American Education System Essays (Examples)

Teachers should feel the pressure when their students do not succeed while opponents argue that placing such pressure on teachers just adds to the problem and makes success just that more difficult and unlikely.

Even the most ardent opponents to standardized testing among the teaching profession would likely argue that the demand for accountability is a legitimate one. Every profession needs to establish its credibility among the public and teachers should not be immune from this process, however, what has been lost in the process of trying to make teachers accountable is the value of what can be learned beyond the preparation for the standardized test. There is a necessity and value in establishing accountability but the method of using the standardized test to do so must be questioned.

When the use of standardized testing first came into vogue throughout the U.S. The goal was to establish a procedure for…

American Education System in Trouble?

In an enlightening article by writer April Shenandoah, on March 20, 2002, the reality that Americas' education system is in real trouble becomes clearly evident. The writer feels that when a child in America attends school, he is, in fact, more at risk than if he did not attempt to attend. This is because, of late, it has become obvious that most negative influences that children are faced with are being increasingly found in the public schools that they attend, and it is during the past few decades that the situation has worsened even further. In a simple comparison between the situation in public schools today and that during the 1940's, it is indeed amazing that punishments were given for 'offences' such as, for example, running in the corridor, chewing gum, talking in the class, and at times, unfinished homework, whereas today the top offences…

American Education

Current state of American education

In the United States of America, both the public and private schools are liable for the provision of education within the entire nation. In accordance with funding and the full control by the local, state, and federal government, there is universal availability of public schools across the whole nation (Orland, 2011). Empowered by the jurisdictions over school districts, the locally elected school boards are responsible for setting the education policies, funding, employment, teaching, and the formulation of the public schools' curriculum (Frank, 2012). Additionally, the state governments control the standardized tests and educational standards for public school systems. On the other hand, private schools are free to determine their own staffing policies, as well as their curriculum via voluntary accreditation available with the regional independent accreditation authority. Educational statistics reveal that approximately 85% of school age children go to public schools, 10% attend…

Educational Problems

IS THE AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN TROULE?

The United States has enjoyed a long history of providing public education for all students. However, many people believe that our educational system does not function well and that it has not for some time. Although multiple ways to improve public education have been tried, the belief persists that our schools produce under-educated students who are under-prepared for college or work. The goal of education is to teach students, but not all the students learn well, and for those who do not learn, we cannot always find either adequate explanations or solutions.

For some decades, the United States has attempted to use group testing to track the success of our educational programs. One attempt was by use of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests (Ipka, 2003). These tests provide raw scores of from 0 to 500. The Department of…

According to the book, studies have shown non-native speaking students or students who have special needs physical or behavioral struggle depression because they are in a different country and away from family. "Psychologist David Pillemer has analyzed memories of school, and suggests that such memories have much to tell us about students' perception of success or failure. When I talk to people about their education, from factory workers to physicians, from middle-school to doctoral students, it is telling how many of them call up resonant and emotional memories of events in school that, they claim, have had a potent effect on so many things: their sense of their intelligence, their social competence, their bearing in public spaces" (p. 244 -- 245). Scholars argue whether this is the implication of the alienation to students who form the mainstream population or just one of the effects of being drenched in a multicultural…

American Tax System vs. Other Countries

The federal government first imposed an individual income tax in 1862 as an emergency means of financing the Civil ar. It also established the Bureau of Internal Revenue, predecessor of the Internal Revenue Service. Tax rates were 3% on income from $600 to $10,000 and 5% on income above $10,000. Later in the war the maximum rate increased to 10% of income." (Encarta)

My how times have changed. This paper will compare the tax systems of four different countries to the American tax system. The four countries that have been chosen are South Africa, Mexico, Hong Kong, and New Zealand..

First lets attempt to briefly (if that were possible) explain the American tax system.

The American Tax System

America has a progressive tax system meaning the greatest tax burden is on people who have the most income. The American tax system can be described…

The United Kingdom (and Northern Ireland) used to provide free higher education to all native Brits, but contemporary economic realities have forced UK and Northern Ireland colleges and universities to charge up to the approximate equivalent of $6,000 annually to offset the enormous cost of education. Unlike Canada, Britain provides higher education at the same price for students from Continental European nations but charges students from other nations more than the maximum allowed to be charged to UK students (Ciccone & Peri, 2006). Unlike in the U.S., there are few opportunities to earn scholarships to UK colleges and universities. Similarly, higher education in Southern Ireland costs only the approximate equivalent of $2,000 in the form of registration and related fees for students from Ireland and the European Union.

France provides (essentially) free education that is paid for by public funds and only imposes a nominal annual enrollment fee that is…

S. is a worthwhile goal, but the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 is a poorly conceived approach whose deficiencies may actually do more to undermine many aspects of education than any meaningful improvement inspired by its programs.

eferences

Caillier, J. (2007) No Child Left Behind Act: Are States on Target to Make Their

Goals?; Journal of Negro Education, Fall 2007 Issue. etrieved September 8, 2008, at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3626/is_200710/ai_n25139930/pg_10

Crawford, J. (2004) No Child Left Behind: Misguided Approach to School Accountability for English Language Learners. National Association for Bilingual Education. etrieved September 8, 2008, at http://www.nabe.org/documents/policy_legislation/NABE_on_NCLB.pdf

Darling-Hammond, L. (2004) NCLB Implementation Challenges: The Local Superintendent's View; Peabody Journal of Education, 80, 156-169.

