There is no doubt that every child deserves the right to have access not only to quality health care but also to quality education that paves the way for a productive and happy future. Our nation is proud of the US school system, and other countries take an example from it (Gümüş, 2018, p. 45). An enormous amount of attention should be paid to improving education since it is our hope for the future. It gives every child in America an equal opportunity to move forward in life. In a perfect system, there are no inequities, and it does not matter where children were born and what language is their mother tongue. An ideal public school provides all the necessary skills and abilities for students of all backgrounds. With the help of their teachers and proper funding, children are capable of succeeding and helping their communities. Unfortunately, while we continue to strive for perfection, at the present moment, not every school is an exemplary institution with high-class teachers or enough money to support students.
At the same time, schools are exhausted under the burden of various demands. They are monitored to ensure that all students achieve a certain level of performance to pass standardized tests. Local schools are required to bear the additional cost of teaching children with certain physical and mental disabilities, who deserve the same education as the rest of the students. Finally, schools are under constant pressure to reduce class sizes, buy better equipment for students, and to hire more qualified teachers. On the other hand, schools do not have the means to attract teachers with high salaries.
One of the most important problems is unequal access to good schools. The United States is one of the many countries where education affects several things, including status, power, prestige, and the level of income. However, the number of cases of dropping out voluntarily in American schools is high. Another issue is the inability to provide effective education for poor or minority students who study in disadvantaged school districts. The main reason for this problem is that these educational facilities tend to receive the least educated and trained teachers. Therefore, we must change the way teachers are trained and hired. The poorest communities often do not have sufficient funds to implement changes and need more support. We could solve the described above issues by providing financial help to these schools and developing more efficient mechanisms and programs to help teachers to be more qualified. The federal government is continuously providing additional funds for poor communities, as well as for schools that have children with various types of disabilities. My essential goal is to ensure that adequate financial resources are allocated to these schools so that students can reach their full potential.
I am sincerely worried about the problem of the economic state of our schools. Thousands of American schoolchildren are deprived of the opportunity to acquire a proper education because they attend schools with no adequate equipment or qualified teachers (BenDavid-Hadar, 2016, p. 167). The classes are overcrowded with students, which leads to a teacher being unable to focus only on every child, which weakens the performance (Krek, 2019, p. 25). To resolve this situation, state funds for schools must be fairly distributed. It is evident, however, that only providing additional financial help alone cannot ensure success in education. That is why the solution is not limited to funding schools. Students’ success also depends on the teacher and his professional abilities. Needless to say that before one becomes an independent teacher, teachers in America, he or she gains experience working long hours as assistant teachers. After that, they work as substitute teachers on an almost beggarly salary. Therefore, I fully support providing programs for young teachers that can help them to find a job and pursue further education to improve their qualifications.
Unfortunately, school violence is another big issue in American schools. This includes not only common bullying, which is also huge but also serious cases of students bringing weapons to school with them. It would be impossible to bring the Second Amendment to the discussion of this problem since, in our country, carrying firearms is allowed by the US Constitution. Children have easy access to their parents’ weapons, bring them to an educational facility, and other students do not come to school because they are afraid. Due to the sudden rise of such cases in the 21st-century, homeschooling became very common in America. To reduce this horrifying issue, the system of security should be improved in every school. For this reason, additional funds should go to acquiring appropriate equipment and specially trained people who protect educational facilities. A single guard with security cameras cannot possibly work as effectively as properly skilled professionals. In conclusion, I would like to say that I will continue to fight to make education not only available but also safe for all Americans.
References
BenDavid-Hadar, I. (2016). School finance policy and social justice. International Journal of Educational Development, 46, 166-174.
Gümüş, S. (2018). State level higher education boards in the USA and reform suggestions for Turkey: Governance, quality assurance, and finance. Education & Science/Egitim ve Bilim, 42(193), 45-61
Krek, J. (2019). Structural reasons for school violence and education strategies. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal. Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.