Examples Of Failures In The American Education System

Failures within Today’s American Education System The American education system has been on a gradual decline over the past several years and has become very non competitive to other nations across the world. This is quite surprising considering the fact that America has one of the most developed and strongest economies in the world yet is so far behind other countries in the education matter. One of the most recent debated issues in the U.S. Department of Education, is the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act signed by former President George W. Bush. According to many education intellects, this act is holding America back from achieving its full potential and getting back on track with the rest of the world. Diane Ravitch, who is a historian of American education, addresses this issue in “Time to Kill ‘No Child Left Behind.’” She says, “Congress should get rid of
It is dumbing down our children by focusing solely on reading and mathematics. By ignoring everything but basic skills, it is not preparing students to compete with their peers in the high-performing nations of Asia and Europe, nor is it preparing them for citizenship in our complex society” (Ravitch). Some of the contributing factors to the failing education system can be described as far back to 1837 when the famous American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson addressed the essential influences on a man’s education in his speech “The American Scholar.” In this speech, Emerson describes several aspects of how students should learn and these points can still relate to today’s education system. The American education system has many lacking aspects and Emerson addresses some of these issues in his speech. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “The American Scholar” describes the problems with today’s American education system by explaining the lack of creating well-rounded students, the confinement of