Forgary, . (1997) Brain Compatible Classrooms. Andover, MA: Skylight Publishing.

Hendrie, C. (2002) Taking a Chance on Choice; Education Week, Oct 23, 2002. etrieved September 8, 2008, from www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=08choice.h22

Murray, C. (2006) Acid Tests: No Child Left Behind…

Lives on the Boundary by Mike ose

The achievements of ose with his students were successful and exceptional because most of his students were in the circumstances he was once in the discredits most of the educational fallacies and stereotypes that are applied on remedial students and literacy. He also shows how one can succeed in life despite of the background as it is seen when he becomes a teacher and later a director at UCLA

The main theme in this book is to show how life can be hard for the remedial students who he argues that they do not fail as a result of intelligence and poor skills but due to limited opportunity and little understanding. He tells this through his own life experience to show how both social and economic forces play a big role in influencing performance and perception of the unprepared students. He does not…

Apart from increasing subject matter retention, active learning promotes intellectual curiosity, flexibility, and confidence, in effect, teaching students how to reason and think for themselves.

Unfortunately, current indications suggest strongly that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is retarding progress in the direction of better education, precisely because it emphasizes rote memorization and drilling in two or three subjects at the relative exclusion of other academic subjects and to the establishment of an effective learning environment for students (Sonnenblick, 2008). That is because the most essential function of modern education is to teach thinking.

eferences

Huber, .A., Moore, C.J. (2001). "A Model for Extending Hands-on Science to Be Inquiry Based." School Science and Mathematics, 101(1), 32. Sonnenblick, J. (2008). "Killing Me Softly: No Child Left Behind" School Library Journal, May 1, 2008, etrieved January 7,…

Even under ordinary circumstances, the NCLB motivates teachers to spend more time teaching standardized test-taking and less time on substantive teaching.

The other principal set of interrelated problems currently plaguing American education is that teachers are underpaid, there is little if any correlation between performance and compensation, and tenure policies make it virtually impossible to remove bad teachers once they have achieved tenure. As a result, the teaching profession cannot attract top talent, simply because the highest performing graduates have no incentive to take on high-stress, low-paying jobs where they cannot earn more based on their superior performance. In light of the tremendous importance of improving the American education system for the well-being of the country, public education must make only very limited use of standardized testing. Public funds should be directed into programs to increase the compensation of all entry-level teachers instead of being wasted on standardized test preparation…

(Galston) All in all, it is clear that your social statute is a strong factor of influence when concerning the level of education that you receive.

In some isolate cases, people can actually improve the efficiency of their educational systems. It is absolutely necessary for an educational institute to have virtuous directors in order for its students to become well educated. An academic curriculum would surely be benefic for the young minds waiting to be taught. A solution for the U.S. educational system to be efficient regardless of people's backgrounds would be for the government to attempt to pay equal attention to all people. Also, the government needs to create better educational programs for all students to enjoy the same level of education.

One of the biggest mistakes made by a normal institution is to believe that in order for a certain problem to be solved, one would need to…

The effort to create an educational system by blacks and for blacks reflected the determined pride that characterized the newly freed black community. Moreover, the emphasis on black education also pointed to the segregated social conditions of the south.

Fairclough's second main point is that white supremacy reigned in the south until the Civil Rights movement. In fact, black political, social, and economic welfare actually worsened at key moments in history. White southerners relished the notion that blacks would run their own schools without the interference of socially liberal white Yankees. Black educators in the south found that schools did little to promote the practical advancement of black communities. African-Americans continued to earn less than their white counterparts even after they achieved the same level of educational attainment. Continued white supremacy led to a gradual mistrust of black educators and of black education in general. Cynicism poisoned the potential of…

Timeline

American education has evolved considerably since the late 19th century. One of the first philosophers to influence the character of modern American education was John Dewey. Dewey was a progressive, and believed that children should not just sit in classrooms passively memorizing material. Instead, students should learn via experience and interaction with their environments. Dewey's humanistic approach to education revolutionized the ways people thought about schooling and pedagogy. A timeline of American education begins with Dewey, because he was the person to first codify the structure and philosophy of education, and then offer the methods and means to implement those ideas. Dewey is known as a "pragmatist" because of his ability to fuse philosophy and practice, and had "the most significant contribution to the development of educational thinking in the twentieth century," (Smith, 2001).

Maria Montessori was the first female to become a doctor in Italy. Working closely with…

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…

In this way there would be more teachers paying greater attention to students who would learn not more, but perhaps better. The level of education is one of the most important concepts in this discussion and it is directly connected to the required standards. If these are lowered then everyone will "pass," but this success is ephemeral and is not translated into capacities or resources which could be afterward used outside school in the real life. Excellence in education is a must for a strong democracy while at the same time, one of the most important challenges that democracy faces is that of finding a way to provide all the citizens with the opportunity to an education of excellent level.

