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.
What do you think a tertiary level of education?
Are the American university degrees equal to British ones?
What are the types of educational institutions mentioned in the article:
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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
A
rticle
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
O
ne
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.’
I
t
is also hard to explain the important criticisms and the impact
those criticisms have on
the
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.
How many times the word ‘criticism’ is used in the article?
What is really criticized in the Educational system of the USA?
What is the opposition used to call the ‘hogwash’?
Do you agree that the USA is composed of an Anglo culture only? What are the other cultures to be found?
Is dual linguistic education possible in Kazakhstan or any other countries?
E
ach
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 canteen
where
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.
D
o
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.
Could you possibly imagine the timetable for the Greek school.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After the age of 16, a student may legally drop out of school. This means the student can decide if s/he wants to earn a high school diploma or not. Most students remain in school until the education is over. Students usually leave high school at age of 17 or 18 after taking a nationally recognized standardized test, the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). High school graduates may either start work (an unattractive option), enter a trade school, or start university studies.