For many years, public education in
the United States has been in decline. American students’ education does not
compare to that in other developed areas of the world. Research has shown that
schools in Asia, for instance, are among the highest performing in the world. Why?
They invest in their teachers.
In most areas in Asia, teachers are
held in high regard, respected in their society. Their teachers are well paid and well
trained. School systems in the U.S. are
failing in science, math and reading literacy.
In order to compete in the
increasingly technological and innovative society in which we live, we must
begin producing well-educated students.
In the United States, most public
school teachers are poorly compensated, and they are not generally well-respected. Teachers are preparing the next generation,
and yet, we pay them poorly and often treat them as though they are there to
serve us. We should be serving them,
helping the teachers by providing them with the best equipment and educational
materials available.
Unlike when I was in school,
teachers do not simply teach today. In
many schools, they are more disciplinarians that instructors. Students come to school with myriad issues,
complicating the education of our children.
Teachers face violence in their classrooms, deal with homeless children
and kids with emotional problems. In
years past, these issues were extremely rare, but not so today. Is it any wonder that there are fewer and
fewer really good teachers in our schools today?
That brings up another issue. The way most school systems operate, they
often cannot terminate bad teachers.
Once they have tenure, they often have a job for life, and many of our
children are spending their days with teachers who likely are there simply for
a paycheck.
I realize that there are many
excellent teachers, and some public schools are better than others. But as a whole, our education system needs
huge improvement, and it needs to begin now!
As adults, we are responsible for demanding it, making our legislators
fix our failing education system. This
is not a political party issue, because we are all at fault.
If we do not stand up for our
children’s education, who will?
To learn more about Julie Klein and her business, visit http://julie.joinxpress.com/business.html
