Resist and Create Change

Education in the United States is criticized to be behind other countries. I would agree with this critique because the United States education has not made school a priority for everyone. Although there have been changes, few have been successful. Globalized education is trying to fix this problem by making education the same around the world. However, I do not think this is an appropriate fix. Every society has a different curriculum and therefore education should be kept individualized. There have been some attempts by the United States to make education better but statistics from around the world show that we are still not as committed as other countries.


A typical high school day in the United States last about 7 hours, from 7am-2pm. Primary school is from 8am-2pm and middle school is about the same amount of hours. The high school dropout rate has continually fluctuated but rarely has a consistent decrease. “In the last decade, between 347,ooo and 544,000 10th-through 12th-grade students left school each year without successfully completing a high school diploma.” (Drop Out Rates U.S.) This is a big problem because poverty rates have not improved either. “The high school graduation rate is a barometer of the health of American society and the skill level of its future workforce.” (Decline)I would go as far to say that education, if provided and made a priority for everyone, would improve the poverty rate. What is more interesting is that the dropout rate for Asian/Pacific islanders was lower than that of any other race or ethnic group in the U.S. And when you look at the statistics in China and other Asian countries, this makes sense.


Education in China, strict and tedious, is run much differently than in the United States. As you progress in level of education you also progress in hours spent in school. In Primary, school lasts about 8 hours. Once you head into middle school you have 10 hours in school and in high school it goes up to 12 hours. That is a lot of time to spend in school, learning. Somehow they make it work while also keeping kids in school. However, China is experiencing some issues with rural schools. The dropout rate in rural schools has been rising recently to around 40 percent. A member of the CPPCC National Committee- Wen Jiating- proposed that “the patterns of rural education should be modified, rural schools should stop following the steps of urban schools in the design of teaching and learning materials in a way that benefits rural students in their future work.” (Xinhua) This is an idea everyone should consider. No matter where you live your education should pertain to your future, not what others feel you should be learning. That is why I think globalized education is a step in the wrong direction. Even though, this is not the first way the United States has tried to improve their education.


Several years ago President George W. Bush put into effect the “No Child Left Behind Act.” This act was supposed to help students stay in school. Instead students struggled to pass standardized tests and ended up falling further behind. The act “requires states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades, if those states are to receive future funding.” (Wikipedia) If any schools do not pass the standardized tests, they do not get funding. This is not a beneficial system because the schools that do not pass continue to not pass. What is even worse is that schools spend more time teaching for the WASL than teaching for knowledge. If students are only learning how to test they are not learning actual skill for their future which further puts the United States behind other countries. Decline in educational status has been seen since the 20th century within science specifically.


While the United States was fighting over whether or not to teach evolution in schools, other countries were finding new evidence. The Butler Laws were put into effect in 1925, which stated that it was illegal to teach evolution. United States discussed whether or not to include religion in education and other countries already decided not to and move on. Studies show that the United States is tenth among other industrialized nations with high school degrees. (NewsMax) And the numbers continue to increase for the rest of the world. Changes that I believe need to occur in our education system are the removal of standardized testing. Education needs to be made available for everyone without the expectation of them learning certain topics. What is important is that education should be an open door for students to explore and find the right path for their future. Of course there is basic knowledge that everyone should learn but not all knowledge should be designed the same. As I said before I do not think globalized education is the answer to this problem. Although the U.S. has a ways to go to improve education enrollment, availability, and curriculum I believe it is possible. All we need to do is encourage our young generations that education is the most important thing and their main job.

Works cited:
Dropout Rates in the United States http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/droppub_2001/

Economist’s View: The Declining High School Graduation Rate in the US May 13, 2008 http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2008/05/the-declining-h.html

China experiences rising school dropout rate (Xinhua) 2005 http://www.chiadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/04/content_421520.htm

U.S. Falling Behind in Education NewsMax Wires Tuesday, Sept 14, 2004 http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/9/14/141847.shtml


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