Ryan Jones

646 West 3500 South

Bountiful, Utah 84010

Ronald Bohannon, MA
SLCC Department of English
4600 South Redwood Road
Taylorsville, UT 84123

To whom this may concern:

I am choosing the subject of education. The reason is that I have learned the importance of education.
I would like to share my views, research, and experiences on education. My opinion on education in
its traditional form is not for everyone. It can be found in so many forms and deliver itself in so many
ways it's almost hard to explain what education is. It can help you get what you want out of life, like
bettering one's self, providing for your family, traveling, being able to buy what you want and becoming
increasing knowledge.
I do not see many problems with education itself, but there is a problem with the generic form one fits
all approach. Everyone learns at a different speed and level. It has taken me 18 years to finally come to
accept that it is something that I need to succeed in my life. That is why I am here writing this paper. I
wish I would have taken more time and learned at a younger age about the importance of this thing
called education.

Sincerely,

Ryan Jones






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Why is American Education Failing?
The education system in the United States has its flaws, since the 1970s the United States has
seen itself in a downward trend when placed in comparison to other countries. The fundamental
question that arises here is; are other countries catching up to the United States in education policy or
is the current education to blame? In an attempt to answer that question I will show how the
American Education model may no longer be a viable option. First, by looking at the path of
acceptance on what and how children learn. Next, the US education system has a focus on maintaining
itself, rather than adapting and reforming. Finally, community and family involvement is just as
fundamental as government intervention.
The education system is much the same today as it was when I went to school, and has not
changed much since my parents went to school. I remember hating school, even as a kindergartner. I
did not want to go to class or learn as my classmates loved to learn. I found out in junior high that I
have a disorder called language interpretation disorder. At this point, I was not caring about my
future because it was easier not to. I had a care free life. My parents tried their hardest to make
education work for me; they went to the extent of coming to class with me and making cards for my
teachers to fill out to verify that my homework was turned in. At that point I gave up and did not care
anymore. It continued into high school and turned into a bigger problem. What I needed most, an
education, I was destroying every day I went to school. I didnt show up to class and night school was
just easier so I would fail classes in school to attend night school. I have despised traditional education
my whole life and I feel my mind is changing slowly. Why has it taken so long for me to realize this? I
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think my small young family of four containing myself, wife, daughter and son are a huge part of it. I
feel that I need to show my kids that education is important. Both of my kids do well in school and it
just amazes me because it is so foreign to me that they enjoy it so much. I have no sense of what their
desire is for doing well in school and enjoying it. I have found faith in myself and am not hiding behind
my diagnosis like I have my whole life. My desire to learn and become more book smart has grown.
So, I did some research into the education system and have found out how much lower education has
failed me, as a child I remember teachers giving up on me and even moving on with class without me
understanding what was being taught. These events have had an effect on me even into my young
adult life. I am not putting all the blame on the system because a portion of it was me. But had my
teachers taken my ability and disability into consideration, they could have altered the curriculum and
possibly changed my school experience.
This leads me to my first point: We need to fight fiercely for our right to be educated in the
appropriate way for each child. I feel for education to be successful it needs four components: human
capital, core of knowledge, effective structures and performance. We need to be less focused on one
structure of learning and teach what people are interested in. We need to take the passivity's from
what other countries have succeeded in and adapt them in our curriculum. Our kids deserve to be
educated in a way that is going to make it easier for higher education.
For me, as a child, this would have worked out so much better than just a structured way of
learning. If they would have just taken my interests and developed a more creative and positive way
of teaching me, I would have had a more positive educational experience. That is not to undermine the
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basic knowledge that people need, but to focus on it exclusively fails. Everyone does not learn at the
same speed some are slower or faster than others. Neither one is better than the other, they are just
different. The emphasis of learning what you are good at, and feeding that passion for learning, is what
is important. At what cost are we willing to let our children fail at school and not see that lower
education is an important element in our lives?
Other countries are completely different from the United States. A few with successful
education systems include Canada, Finland, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. They hire the best
educated teachers and are paying them well for what they do. Teachers find peer groups through the
school and find knowledge that they can use from each other in their teachings. They have external