Last but not least a measure which could help improve the present situation of the educational system is reducing the bureaucracy. The work of teachers and professors ought to be…

While his loss of accent brought himself and his teachers a sense of pride, it brought sorrow to his parents, who saw the change, however gradual, in their child. The author furthermore admits that for children like him, from a non-white American background, the home and school environment are at cultural extremes. This creates conflict that the young Rodriguez handled by conforming to his school environment. In effect he replaced the importance and roles of his parents in his life with those of his teachers, and as such became an academic success.

The author however admits that this is a shameful and lonely type of success. Nonetheless, it is a success that the author has chosen to conform to. Instead of therefore being successful because he has been educated, Rodriguez emphasizes that his success was chosen. He worked towards academic success with great passion, because this is what he wanted.…

Japanese Correctional System as Compared to the American Corrections System

The Japanese correctional system places a strong emphasis on rehabilitation and preparing the prisoner for being released once again into society. The Japanese correctional system "is intended to resocialize, reform, and rehabilitate offenders" rather than enforce a system of retributive justice along the lines of the American model (Coutsoukis, 2004). This is why most sociologists state that the restorative philosophy of corrections is the predominant approach practiced in Japan, that is, the main aim of the system is to restore the pre-existing social order rather than enact retribution against a particular individual, or even to protect victim's rights, or to punish an offender in a fair manner (Hosoi & Nishimura 1999: 4).

Much like the American system, Japanese prisoners after conviction are classified "according to gender, nationality, kind of penalty, length of sentence, degree of criminality, and state of physical…

Systems of Power and Inequality

In early March of 2012, a 28-minute video on the plight of African children received more than 21 million YouTube views. The video vividly depicts how the guerilla warlord Joseph Kony, leader of the Lords esistance Army (LA), reportedly abducted over 60,000 children who were subsequently forced to become child soldiers or sex slaves over the course of the civil war. Captured children who did not cooperate as said to have been mutilated and murdered. Production and dissemination of the video was a result of the efforts of an American charity called Invisible Children. In interviews with the press following the viral reception of the video, Invisible Children campaigner Jason ussell stressed the importance of the video as an example of how social media allows people all over the world to actually see other people -- see, as in the struggles, challenges, plights, and victories…

American Civil ight Movement

Compare and contrast the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) on the basis of their leadership, philosophy, and tactics.

Philosophy

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was a civil rights organization that was initiated by African-Americans in 1957 (Fairclough, 2001). The movement was primarily aimed at ending the segregation and discrimination against the black African population in the U.S. The core philosophy of SCLC revolved around to seek civil rights and economic justice for the people of Southern States having majority of African-Americans.

Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) actually aimed achieving same objectives as those of SCLC but through non-violent sit-in and defiance of segregated dining and lunch services. The core philosophy of SNCC was also eliminating segregation but the mission statement was narrower compared to SCLC.

Leadership

The most prominent leader of SCLC was Martin Luther King, Jr. Other prominent…

It is important to recognize the many different areas within adult education, and what type of students these areas attract. Ultimately, for the adult education department to be successful, it must attract a wide variety of students, and keep at least some of those students coming back to continue their education in order to be successful. Adult education serves a vital role in the upper education system, and it serves a diverse amount of people, but in most institutions it also has to support itself if not turn a profit, and that is an important aspect to take into consideration. Therefore, classes must be viable to the institution, but to the student, as well, to keep attracting a wide variety of students into the program.

In addition, diverse students could form a major foundation of the program, and so, it pays to understand these diverse learners so administrators and teaching…

There are others though that believes that learners are born with certain innate capabilities that are then shaped and formed from the outside (Montessori theory, 2011)

No matter which theory one looks at though the bottom line is that each philosophy is based on the idea that everything possible should be done to encourage as much learning as possible. All philosophies are based on the fact that education should be about learning and that no matter how the learning takes place, what environment is takes place in or under what circumstances the edn result should be something was learned. Educational philosophy in general believes that in order for people to be successful and productive they must learn as much as possible and that this should be done by way of formal education.

eferences

Chinn, C. (2012). Epistemological Beliefs. etrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/epistemological-beliefs/

Evers, W.M. (2012). How Progressive Education Gets it Wrong.…

Education in the Community

A major issue currently effecting culture, population, and demographics is that of wealth inequality. As the global economic downturn continues throughout the world, wealth disparity is increasing rapidly. This affects culture, population, and overall demographics in a litany of ways. First, due primarily to lower wages, families are postponing child birth. The uncertainty surrounding the future creates an atmosphere of fear. Families are now waiting until the economic climate becomes more certain before they have their children. Furthermore, the median income for middle class families has plummeted within the last 3 years. The median income for the average American household was roughly $51,000 in 2008. Now the median income is roughly $48,000. This creates problems as families are less apt to spend money are discretionary activities that form the basis of their culture. Holiday spending, for example has yet to reach its 2007 heights. Families are…

Education for Economy Theory as it elates to Adult Education

In an economy motivated by improvement and information, in marketplaces betrothed in powerful opposition and steady regeneration, in a world of incredible chances and risks, in a culture facing multifaceted business, political, scientific, technological, health and environmental challenges, and in diverse workplaces and neighborhoods that center on mutual associations and social networking, the cleverness, nimbleness and skills of the American people are vital to U.S. competitiveness (21st Century Skills, Education & Competitiveness, 2008).

