Education in America - Essay Example

America is a class society; hence everything in the social setup is stratified, including education. The quality of education differs with the type of social life of the students, their parents, and their teachers, “schools in wealthy communities are better than those in poor communities, or that they prepare their students for more desirable jobs…” (Colombo, Robert, & Bonnie 176). The statement justifies that social class in the United States is one of the major determinants of the quality of education. This paper discusses education in America based on learner experiences.
The author uses the social class designation of schools to emphasize the point that education in America does not have a standard measure. Some are more advantaged than others. The same is reflected in the employment sector. The school that one went to determines their performance and, therefore, their chance of getting a well-paying job. Children from poor backgrounds end up performing poorly and doing petty jobs later in their life. The education system has helped to progress the social inequality in America where the rich get richer, and the poor continue passing on poverty across the generations.
“In the middle-class school, work is getting the right answer. If one accumulates enough correct answers, one gets a good grade…” (Colombo, Robert, & Bonnie 180). From this statement, it is clear that education in the United States does not focus on skills acquisition. Getting the right answer, regardless of how one gets it, is enough to give one a good grade. However, children are also taught to learn to explain things and think independently. Even after getting the right answer, one must be able to explain to the teacher how they arrived at the answer. This means that one cannot just copy the answer to pass examinations. The education system encourages students to get answers only from their books and their teachers. In other words, teachers are central pillars of the American education system to enhance its success.
The American education system also focuses on the acquisition of language skills by students. Children should “learn to speak properly, to write business letters and thank-you letters, and to understand what nouns and verbs….” (Colombo, Robert, & Bonnie 182). The emphasis on language in the American education system is important in the public sector since communication skills are essential in the workplace. Language also enables the students to do well in other subjects since they are also taught and examined in the English language.
Education in the United States makes learners acquire diverse skills in the early stages of development. The author refers to different subjects that all students must enroll in schools such as language, social studies, and mathematics. Read More