It is necessary to understand and analyze the connection between various social problems within U.S. educational institutions. The impact of one’s socioeconomic status on a person’s ability to progress their training, alienation among peers, and high dropout rates can be viewed as the primary contributors (Sullivan, 2015). It is also necessary to consider that minority group members have fewer chances to achieve higher education (Sullivan, 2015). This essay discusses how these social problems that persist in the U.S. education system affect students, their future and culminate in a significant problem with inadequate job requirements in the United States.
In modern society, success is measured by one’s ability to earn money. However, there is a clear link between annual salary and the education level of a person (Sullivan, 2015). Sullivan (2015) states that “the minimum educational requirements for many jobs today are higher than are actually necessary to do the job” (p. 128). This issue was effectively caused by a multitude of factors that continue to affect the amount and the typical profile of graduates in higher education institutions. Socioeconomic status has a profound impact on one’s ability to get a degree, which is viewed as a primary means of reaching a higher social standing. The dropout rates are influenced by the fact that many educations push their students towards this goal too hard. Those who fail in this pursuit of perfection are left with significantly fewer opportunities in life due to the overinflated value of higher degrees.
These inadequately high demands for a degree create a group of people who are virtually unable to escape their financial confinement. Considering that low-income families often consist of minorities, this notion creates a significant disparity inside the U.S. population. Simultaneously, employers get the right to freely avoid employing people who are less successful in life by raising the degree requirements to an unreasonable level. There is a need to resolve the issues with inequality, the lack of access to higher levels of education, the inadequate assessment of students’ abilities, and the meaning of a degree to revert the current situation.
In conclusion, the solution to this issue is essential, yet the approach requires radical changes. First, it is necessary to give minorities access to better educational facilities since many of those available in their areas are below the expected standards (Sullivan, 2015). Moreover, as many disadvantaged students experience trouble with putting a sufficient amount of effort into studying knowledge, the courses themselves must be revised. A job often requires knowledge of the process itself rather than the theoretical facts (Sullivan, 2015). Therefore, teaching through practice and promoting the application of theory is more productive and must be viewed as a preferred method of knowledge transfer.
It is also necessary to revise the current methods of teaching, as some of its aspects are detrimental to society. Some researchers argue that institutions must avoid focusing on pushing their students towards perfect or near-perfect scores on all tests in order to resolve this issue (Sullivan, 2015). Moreover, the previous attempts to resolve this issue had created a hostile environment for poorly performing students, as they are placed among those with similar marks (Sullivan, 2015). This separation based on performance further perpetuates the adverse outcome for those who lag behind in knowledge.
Reference
Sullivan, T. J. (2015). Introduction to social problems (10th ed.). Pearson.