Education economics is the study of economic matters as they relate to education, comprising the demand for education and the funding and condition of education. The leading model of the demand for education is founded on human capital theory. The main idea is that undertaking education is an investment in the attainment of skills and information which will augment earnings, or offer long-range benefits such as an…

It is now recognized that individuals learn in different ways -- they perceive and process information in various ways. The learning styles theory suggests that the way that children acquire information has more to do with whether the educational experience is slanted toward their specific style of learning than their intelligence.

The foundation of the learning styles methodology is based in the classification of psychological types. The research demonstrates that, due to heredity factors, upbringing, and present circumstantial demands, different students have an inclination to both perceive and process information differently. These different ways of learning consist of: 1) concrete or abstract perceivers, where concrete perceivers acquire information through direct experience of doing, sensing, and feeling, and abstract perceivers, instead accept new ideas through analyzing, observing and thinking; 2) active or reflective processors -- active processors understand a new experience by immediately utilizing new information, and reflective processors analyze an…

, 2005).

Even within the United States, the education system has proven itself to be extremely vulnerable to the detrimental influence of intellectual corruption by the excessive entanglement of ideology and formal education. Specifically, the infamous Scopes Trial featured the criminal prosecution for teaching evolutionary biology because it conflicted with prevailing religious dogma (Davidson, 1999). Much more recently, a conservative political agenda has dominated the educational systems of individual American states in which educational administrative authorities have sought (in some cases, quite successfully) to promote religious or quasi-religious dogma under the very thinly veiled guise of teaching nonsense such as "Intelligent Design" (Feldman, 2005; Mooney, 2005). Specifically, that approach (in conjunction with renewed attempts to challenge the legitimacy of established evolutionary science) was a deliberate attempt to promote particular religious beliefs in a manner designed to circumvent very explicit constitutional prohibition against that church-state entanglement (Feldman, 2005; Mooney, 2005).

Ultimately,…

Education

As the educational system continues to come unde inceasing amounts of scutiny, the teache is ultimately at the fulcum of pessue. They ae equied to digest new educational theoy and sot out the wheat fom the chaff. They ae asked to manage inceasing levels of divesity in the classoom, and students who come to class acoss a widening spectum of pepaedness. At the same time, they ae expected to be a students fiend, motivato, and at times suogate paent. Technological advances in the maketplace have made it necessay fo teaches to adapt to inceasing amounts of technology in the classoom. All of these issues ae coming at a time when fedeal mandates in the No Child Left Behind act ae demanding impoved pefomance, in some cased damatically impoved pefomance.

In light of the inceased levels of demands placed on teaches and the continuing decline of academic pefomance, it is…

Generally, it works by either giving a reward for an encouraged behavior, or taking something away for an undesirable behavior. y doing this, the patient often increases the good behaviors and uses the bad behaviors less often, although this conditioning may take awhile if the rewards and removals are not sufficient to entice the patient into doing better.

Existentialism is important to discuss here as well, and is often seen to be a very drastic way to examine human behavior. There are two types of existentialism. One is Atheistic Existentialism, and the other is Theistic Existentialism.

Atheistic existentialism has its basis in the statement that the entire cosmos is composed only of matter, and human beings see reality in two forms. Those forms are subjective and objective. People who believe in Atheistic Existentialism do not believe that anyone or anything specific made the world. They do not know whether it…

Accordingly, the ties between the psychological aspects of learning and the social aspects tend to be quite strong. Since the student's early social encounters take place within the classroom, he is learning far more than the step-by-step processes of test taking. Knowledge of his social conditions is necessary for the proper development of the student's abilities. Social and psychological features of education are so fundamentally related that they cannot be separated from each other without a sufficient loss of understanding concerning the other.

Primarily, the purpose of education is to produce functional members of society who value both each other and the work they perform. As simple as that may sound, it is an exceedingly difficult goal. In the United States the philosophical basis outlined by the Constitution demands that public institutions not only be employed, but also that they provide an equal level of schooling across geographic and social…

On the whole, American students are sympathetic to the difficulties faced by some foreign students such as in connection with the expense of living in the U.S. without a family support system close by and in connection with language and cultural barriers and prejudices they sometimes face. American students also believe that many foreign students bring a more serious work ethic to school and that they are better educated in their home countries than their American counterparts. Angela Angelov (Biology, 19) said that she believed "Most of the international students have learned all of the prerequisite courses more in depth than I did here…"According to Joe Engle (Chemistry, 21), "They bring a higher work ethic because they have traveled so far to reach their goals." Ben (Engineering, 34) echoed that observation: "Foreign students seem to appreciate the opportunity more" and also that in comparison, "American students seem lazy." Some American…

This deadens the educational experience and the whole idea of learning, and indeed, and Freire notes, it dehumanizes the process, too.

