I'm sure by the title, one can infer that I am most likely referring to education is some way, shape or form. That inference would be completely rational and I thank you. To elaborate further, the United States was ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in mathematics among the 34 O.C.E.D. participating countries. Now, to be fair, there was a standardized test that were given to 15 year olds in order to arrive at these figures, but nonetheless there are only two real explanation for these results. Either, the youth of the United States, as a whole are gradually losing the capacity compete intellectually with the rest of the developed world OR they are just lazy.
I recently came upon a statistic that claims 33% of High School students drop out of school and I thought to myself--BUT IT'S FREE! In addition, assuming that this is correct, then that would mean that MORE than a third of High School freshmen never make it to the University! Obviously I don't want to be too harsh because of course the argument can be made that there is a lack of motivation, bad curriculum, biased teachers and the list can be continuously built. However, there is absolutely no reason that a student shouldn't take it upon themselves to learn. In my own personal opinion, I find it unacceptable that education has to incentivized beyond the fact that it supplies the means for a successful adult life just so that students will attend classes. Additionally, I've heard all of the excuses about being from a low-income neighborhood and having a hostile living environment, but some of the most extraordinary scholars have arisen from the very same conditions. So, that idea is a fallacy.
In essence, my concern is the downward spiral of intelligence in the United States. How exactly are we to compete with the rest of the world if this is where we currently stand and they plan to cut funding for education? What more do we have to do to encourage our children to take it upon themselves to learn?
there is an african proverb that may apply here:
ReplyDelete"it takes a village to raise a child."
when it comes to education, it begins at home...if parents don't invest in those crucial first five years and inculcate the yearning and value for education into a child, it will be extremely difficult to even motivate that child later on... I find that teachers aren't given enough credit anymore. it is not a job that really pays for the work and time invested in it(per child, babysitters earn more money than the average teacher) and many of them really enjoy imparting knowledge. I will say though that there needs to be more stringent measures when hiring and evaluating a teacher though...meaning, we hire highly qualified individuals that are knowledgeable in their subject areas and have been trained to teach. of course, enthusiasm is contagious though! And then, you always have the student...the student is never to blame (trial lawyers made us sure on that one!). But really, it all begins at home...