Declining Standards as Educational Challenges in America

Introduction

The American education system has been clogged with numerous challenges in the recent past. Pointing out the most pressing problem and the one that needs to be prioritized or needs urgent action is a challenge itself. But cases of indiscipline in schools are surely an issue that continues to worry all involved in the education sector. To put it in simple terms, everyone is involved in this issue. For one, the major priority of education is to bring up self-reliant individuals who will contribute to nation-building.

Main body

So if one of the individuals is in a way hampered from achieving adequate education, then the whole country stands to suffer. Some of the most commonplace causes of indiscipline include:

• Truancy
• Disrespect of teachers and the authorities in general by students has become alarmingly common. Some authorities retire from demanding respect from students.
• Lack of manners.
• Fights. Picking up fights for even very mundane issues has almost become a hobby to some students.
• Use of abusive language. This is closely connected with the lack of respect indicated earlier.
• Violence
• Extreme cases of violence have been identified whereby students shoot people indiscriminately. (Eduguide)

For indiscipline to become rampant in grade and high schools in the United States, several reasons have contributed to this. This process has however taken a long time to be where it is today. It is for instance difficult to understand why some students behave the way they do. For example, in the state of Philadelphia, roughly 26,000 students do not attend school in a day.

Another major problem identifiable in the American grade and high school system is a phenomenon that has to be known as dumbing down. Dumbing down of the education curriculum has not only been seen as dumbing down the American education but the American minds as well. There is a noted discrepancy in the rate of dumbing down of education among states. For instance, a fourth-grader who has passed the proficiency test in the state of Tennessee will fail to achieve this in the state of South Carolina or Massachusetts. Critiques have called for the reevaluation of education policies that affect this field.

Of major concern is the No Child Left Behind Law. The law has given way for education inequities throughout the United States. The law does not provide a common yardstick that can be used to determine whether students are getting enough or desired level of education. According to the law, school children are supposed to be proficient in math and reading by the year 2014. each state however creates its tests used to set standards. The major concern about this law is that students are put at risk of underachievement. The law requires curriculum to be watered down so that every student despite his or her ability is put to a reasonable curriculum he or she can manage. This has the following impact on students:

1. Gifted students become less motivated
2. Students who would have otherwise performed averagely excel. This is indeed an undesired misconception.
3. Above-average students are not given the chance to excel as the case would have been if this law was not in place. (Bainbridge)

As a result of this development, stakeholders have asked the government to reconsider this law. It is of course well-intended but the effects of this law have been seen as causing more harm than good. Gifted students are without question getting a raw deal from this law. This law has also been cited as a possible reason for the declining standards of education in the United States. Paradoxically, there has been a steady improvement of students achieving rather unexpected standards. This has been misleading because of the abovementioned concern regarding dumbing down. (time)

Conclusion

A concerted effort by all involved in education and especially is needed if American education is to be saved from the general decline witnessed today. Tackling indiscipline should be a priority and stakeholders should come up with creative methods of dealing with this problem.

The best place to start of course is identifying the root causes of this. There is also a sense of urgency as far as reviewing the No Child Left Behind Law. Helping less than average students is a positive move that needs to be sustained but not at the expense of gifted or above-average students. The law should therefore be reviewed so that this bunch of students gets curriculum and responsibility relevant to them. (Bainbridge)

References

Bainbridge, Carol: Effects of dumbed-down curriculum on gifted kids. Web.

How to raise standards in American education. Web.

Discipline in schools. Web.