their students' parents. The teachers may also be suffering from a lack of materials, again a symptom from problem number one described previously. But most of all, it has become too easy to become a teacher. We may choose qualified individuals who are intelligent, but their intelligence says nothing about their ability to teach. This problem can be found in all stages of the educational system, from elementary schools to colleges.

Parents also have a lack of involvement in their child's education. Though schools will host Back-to-School Nights and parent-teacher conferences, these events are usually 2 days out of the whole school year, and do nothing for the child's actual education. After these parent-teacher conferences, the parents and teachers rarely communicate. As a result, the parents become out of touch, and will only know about their child's education through the overused question, So, how's school?

At the same time, students have a responsibility for themselves. Every child's one and only responsibility is to get a good education so that they may have a greater chance of having a successful life, which may mean having financial security or knowing that one has accomplished something as important as attaining an education. If students are not motivated to finish school, they have no reason to do so. They figure that they can get a minimum-wage job, and that it would keep them happy for some time.

The educational system has had a thorn in its side for the past few decades. Most people know about these problems, but little has been done to correct them. Though not all educational systems are perfect, America should be able to have a better system than it has now.

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