Issues Hurting the American Educational System

By: Jessica Lusky

I came across an article that discusses the three issues that are hurting the American educational system. I was shocked that someone would recognize the first topic as a problem considering how dreadful school can be for some students. First, they discuss the amount of time students spend in school. Thirty states require schools to have a 180-day calendar, two ask for more than 181 school days, and the rest ask for between 171 and 179 days on the official calendar. Only one state, Minnesota, has no minimum requirement. This means that in states with the lowest day requirements, students are out of school for more days they are in it. President Obama was in favor of more time in the classroom so it will be interesting to see what Trump thinks. There has been a lot of pushback since from two major groups. First, from parents who believe their children are already under too much pressure at school and need every single say off they are allotted. Second, from teachers unions who want to know how educators will be properly accommodated for the extra time spent in the classroom instruction.

The next issue affecting the American education system is the lack of respect individuals have for the

teaching profession. According to the Pew Research Center, Americans have a decreasing interest in education. The economy, job creation, and terrorism are the public’s top priorities which are all very important. However, what people do not realize is that some of these priorities are related to the quality of education. One interesting fact is that if the U.S. could boost its average PISA scores by 25 points over the next 20 years, it could lead to gaining $41 trillion for the U.S. economy. The lack of respect is not only deteriorating to the individuals trying to pursue a career in the education field, but also causing the U.S. economy to suffer.

The final issue is the lack of regard for arts education. An estimated six million children have no access to arts education, and another six million have minimal exposure. The arts are not always considered as important as math and science, but it is actually very important for student engagement and learning. A school in the lowest income district in all of New York participated in a four-year arts integration program that took students from almost no arts learning to multi-subject lesson plans with arts involved. After this, there was an 8% improvement in Language Arts scores and a 9% improvement in math scores.