supports like tutors and study groups that support them in teaching to the fullest. When teachers have
these resources, they are encouraged to become proficient in what they are teaching. In doing so our
children get a better chance at a good start of an education. So, choosing an excellent pool of teachers
is beneficial to our school system as it has been seen in other countries. We as a people and the
educational system need to prioritize where our teachers come from and make sure they have training
and other educational resources for improving their knowledge for teaching. Teachers need to
remember to look around at their peers and see how they can benefit from, including the different
ways that each teacher teaches.
To iterate my second point, I would like to quote Jal Mehga, "Why American Education Fails.".
He says,
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If the United States wants to lead the world in student achievement, it will need to
borrow some ideas from the countries that currently top international rankings. Rather
than simply holding accountable the teachers and schools that have failed to live up to
expectations, the country will need to build a new system from the ground up - an
expert profession that can consistently deliver high levels of performance.
If the United States wants to be proficient in education we need to change how education is taught, we
need to borrow skills and experience from other countries and use them. Teaching needs to be
brought to a new standard of success. In doing this it will help our children learn better and at their
speed and desires. Lower education needs to have an Individualized Education Program, otherwise
known as an IEP, for each student to find out what their struggles and successes are. That way, we can
better adapt to what the students need.
What happens in lower education has an effect in higher education. All schools are connected,
one leading to the other. If one fails they all fail. The quality of education needs to be modified and
revamped, this has been noticed since the 50's as Arthur Bestor wrote about in his book Educational
Wastelands-the Retreat from Learning in our Public Schools. He complained that left-wing professors
were undermining higher education and trying to corrupt the training of future teachers. Bestor writes
about K-12 undermines higher education in two ways. First high school graduates are poorly prepared
for higher education. This in terms makes the colleges have to reteach what should have been learned
in high school. Second professors should be concerned with what is being taught in K-12. It seems
that the theories and methods are not up to standards needed for entering higher education.
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There are 6 methods that do most of the damage: Constructivism prevents teachers from
teaching; teachers need to be able to teach. Cooperative learning mandates that students are always
cocooned inside a group. Kids need to learn to be independent and do their work individually, though
some group learning is beneficial. Prior knowledge forces the teacher to waste time assessing what
each child already knows. This indicates that we should be teaching where the child is, not wasting
time finding where the child is at. Learning styles dictate that teachers find which style each student
needs. We need to sharpen the weakness that our kids have by not accommodating their strengths.
Reading and Math Curriculum, at the elementary level, are among the most destructive of all. Point is,
public schools are filled with counterproductive ideas. Who can oppose these gimmicks better than an
informed and feisty professoriate? (Bruce D Price, School Improvement-Article, December 18, 2013)
Professors need to be more involved in K-12 schooling.
Who is making the right decision for the kids? Is it the reformers that are trying to change our
schools year after year? They are the ones who make our schools what they are today. We need to act
on what we as a people know is right and what is needed for our schools. Schooling shouldn't be
dictated by these reformers that try to fix the reoccurring issue with band aid fixes. We need to start
standing up for public education and not all the garbage that comes with it. This brings me to my third
point: that our schools need more community involvement and less government mandates.
American education has had its problems as Bruce D Price stated in Everyone Should Oppose
Public Education. American education has had problems and failure galore as it pursued John Deweys
demand for social engineering, Constructivist practices, and a left-wing warping of what education
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should be. In all that time, no criticism was accepted as legitimate. These problems have been around
for almost a century now. People need to understand that there is a problem with the way education is
taught and implemented and we need to stand up against it. We need not be afraid of hurting feelings,
stating truths and making a difference from facts and methods that have worked in other countries.
The theories and methods that are used in public schools are so out dated and need to be revamped
and remodeled for the better of our children. Don't our children deserve to learn in a productive and
beneficial way? Information that is taught in our schools is now ridiculous and out dated, we need to
be proactive with our educational ways and get them ready for higher education.
We need to stop believing people are honest and sincere, especially the people on the top of
the school system. We need to become more cynical and really pay attention to what is going on in our
school systems. This is an analogy of what's going on:
Its very much like the situation where a neighbor dies of food poisoning. You feel sorry
