Pros and Cons of the American Education System - Essay Example

Pros and Cons of the American Education System International coming to the USA may find the American education system somewhat confusing. This is due to the different procedures and structure of the system having some notable differences from the other systems like the British system. The federal system of the US has always valued local governance and as such there exists no country-level education system. The schools are not operated by the federal government as each state has a Department of Education that lays down guidelines to be followed by the schools within their respective jurisdictions. These and many other differences give the American education system some pros and cons. This essay seeks to analyze these pros and cons, and compares the American education system with other systems used elsewhere in the world. Pros of the American System The system of education in America recognizes that there are some factors that are more important to a student than the usual basic knowledge and skills; the system tries to develop creativity and freedom among its students as a way of maximizing the students’ contribution to the society (Althen, Doran and Szmania, 2003). In other education systems, students are forced to memorize things in class and are rarely given the opportunity to freely explore their ideas. America is known and admired worldwide for giving great importance to freedom and for this reason the education system is in congruence with freedom. This is advantageous since according students the freedom to freely discover their strengths improves the effectiveness of learning among the students. Forcing students to memorize things may not always work as most of them forget everything after a few days. Furthermore memorizing reduces the chances of students believing in or thinking for themselves. The American system encourages students to utilize their own ideas in learning and this helps the students remember what they learn for long periods and be able to apply the knowledge more appropriately. It has been argued that the educated American neither has a well rounded education as an Englishman nor the German’s systematic studiousness but when it comes to extraction of the practical knowledge and its application to life, the American is by far the best (Althen et al. 2003). Most educational systems treasure good academic performance and those students who do not perform well academically are regarded as failures. The American system does not put so much emphasis on academic performance but instead treasures creativity. Other systems require students to memorize learning materials without mistakes. Not with the American system; instead it encourages students to express their ideas on the learning materials creatively. This makes learning fun and creates an atmosphere that makes them want to learn more. This is advantageous to those students who are not good at memorizing as the use of their creativity aids their memory (Althen et al., 2003). The American system enables as many students as possible get access to as much education as they can. Most of the other education systems are based on screening students out as it keeps only a few bright ones in the system. The US system does not have standardized examinations whose results are the main standard used for denying students access to higher education as it happens with the British and numerous other systems (Althen et al., 2003). The results of standardized tests in America such as the GMAT, GRE, TOEFL, ACT and SAT are just among the several factors considered when making admission decisions. In order to make sure education is accessible to as many people as possible, the education system makes it compulsory for all young people below a certain age to attend school. Education in America is governed by local bodies and states as opposed to the national government and thus the age below which one must attend school differs from state to state but lies between 16 and 20 years. Other education systems, especially the British system apply national exams that cut off the academically not so brilliant students from progressing in their education. This can be disadvantageous as it increases the number of illiterate people in the society. The American system is therefore an effective way of increasing literacy levels. In fact the system seeks to achieve the goal of having 100% literacy rates (Althen et al., 2003). One of the great things about the American system is the wide academic variety offered to students. The US is one big country with a lot of resources and as such there are numerous courses that are offered in the education system. The students have can hence choose to study everything from Chinese history to nuclear physics. No wonder so many foreigners prefer to study in the United States of America. Indeed no system is good enough to march the American system in offering variety. Cons of the American Systems The system of education in the US is yet to define what role religion should play in the classroom. The lack of agreement between opposing camps seeking to standardize the treatment of religion has especially affected how religion is portrayed in textbooks. Some quarters have argued that the attempts to avoid this raging debate have led to the shunning of religion related subjects by textbook publishers; not even is religion studied in history classes. In fact, both the teaching and reading of religion in classrooms are treated like taboos (Mathisen, 2006) The oversensitivity and political correctness of issues to do with religion are doing American students a great disservice as it denies them legitimate answers to the social and historical truths of history. This has lead students to have rather skewed views about the society. Goodman further stated that education in America cannot gloss over society and history without denying students a deeper understanding of the divergence of opinion. Using political reasons as a basis for offering students only a single way of thinking is disadvantageous as it restricts their scope and ability to tackle some issues that arise due to social differences later in life. Most of the other education systems embrace religion as a way of living and study it in their curriculum thus giving students the opportunity to correctly know their background Schools in America and China utilize high stake tests and tracking systems though their uses differs greatly. In china, they are administered at year end to determine whether a student has gotten enough skills that would enable them continue to the next level. In America however, the tests are used to separate below average students from the better performing ones. Racially identifiable groups end up being the victims of these tests (Michael and Heath, 1999). This has resulted in negative academic outcomes and reduced interest in schools especially among African American students who often feel segregated and victimized (Mickelson & Heath, 1999). The British and Chinese systems put very high stakes in their education. The advantage of this is that it motivates students to work harder if they are to progress in their education. The American system however, is more relaxed in academic matters which can be negative as students may not feel obliged to excel academically and may not work hard in school. Some people even argue that the grading system in the US is too lenient as it makes it easy for a student to be awarded an A-grade for similar work that may be graded a B or C everywhere else (Kohn, 2005). The teaching system in America is more individual based and places a lot of importance in maintaining the self-esteem of students. A student who may not perform well in a certain subject is separated from the rest of the class instead of being aided to catch up with the rest of the class. This makes the student believe that he is not good at learning certain subjects leading to worse academic performances. Treating a class as a group, as the Chinese system does, promotes achievement-oriented and deeper learning approaches as teachers work together with students. The end result of this practice is the achievement of better academic performances. Conclusion Given the pros and cons of the American education system, the system still seems to be a preferred choice for many. While America has some of the world’s best learning institutions, the education system still needs some improvements. Comparing and contrasting the American system with other systems helps in identifying and addressing some of the system’s inadequacies. References Althen, G., Doran, A.R. and Szmania, S.J. (2003) American ways: A guide for foreigners in the United States, Yarmouth, Intercultural Press Incorporated. Kohn, A. (2005) The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation: To the Point-Reading and Writing Short Arguments, New York, Pearson Education. Mathisen R. R. (2006) Critical issues in American religious history (2nd ed.) Baylor University Press. Mickelson, R. A., Heath, D. (1999) The effects of segregation and tracking on African American high school seniors academic achievement, Journal of Negro Education, 68(4), 566-586. Read More