Society and culture play an important position in these roles students and teachers play. In our society, as Freire notes, teachers are supposed to know everything, while students know nothing. In addition, teachers are looked up to as role models by many students (and parents), and they are expected to impart knowledge and make it last. They have a difficult role to live up to, and many teachers simply do not have the talent and ability to thrive in these roles, but they are expected to anyway. In addition, they are expected to keep order in the classroom, maintain control, and see to the welfare of their students. These are all important societal roles, and they are difficult to maintain excellence in all areas.

Perhaps the most interesting and…

According to a British Study conducted on all students born in the first week of March 1958, and following them through adolescence and on until the age of twenty-three:

There were no average differences between grouped and ungrouped schools because within the grouped schools, high-group students performed better than similar students in ungrouped schools, but low-group students did worse. Students in remedial classes performed especially poorly compared to ungrouped students with similar family backgrounds and initial achievement. With low-group losses offsetting high-group gains, the effects on productivity were about zero, but the impact on inequality was substantial." (Gamoran 1992)

As Gamoran points out, grouping or "tracking" tended to accentuate a student's skills or lack thereof. High-ability students benefited from segregation, but low-ability students did even worse than before. And while low-ability pupils received no benefit whatsoever from the tracking system, neither did their schools. The net gain in performance among…

Education

An Analysis of the book "Life in Schools" by Peter McLaren

Peter McLaren is a well-known proponent for enforcing social reform and teaching and discussing about new issues in education and critical theory, which is the critical pedagogy and multicultural education. His extensive works regarding the study of critical pedagogy has already made him popular and well received by students, scholars, and readers who are in line of thinking with Paulo Freire, one of the most famous educational thinkers who revolutionized the way scholars treat the problem of education in the contemporary American society. The book "Life in Schools: An Introduction to Critical Pedagogy in the Foundation of Education," (4th edition), published by Allyn & Bacon, is a reflection of McLaren's belief about the radical change the educational system needed, and the social reform the educational system needs in order relieve the poor, 'oppressed' people from suffering the commercialization…

Whatever biases remain in public education can be removed, because the belief in equal opportunity has prevailed.

Standardized testing offers the only known way to ensure admissions to universities are based more on merit than on social class. In spite of their limitations, standardized tests do offer the only means to assess scholastic aptitude. A merit-based admissions procedure contributes to the betterment of society by offering educational opportunities to citizens who would be otherwise denied them. Upward social mobility and the ability to participate fully in the political process are possible outcomes of a merit-based educational system.

Effective educators understand the cultural contexts in which they work. In "Culture of Youth and How it Affects Learning," we saw how educators need to work hard to understand youth culture. To relate to their students, teachers must find common ground. Learning the language and values their students use out of the classroom…

Education esearch

It appears that the school systems are failing here in America. Every year test score trend downward as a continual new stream of information floods into the public consciousness. More schooling and more intensive schooling efforts have shown little if any progress in recent decades and before any more money or energy is thrown at these problems indiscriminately, a tactical pause to contemplate the situation seems in order.

New problems arise everyday in the schooling system as the complexity of the world increases seemingly exponentially. The purpose of this research is to take a view point that steps back at the situation and looks at general trends and questions the very purposes of compulsory school. To do this properly it is necessary to take an unbiased and objective reexamination of the efficacy of public schooling.

By all measurable standards of decency, it appears American society is in some…

colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/pop2a.cfm.

3. Hispanic, White Communities Forge Ties in Alabama (2003) a UA Center for Public Television and Radi9o Production. Online available at:

4. McDade, Sharon a. (2002) Definition of a Case Study. Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning - North Carolina State. Online available at http://www.ncsu.Edu/fctl/Programs/Instructional- Development/Teaching _Materials / CaseStudies/Materials / Case studyDefintion.pdf# search =%22 CASE%20STUDY % 3A%20DEFINIT ION%20OF %22.

5. UAB Wins $389,000 in Grants to Help Teachers Educate Non-English Speaking Children (200) UAB Media Relations. 27 Nov 200. Online available at http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=46333.

6. English Language Development and Multicultural Education (2005) University of Alabama. Berkeley University Online available at http://crede.berkeley.edu/tools/directory2-/PDF/esl.pdf#search=%22Alabama%3A%20Elementary%20ESL%20SERVICES%22.

7. English as a Second Language (ESL) (2004) Baldwin County Public Schools; Bay Minette, Alabama. Online available at http://www.bcbe.org/Default.asp?DivisionID='824'&DepartmentID='958'.

8. UAB Wins $389,000 in Grants to Help Teachers Educate Non-English Speaking Children (200) UAB Media Relations. 27 Nov 200. Online available at http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=46333.

9. Alabama (2006) KYTESOL Newsletter Vol.…

Education

Nature of Probable Research

The South Bronx section of New York is among the poorest and most diverse school districts in America. Crime and teenage pregnancy have plagued the primarily Hispanic and Afro-American Bronx community for decades. However, in recent years there has been a concerted effort to curb the dire social conditions and education system. For the purposes of our research we will focus on the efforts to improve the educational system through before school and after school programs.