for the widow. Later you hear that a second husband died of food poisoning. How many
husbands have to die before you think: the witch is killing these guys for the insurance.
In the case of public schools, we are on the tenth or eleventh husband. (Bruce D Price,
Everyone Should Oppose Public Education, July 27, 2013)
We need to understand that the curriculum and theories used in public schools does not give our kids
an education. We need our children to want to be educated and understand fully the benefits of
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education. Like bettering one's self, providing for your family, traveling, being able to buy what you
want and becoming increasing knowledge
I feel the government is honestly trying to help and doesn't know how. They implement ideas
and reasons for change and fail at it miserably every time. There is a reason for this: it is because they
do it from afar. They have no idea what is actually going on in the classroom they just know by the
numbers that it needs to be fixed. The No Child Left Behind Act was implemented by President Bush on
January 8, 2002. No Child Left Behind Act had some positive motives but is slowly failing. There was
annual testing to be started by 2005-06 school year: The states were required to begin testing students
in grades 3-8 in reading and mathematics. By 2013-2014 the academic progress needed to be at a
proficient level on a state test. Report cards were reported to the government starting in 2002-03
school year. Teacher qualifications should be at highly qualified by the end of 2005-06 school years.
What does highly qualified mean? It meant that a teacher was certified and demonstrably proficient
in his or her subject matter. By the end of the 2005-06 school year, all school paraprofessionals hired
with Title I money must have completed at least two years of college, obtained an associates degree or
higher, or passed an evaluation to demonstrate knowledge and teaching ability. Funding was to target
school districts with concentrations of poor children. The law also included provisions intended to give
states and districts greater flexibility in how they spent a portion of their federal allotments.
The U.S decreased our investment in education by 1% between the economic crises in 2008-
2010. During the same time, it seemed to increase in other countries by 5%. We are falling behind in
funding for our educators and kids. Funding needs to be directed more towards the public education.
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It is a battle that we are losing slowly. The U.S. also lags behind in the area of early childhood
education. In most countries education begins at an earlier age than in the U.S. For example, only 50%
are enrolled in early childhood programs at age 3. In Denmark, France, Spain, and other countries,
more than 90 percent of children are enrolled by that age. The U.S used to be better at directing their
money for the public education and the students that needed it the most. The typical age for entering
early childhood education in the United States is four years old, but in 2011, only 78% of children this
age were enrolled, compared with 85% across OECD (The Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development) countries. Enrollment rates have improved in the U.S. since 2005, when 65% of 4-year-
olds in the United States were enrolled. Compared to where other nations stand, however, there is
much room for improvement. The U.S. is one of the few that invests in a regressive way. Children who
need (public funding) the most get the least of it, said Andreas Schleicher, an education policy adviser
to the OECD.
The United States need to come together as communities, states, and as a country and improve
education as a whole. If we keep kids and education in mind we can find a solution to this growing
problem that we have on our hands, namely the narrow path of acceptance for teaching and learning
practices, a lack of evolution of our standards and requirements, and a lack of community involvement.
Education needs to be individualized by testing and figuring out where the interests of the students are.
We need to follow the examples of other countries and adopt their positive practices as our own. We
must invest ourselves emotionally and mentally into education instead of allowing government to be
the major influence. If we do nothing, the problem is just going to worsen with time and eventually fail.
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Work Cited
Denning, Steve. "What Does It Mean To Be Educated?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 31 July 2011. Web. .
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/07/31/what-does-it-mean-to-be-educated>.
Mehta, Jal. "Why American Education Fails." Global. N.p., 18 Jan. 2014. Web. .
<http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139113/jal-mehta/why-american-education-fails>.
"No child left behind." No Child Left Behind. N.p., 4 Aug. 2011. Web. . <http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/no-
child-left-behind>.
Price, Bruce. "College Professors Should Be More Involved In K-12 Education." College Professors Should Be More
Involved In K-12 Education. N.p., 12 Dec. 2013. Web. <http://www.edarticle.com/articles/42821/college-
professors-should-be-more-involved-in-k-12-education.com>.
Price, Bruce. "Everyone should oppose public education." Everyone should oppose public education. N.p., 27 July
2013. Web. . <http://www.rightsidenews.com/2013072732957/life-and-science/health-and-
education/everyone-should-oppose-public-education.com>.
Walker, Tim. "US education spending tops other countries." US education spending tops other countries. N.p., 9
July 2013. Web. . <http://neatoday.org/2013/07/09/u-s-education-spending-tops-other-countries-
%E2%80%93-but-who%E2%80%99s-benefiting>.