Issues in american education

It is truly difficult to fully describe the complexities of the American educational system, as there are primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education. In addition, there are federal Indian schools, an array of private schools, military academies (at secondary and tertiary levels), preschools, kindergartens, and private colleges/ universities. Add to this list the three levels of American university degrees – undergraduate (bachelor), graduate (master), and post-graduate (doctoral) – and you really do have a lot to chew on. So you can see that depending on what your interests are, you could do much research on American education.

1. What do you think a tertiary level of education?

2. Are the American university degrees equal to British ones?

3. What are the types of educational institutions mentioned in the article:

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Another reason why it is not an easy task to fully define American education is due to the fact that each of the 50 states, each country within each state, and each town/ city within each country has varying priorities, requirements, teacher licensing standards, curricula, and accreditation review procedures. The reason for this diversity in each of the states derives solely from the fact that the wording of the US Constitution does not directly address education. You may know that if the US Constitution does not specifically assign federal authority, then whatever issues that are not mentioned are reserved for each state to decide itself. Thus, education falls under state authority. Here are some interesting statistics that illustrate the division between local, state, and federal authority and expenditure: twenty years ago, total spending for public-schools amounted to more than $ 172 billion dollars; 50% of this money came from state resources, 44% from local (i.e. city, county) resources, and only 6% from federal resources.

Ex. 4 Education is not mentioned in the constitution of the United States. Read and discuss what is written about education in the Kazakhstani Constitution

Article 30

1. The citizens shall be guaranteed free secondary education in state educational establishments. Secondary education shall be obligatory.

2. A citizen shall have the right to receive on a competitive basis a higher education in a state higher educational establishment.

3. The citizens shall have the right to pay and receive an education in private educational establishments on the basis and terms established by law.

4. The state shall set uniform compulsory standards in education. The activity of any educational establishment must comply with these standards.

SCHOOLS IN AMERICA

One politician was invited to give a talk on Americanisms to the pupils of the school he had attended as a boy.

‘When I see your smiling faces before me’, he began in the accepted oratorical style, ‘ it takes me back to my childhood. Why is it, my dear girls and boys, you are all so happy?’

He paused for the rhetorical effect, and suddently saw a grimy hand rising up from the front row.

‘Well, my lad, what is it?’

‘The reason we’re so happy’, replied the boy, ‘is if you talk long enough we won’t have a geography lesson this morning.’

It is also hard to explain the important criticisms and the impact those criticisms have onthe educational systems. There are many national and international critics of American education and those voices should be, if not must be, recognized and addressed. There is a long list of criticisms on American education, but probably the hottest issue, billingual education, draws an enourmous amount of attention these days. The supporters of bilingual education firmly hold that instruction in both English and Spanish does not only integrate and bring harmony to the so-called Anglo culture and the Hispanic Culture, but also the dual linguistic instruction would certainly open opportunities for financially elite and lower class children. Some supporters state that Hispanic Americans have a constitutional right for fair and equal educational opportunities as any other citizen of the USA. The opposition, on the other hand, views many of these issues as mere ‘hogwash’. Although much of the ongoing rhetoric does not mention colored words like ‘hogwash’ directly, the opposition does justify keeping the status quo as it is though historical and academic sounding arguments. In short, the opposition upholds the somewhat illusionary image that the USA is composed of an Anglo culture and that English has always been ans always should be the only official language. Despite all of these different facets and issues that abound, there are some overall standards that can indeed be explained.

1) How many times the word ‘criticism’ is used in the article?

2) What is really criticized in the Educational system of the USA?

3) What is the opposition used to call the ‘hogwash’?

4) Do you agree that the USA is composed of an Anglo culture only? What are the other cultures to be found?

5) Is dual linguistic education possible in Kazakhstan or any other countries?

Each child between the age of 5 and 16 is required, by law, to attend school. Primary (grades 1- 9) school and high school (grades 10 – 12) are free for all citizens. No school requires any of its students to buy textbooks; rather, the school issues all books to students for the duration of the academic year. When the school year is over, students must return these books in the same condition as they were when they were issued. The school day is relatively long in the USA when you compare it to the other countries. Children of all ages usually begin school at 08.30 am and end sometime between 2.00 and 3.00 pm. Lunch is eaten in the canteenwhere students can buy a hot meal or unpack a bag lunch. Virtually all public schools offer a plethora of extra-curricular activities that include numerous clubs, sports teams, cheerleading, debate teams, archeology groups, etc. All students are encouraged to find an activity group they enjoy and participte in it.

Do you know what the word ‘SCHOOL’ means?

The original meaning of the Greek word schole, from which school is derived, was ‘leisure’. To the Greeks it seemed natural to occupy one’s leisure with learning and thinking, and schole came to mean ‘a place for learning’ as well as ‘leisure’. The Romans borrowed the Greek word as schola and employed Greek slaves as teachers. Christian missionaries later established schools throughout Europe and Latin schola became Old English schol.