The probable research will involve studying the effects of before school and after school programs on a low performing middle school in the South Bronx section of New York City. The research will examine the manner in which these programs have been implemented and the students that benefit from the programs. The investigation will also discuss the conditions present in some of the middle schools in the South Bronx…

Education

John Gatto is one of the few teachers who are speaking out against the current educational culture who knows what he is talking about. After teaching the state of New York, which has one of the highest per student budgets in the nation, uses many progressive teaching theories, and still produces some of the lowest test scores in the nation, his frustration comes from a wealth of experience. Teachers who start their careers with a sincere desire to educate students have their hands are tied by multi-cultural disconnectedness and a socialist teaching culture which discourages individual accomplishment. The frustration expressed by Mr. Gatto (Berlau, 2003) is likely only the tip of the iceberg representing the depth of the nationwide problem. From Atlanta to Minneapolis, news papers are filled with stories of failing students, failing schools, and school systems which are confused as to the source of the problem. Maybe…

Fifth, the NCLB is devoid of any meaningful consequences for failing to achieve federal objectives other than the publication of such failures in conjunction with the rights of parents to request transfers of their children to better-performing academic institutions (Darling-Hammond 2004). Critics have suggested that the most likely result of enforcement of such limited consequences for noncompliance is the overcrowding of institutions who fulfill the federal requirements to their detriment by virtue of diminution in their ability to meet the educational needs of increased enrollment of low-achieving students (Sonnenblick 2008). Likewise, the NCLB Act authorizes increased federal funding of home schooling and for-profit institutions that further reduces necessary funds to public institutions.

Sixth, whereas George H. Bush articulated the connection between adequate nutrition and access to healthcare and preparedness to learn in school, the NCLB Act ignores this element entirely. Many critics and career educators believe that any proposed educational…

It is headed in the right direction and will surly prosper in the many years to come.

(c)Why were you able to accomplish what you did when you did?

We have been able to accomplish what we have because of the Land Grant College Act of 1862. In early 1848, Congressman Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont suggested that American colleges might steer away from the portion of the studies that had been established so many years ago and think about moving in a direction of having studies with more practical values. In 1857, he introduced a bill that incorporated leading reform notions in regards to technical education. He proposed that institutions should promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in areas that relate to the professions that people were doing (udolph, 1990, p. 149).

This act provided for the support in every state of at least one…

American Government and Politics

The Impact of Politics on People, Communities, and the World

I have not personally been affected by American politics in ways that I can think of, possibly because I am not an American citizen. However, I understand that, in principle, political decisions can have extremely important affects on individuals. For example, if the Republicans win the presidential election and win back control of the enate and retain control of the House of Representatives, they could actually succeed in outlawing abortion and even many common forms of birth control. Politics also affects local and national communities because the decisions made in Washington determine what federal money is available to states for crucial functions such as education and health care programs. Because the United tates is the most influential nation in the world, political decisions in this country can affect all of the other nations in the world…

The conflict between Sara and her father mirrors that of Ana and her mother. Reb and Carmen both try to control and manipulate their daughters by appealing to traditional cultural values. Gender is at the heart of their struggle, as gender norms are critical to their old-fashioned worldviews. Interestingly, there are traditionalists in both Bread Givers and in Real Women Have Curves who retain their ethnic identities while promoting gender equality. For example, Ana's grandfather relays a tale about a treasure-filled mountain in Mexico. He tells the tale to a captivated Ana before telling her that he wants Ana to "find her gold" too. Ana's father and grandfather support her academic achievements and want her to take advantage of the scholarship. In Bread Givers, Sara meets another traditional Polish-American. Although Hugo is not Jewish, he and Sara bond over their cultural identity and prove that ethnic pride does not need…

Education

In the U.S. The conflict between progressive and traditional education has been going on for over 100 years, and E.D. Hirsch and John Dewey are polar opposites in this pedagogical and philosophical conflict. Dewey was indeed a support of the Left in politics who wanted the U.S. To become a social democracy and move away from more traditional conservative ideas. He thought that democratic socialism would be the wave of the future in urban, industrial society, and that the traditional education system was not preparing students to participate as active citizens in this new society. It was rigid, authoritarian and hierarchical, with teachers acting like dictators in the classroom and often dispensing plenty of corporal punishment. ather than follow a rigid, old-fashioned curriculum, the teacher had to allow students to participate in designing lessons that were relevant to their lives and experiences. Only this way could the public schools…

Schools and Education

Over the last several years, the field of education has been facing tremendous challenges. This is because of shifts in how they address a host of issues and there are changing demographics of students. These are all signs of broader social implications which are having an effect on individual performance and their ability to adapt with a variety of situations. (Rury, 2013)

Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Rury (2013) who said, "e live in a time of considerable social and political turmoil, marked by economic uncertainty that has directly touched the lives of millions of Americans. Deep divisions and critical problems, as a range of issues are debated fervently, extending from economic policy, to poverty and inequality. If there is anything everyone seems to agree upon it the growing importance of education for the future. ithout expanding our present knowledge and abilities, it…

Flat World and Education

Linda Darlin-Hammond's book, The Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future, presents an eye opening account of the current state of the U.S. public education system and what needs to be done to guarantee every child's right to learn. Darlin-Hammond's analysis of the education system in this case can only be described as sobering. In this book report, I discuss Darlin-Hammond's text from an objective point-of-view.

