The idea of group study for students that are struggling, however, also ties in with another idea for the improvement of schooling. The students that are performing the best at a particular subject could help organize and operate these study groups, in effect acting as tutors but yet not providing that service in such a way that they would be paid for their services or would work exclusively one-on-one with students that were having difficulty. This could help these struggling students to feel more comfortable and less 'singled out' if they were to work in groups with one or two other struggling students and a student that was performing much better. The help that these students receive in this kind of setting could be very valuable to them and also to the students that were providing the tutoring because those students would gain experience at helping others, which could be important for them in their future, with whatever type of job they might end up holding.
Parents also play (or at least should play) a very strong role in the education of their children. Many parents are very busy today with work, smaller children, aging parents, and many other things, and because of this they do not spend the time with their children that they used to. However, this can be changed in many instances if parents are completely made to realize the harm that they could be doing to their children when they do not give them the time that they need. This includes things like help with homework, but it goes much farther than that as well, and can extend out to other issues such as making sure that the children understand their importance to the family and their place within it. If the children feel as though they do not belong at home they may take this alienation to school, which can cause problems for them there as well.
While many of the standardized tests for students in this country are being rallied against by parents because the...
More and different types of testing could be utilized in the future to find students that were struggling with certain subjects and get them help early on, before problems arise that become difficult to correct. If a problem with a child's academics is left untreated for too long, it is much more difficult to fix because there is more material that the child has not understood. This means that more tutoring would be needed, the child's self-esteem is likely lower because he or she feels that the problems are insurmountable, and the parents may also berate or belittle the child for poor grades because they are frustrated with the academic progress and do not realize that the child is struggling. Instead, the student may simply be branded as 'lazy,' which is often not the case with students that are performing poorly.
The final idea for helping to improve schooling in America is the creation of more charter schools. Not everyone thinks that these schools are a good idea, but for the students that are forced to attend poorly-performing schools they are a good alternative. These students are not getting the help that they deserve from the schooling that they are receiving, and this will put them at a serious disadvantage in their future endeavors, even though this is not their fault. By allowing them to attend a charter school instead, they can receive a higher quality of education which might in the future help to remove them from the poverty and other problems that they are often in. While there are no guarantees that charter schools and the other ideas that have been discussed here will 'fix' the American educational system, there is a strong chance that they will help administrators, teachers, and parents work together to provide a better quality education for the young people of this country.
