School Problems and Possible Solutions

19 The quality of a child's education depends largely on where he or she goes to school. Facilities and resources vary a lot from one school district to another. In education (as in many other areas), money is both part of the problem and part of the solution. Most of the money to operate American schools comes from local property taxes. As a result, poorer communities have less money to spend on books, equipment, and teachers' salaries. All these factors affect the quality of education. In areas where the community is stable, the funding good, and the school environment orderly, a hardworking student can get an excellent education. But schools in poor neighborhoods in the nation's large cities are usually less successful. They do not always have the resources necessary to support students with special needs. For example, some students may need help in learning English. In some neighborhoods, the students in one classroom may have a dozen different native languages! In poor neighborhoods, children move often and therefore change schools often, which interferes with their education. In some inner-city neighborhoods, some students miss school because they are afraid of violent gangs that make walking to school dangerous.

20 Another problem is a serious shortage of qualified teachers. Teaching is a hard job, and the rewards are not what they should be. Starting salaries for teachers are much lower than for employees in many other occupations requiring a college degree. Teaching is a time-consuming job; lesson-planning and paper-grading are often done at home. It is common for teachers to devote 60 hours a week to their job. Considering all these factors, it's not surprising that many young adults choose other occupations.

21 Teachers and schools shouldn't be blamed for all the problems in American education. Students themselves are also responsible for how much they learn. Many students do not study enough. Elementary schools are encouraging more studying nowadays by retaining students (requiring them to repeat a grade) if they cannot pass tests on the important material studied in that grade. In high school, some students are distracted by part-time jobs, school activities, TV, and socializing. Others do not keep up with their schoolwork because of emotional problems, drinking or use of illegal drugs, or lack of motivation. About 11% drop out between the ages of 16 and 18,

22 Would public schools improve if they had more competition? Some people think so. Some parents, politicians, and educators support the idea of giving parents greater choice in selecting their children's schools. One such plan involves giving parents vouchers that can be used to pay part of the tuition at a private school. Tuition tax credits (deductions from state taxes) have also been provided to help parents afford private school tuition.

23 Parents who are dissatisfied with the regular public schools in their community may choose charter schools or even homeschooling. Charter schools have special agreements with their state board of education that free them from some of the restrictions placed upon regular public schools. Therefore, they are able to experiment with new teaching methods. There are about 1,700 charter schools in the U.S.A. today, and the numbers are growing. Homeschooling is a popular movement as well. About 1.5 million American children are taught at home.

24 American educators and policy makers have great confidence that computers are improving American education. About 90% of American schools have Internet access and, on average, one computer for every six students. Children as young as 3 years old are introduced to computers at home or at preschool.

25 Improving the school system is one of the nation's top priorities. In most states, teachers and school administrators are developing (or have developed) standards— statements of exactly what children are supposed to learn in each grade. They are also improving assessment—ways of finding out if students have met these standards. Tests that evaluate students also evaluate schools. Schools with low pass rates are expected to make changes that will lead to improvement. While Americans look for ways to make elementary and secondary education better, they are encouraged by the fact that 65% of the nation's high school graduates choose to continue their formal schooling at a college or university.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16