Darlin-Hammond's book details what most educators and policy makers are already aware of but are not ready to talk about, let alone address. Using a rather candid approach, Darlin-Hammond offers the reader a compelling view of the United States education policy. The arguments she presents in this text are well researched, argued and presented. The author also deviates from speculation and instead relies on evidence. Some of the key problems dogging our education system…

NPSAS was the only study in 1996 that encompassed the people who enrolled in the for-profit institutions which is why not even the very basic criteria of the for-profit sector and its educational setup has been well-recognized (reneman, Pusser and Turner 2000; Chung, 2006).

The confirmation that the students who had some sort of shortcoming whether in the financial sector, minority aspect or admittance-timeline factor were the ones who mainly enrolled in the for-profit educational institution was made by Apling and Aleman in a study they conducted in 1990, and Lee and Merisotis in a study they conducted in the same year which were also then matched by Phipps et al. (2000) and JL Associates (2004).

Grubb was the only researcher who, in the year 1993, explored and assessed the influence and affect of the concept of the industrial market proceeds in relation to the non-profit institutions and education. He…

Democratic Education

Question No.

What are the principles of democratic education? How are these principles and values in tension/contradiction with our social construction of children and youth? For example, what assumptions do we make about teaching, learning and youth that democratic schools challenge? How does "one size fits all" centralized curriculum contribute to what Apple called the "de-skilling of teachers"? What is lost when this approach is adapted, especially when it is combined with the "intensification" of teaching? Explore the contradictions between what we say we want our students to be when they are finished their schooling (engaged, critical thinkers, active contributors and problem solvers) and how we are often educating young people. How does democratic education address this? What are some of the challenges educators who want to introduce democratic principles into their schools face? What are some of the potential rewards? How does democratic education address the notion…

The trainer will then focus on the steps to be taken to develop new skills. For example, if the trainer wants to talk about motivating, leading, negotiating, selling or speaking, it is best to start with what the learners do well before showing some chart on Maslow's theory, Posner's leadership practices, or selling skills from some standard package that has been develop elsewhere. Many foreign trainers make grave errors because they do not consider the values and beliefs of the trainee's culture. Training must make a fit with the culture of those being trained, including the material being taught, as well as the methods being used (Schermerhorn, 1994).

Abu-Doleh (1996) reports that Al-Faleh (1987), in his study of the culture influences on management development, asserts that "a country's culture has a great influence on the individual and managerial climate, on organizational behaviour, and ultimately on the types of management development…

gifted and talented education for minority students. The writer explores the screening process for gifted and talented programs and the various problems that screening process causes when it comes to locating and educating minority students. The writer also explores the societal mindsets and the urban areas that play a part in the overlooking of minority gifted students. The bulk of the exploration is done with a literature review on previous studies, research and decisions regarding the screening and education of minority gifted students. There were ten sources used to complete this paper.

Each day across the nation millions of students sit in classrooms and are educated. The classrooms contain a large number of students and the lessons are designed and geared to reach the largest students in each setting. This means that for the most part the lessons are aimed at the average intellect and average abilities student. Within the…

The report also identified some important aspects that determined successful completion of higher education. It was found that among both borrowers and non-borrowers, working part-time or fulltime and/or delayed entry into college carried a significantly high risk for dropping out. The fact that almost all of the students who successfully completed higher education were enrolled in college right after high school, attended fulltime and did not work part time or full time implied that external distractions had a major negative impact on successful completion. Since borrowers are under financial burden they are more prone to take up part time jobs and therefore carry a greater risk for dropping out. Essentially, one of the main findings and recommendations of this report is to "Make college more affordable so as to reduce dependence on loan financing and student employment, especially for those with the greatest need." [Lawrence Gladiex, pg 16]

Loans cannot…

National Education Association

Group Identity

The National Education Association (NEA) was formed in 1857 and is dedicated to championing the rights of both educators and children. It has been a part of integration, the Civil ights movement, equal opportunity education, and the rights of teachers for over 150 years. After 1966 the National Education Association and American Teachers Association merged to form a more cohesive and powerful body. Each state has a branch of the NEA that regularly does lobby work to legislators for the resources schools need and to push for higher standards in the teaching profession. The NEA's programs and services may be accessed at http://www.nea.org. There are currently five forms of membership, from Students to etired. Anyone actively involved in the American Education System, as well as several distance and online institutions, may join the NEA, although professional certification is required for certain membership tiers.

