More people than ever are enrolling in colleges and universities across the country.† The College of Wooster itself is experiencing its largest incoming class in the school’s history.† However, with recent studies ranking the United States 25th and 21st in math and science, respectively, out of 30 industrialized countries, alarm bells have been going off across high schools nationwide.† Even more frightening is that 68 percent of all eighth graders can’t read at an eighth grade reading level, and scarier still is the fact that 1.2 million students drop out of high school every year (one every twenty-six seconds!).† These troublesome statistics are not just limited to the education sector, either, as the increased number of dropouts leads to an augmented amount of crimes across America.† $9,600 is spent annually on students, compared to $22,600 annually on inmates.
Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education, has been trying to figure out what’s derailed U.S. Education.† One finger has been pointed towards the school boards, which set the curricula.† Starting with a Kansas State School Board decision in 1999 ó which denied public schools from teaching evolution ó standards have become increasingly warped.
This March, Texas passed an extremely conservative curriculum which requires schools to teach about the conjunction of church and state, the conservative resurgence of the 1980s (including the history of the National Rifle Association) and demands that Martin Luther King Jr.’s non-violent approach to the civil rights movement be de-emphasized in favor of learning about the Black Panthers.
Another finger has been pointed towards the quality of students.† In today’s age, where fifth graders have iPhones, video games are played constantly and televisions across America are on between six and seven hours a day, there is a very strong case for our ADD society playing a role in the current educational problem.
While school boards and video games deserve some blame, many have looked towards the problematic implementation of No Child Left Behind, an act passed by President George W. Bush which focused on establishing standards on which schools judge their students.† If students passed a particular test that focused on reading, writing, science, or math, their school would receive extra funding.
While initially No Child Left Behind was promising, thousands of schools across the country exploited the standards and did not teach anything outside of what would be on the test.† This, combined with what many perceive to be unrealistic expectations laid out by the act, created significant loopholes in the system.
The problem is compounded by larger class sizes and apathetic teachers, too.† Students have a harder time developing in larger classrooms, and teachers have grown more frustrated with their low pay and challenging students.† While “magnet” schools have been helpful by recruiting bright, willing teachers and providing strong educations for their students, their limits on class size have left many on the outside looking in.
There have been efforts to improve the situation.† Michelle Rhee, the D.C. Chancellor of Education, has set a nationwide example by firing disinterested, poor, and apathetic teachers from any school.† Her organization, The New Teacher Project, has focused on recruiting passionate teachers across the country, who are then placed in underperforming schools in D.C. and other schools nationwide.
Geoffery Canada, the president of Harlem Children’s Zone, has also been able to change the lives of thousands of inner city students.† Working with mostly private donations, he has built a new magnet school in Harlem with a 6-1 student teacher ratio, a world-class gym and a cafeteria that serves healthy foods† in order to fight off obesity.† Each child who attends the Academy also gets a $250 college fund, one that grows over the course of their education and eventually pays for most of the cost of a public university.† Outside of his Promise Academy, he has funded SAT tutoring to area high schoolers and put reading labs into many Harlem area schools, too.
In recent years, the United States has been failing one of its most important tests.† School Boards have been teaching politically charged curricula, students have begun focusing more on video games than classes, and teachers have become increasingly unable to do their jobs effectively with more troublesome students.† Fortunately, there have been individuals, like Michelle Rhee and Geoffery Canada, and organizations, such as Teach for America and City Year, making changes nationwide.
However, all of their work can only do so much.† It’s up to those of us who are lucky enough to attend great colleges and universities like this one.† Legislatively, the possibilities are wonderful.† We can push for a refinement of No Child Left Behind.† We can push for a fairer curriculum.† Maybe you can even commit to touching a student’s life personally.
Ramsey Kincannon is a contributor to the Voice. He can be reached for comment at RKincannon12@wooster.edu.