Goals

The…

Foreign Language Education in High School

The world has about 6,000 different languages, give or take a few. Linguists predict that at least half of those may have disappeared by the year 2050, which means languages are becoming extinct at twice the rate of endangered animals and four times the rate of endangered birds. Predictions are that a dozen languages may dominate the world of the future at best. (Ostler, 2002) For Americans, that's probably a good thing, since we are seemingly genetically engineered to maintain an appalling ignorance of other languages, and have narrowed down the choices we offer our young people to approximately one, Spanish, viewed by many to be the easiest foreign language to learn. It has been described in various places as having an 'impoverished vocabulary,' which means less work for Dick and Jane. The American education system so far is doing nothing to reverse the…

Higher Education Should Be Free

Should higher education in the United States be free? An examination of available evidence suggests that it should be. I hope to go through a number of the most persuasive argumens as to why higher education in the United States should be regarded as a public good (like clean air or working highways) rather than as a market commodity (like iPhones or Furbies). The United States is definitely out of step with the rest of the world, which does not attempt to make higher education financially inaccessible to qualified applicants. The current situation with the cost of higher education in America is untenable, as students complete their studies with crippling amounts of debt. The level of student debt has additional unexpected effects on the economic and social life of the nation, as I hope to demonstrate. Moreover recent attempts to provide free higher education, done…

American School

The idea of the culture wars is introduced here, and these culture wars begin to illustrate just how our continued dependence on the dominant Protestant Anglo-American culture has formed and influenced America's schools throughout out history. The chapter also introduces the concepts of racism and democracy, and demonstrates how these two opposite ideals often live together in our culture. The "culture wars" grew over the whites perceived "superiority" over other cultures in our country, and eventually, the dominant culture in America became the Protestant Anglo-American culture, and this dominance continues today.

The concept of education in colonial times is discussed in this chapter, along with early education's relationship to religion in the schools. It also shows the differing attitudes people of the times had about children, and how the idea that schools and educational theories could influence national thought was first introduced. The chapter also discusses the social…

Feminists, like Christine Pizan, who stressed the importance of female education and some of her male feminist contemporaries would mainly remain on the fringes as the classical form of education was reaffirmed as the standard.

In the 1970s, much of the challenge to female education was answered as the tradition of educating all people was accepted early in the development of the U.S. educations system, though it was not an easy transition and according to most inequalities still existed even in the late modern era. In fact there was no official federal department of education until 1979, yet this did not stop the progress of education.

Stallings 677) the marked entrance of women into higher education is thought by most people to be the beginning of the end for male exclusive education but pre-secondary education was available for women from the early part of the foundation of education as a…

For the American community to open up to the less fortunate in the community, there is need to have a diverse leader and a pragmatic leader who will not only concentrate on the foreign affairs and the complex national economics and financial matrices but also on the basic misfortunes that face the average underprivileged America.

The best place hence to undertake American studies that will present me with the best shots at lifting our society from the disparity in lifestyle, by educating me on the details of the America that was, America that is and one that we want, is at the cradle of history itself; the university. This knowledge, combined with the zeal for information from around the world as I get updated through addictive reading of New York Times and continuous follow-up of updates on CNN, can surely make me climb to the apex of my career and…

" (Montessori, 9) There is a counter-intuitive disconnect between the priorities of the educational system and the real-life demands of individuals attempting to function ably therein.

Here, Montessori speaks to the incredible irony present even in higher education, where students are essentially intended to be prepared for the real world but are instead isolated in a false environment where priorities such as a streamlined means of graded evaluation, a disregard for the physical or emotional needs of students and an overall proclivity toward isolation from true conditions of worldly socialization tend to misappropriate crucial transitional learning years.

In some regards, Montessori's work is relatively outdated, betraying its origins in the first half of the 20th century by criticizing an absence of services that are now present in many universities. Some of the better funded academic institutions do possess programs availing medical treatment and psychological counseling to students where needed at…

American nation today is that of its failing school systems. It is a favorite rhetorical trope of politicians that education is an investment in our nation's future. However, few politicians are truly interested in remedying the situation in real, constructive ways. Two ways politicians have recently attempted to improve the nation's education system were through introducing an expanded school voucher system and raising state standards for children's education via increased standardized testing. These solutions are attractive to voters because they do not cause much of a drain upon taxpayer's funds. ut ultimately the only real solution to that will result in a real and long-lasting improvement in the education that all American children receive is increased funding for schools. The is particularly true of increased funding for failing schools so they may fund special programs for students experiencing difficulty in mastering basic skills, such as math and language education.

Vouchers…

European countries have absorbed a great deal in the way of material and culture from the United States, they have not become "Americanized," and that each country has incorporated what it takes from the United States into its own nationalism. In addition, the author argues that American culture has been influenced by European countries, although our culture has remained distinctly American. Finally, he makes the point that "Europe" is not one culture -- and that the United States is made up of many cultures as well. While European countries are "not like us," Europe and the United States have the presence of multiple cultures in common.

The book is organized into two sections. In the first three chapters, the author gives an overview from prior to World War II and continuing through the end of the Cold War. Then the author looks at specific cultural components affected by American influences…

Whether it was the Spanish that fought to conquer lands in the south, or the Dutch that engaged in stiff competition with the British, or the French that were ultimately defeated in 1763, the American soil was one clearly marked by violent clashes between foreign powers. This is why it was considered that the cry for independence from the British was also a cry for a peaceful and secure future for the next generations. Thomas Paine argued that the time had indeed come for the colonies to be excluded from the continuous clashes that had defined their past. Thus, because of the British's traditional inclination towards war, such an objective was hard to reach under the Empire's constant control. Consequently, the time had come for the colonies to break apart and search their peace as an independent state.

Looking at the historical development of the events, it is easy to…