Weber 1 Cheyenne Weber Ms.

Parrish English 1010 10-9-13 17th and Counting The United States has long been a lighthouse to the world for education. Unfortunately, we are currently trailing in 17th place in the developed worlds ranks of education (Zhao). There is a growing concern that American students are not being prepared for the real world. It has been widely speculated that there is a need for education reform to get us back on top. However, that poses the question: what is the ideal model of education? As the United States has obtained an increasingly negative reputation for our educational system, parents have become concerned. As portrayed in the documentary Nursery University, some parents begin to worry about their childs collegiate future as soon as they are born. This generation of parents is posed with many questions such as: are public schools credible? How do I know my childs teacher is doing enough? How can I motivate my child to be the best? Let me be clear, these are all very valid questions in the extremely competitive world we live in. Speaking as a student of 12+ years, and being well-acquainted with my peers through interviews on the issue, it is safe to say that I am well-versed on the subject of education. In an ideal world, the educational paradigm would be one in which teachers were entrusted to focus on the individual aspects of each student. An absolutely essential part to an educational paradigm is the student-parent-teacher relationship. This relationship should be a triangle in which there is one party in each corner and

Weber 2 they all depend on one anothers cooperation. I cannot stress how important it is for a parent to trust a teacher and to allow them to do their job: teach. There have been countless times when I have been sitting in a school counselling center, listening to an angry parent complain fiercely about a teacher who gave my child an obviously negative grade. Parents like these are unaware of the golden rule that teachers do not give out grades, students earn them. With this said, Id also like to include the kind of manners this student is learning. What must it be like to have a parent who teaches you that you may throw a fit if you do not like your outcome? Im afraid that students like this who dont learn to take responsibility will have a hard time in the work force. While were on the topic, responsibility is a large part of the student-parent-teacher triangle. In a perfect world, a student assumes responsibility for their work, a parent trusts the teacher in decision making, and the teacher accurately and happily does their job. Parents need to understand that a teacher, or a group of teachers, are taking care of their child for roughly 7 hours a day. Parents need to be comfortable with teachers intervening in a students life, whether it be a social skill, discipline or what-have-you. However, teachers have to deserve societys trust. It is not enough to be hired by a principal who has been hired by a superintendent who is approved by a school board. A teacher must prove themselves worthy of a parent and students trust by demonstrating acute interest in a students education and well being. With a proper balance between the student, parent, and teacher, there can be an ideal teaching environment for the teacher and learning environment for the student and parent.

Weber 3 So if there was to be such a close cooperation with the student, parent, and teacher, why wouldnt students just go to private schools? Or better yet, eliminate the middle man and homeschool? In the ideal educational paradigm, public schools are by far the best way to accumulate social skills and social skills are a key part to ones education. I have gone to public school all 12 years. I have been exposed to many different cultures, belief systems and financial circumstances. It has made me truly empathetic of those around me, something I believe I would never have experienced if I had gone to a private or charter school for an alternative education. My brother was in public school from K-7 grade, and my mom decided to homeschool him for the 8th grade after there were boundary changes in the junior highs that she wasnt comfortable with. His social skills went down the drain. While he used to be fun and tell jokes, to this day he only mumbles one-word answers when asked a question. When he went back to the 9th grade, he was desperate for friends and got into a wrong group of kids, and by 10th grade he was kicked out of school. My mother knows, to this day, that homeschooling was her biggest mistake. However, I believe there are some exceptions to private schools. Granite School District cites the policy for their Special Education program as [providing] all children with disabilities a free and appropriate education. When I was in the 8th and 9th grade I was a teachers assistant for the Special Education class. Id run flash cards with my good friend Josh who has autism. He was exceptional and had all his vocabulary words memorized. He could have moved onto more difficult curriculum, however, he was stuck waiting for the girl with Down syndrome who only knew a few words. Optimally, the best environment for one with a severe learning disability or

Weber 4 mental handicap is probably a private school, where they can be worked with on a case-by-case scenario. As our rank in worldwide education has gotten lower, and our future has looked bleaker, there has been one famous attempt at education reform No Child Left Behind. While it has [forced] schools to become more accountable for the education of poor and minority children (Rich), it has forced standardized testing on students and teachers alike. I waste a class period taking a test measuring what I taught them when I could be teaching them, said Chris Gibbons, a 9th grade English teacher. Rather than standardized tests, the ideal educational paradigm consists of a school environment wherein students are being tested through improvement tests. No, I never did meet the benchmark level for math for my grade, but the gratification I get after finally understanding the Pythagorean Theorem beats all that. Platos Allegory of the Cave is, in a nutshell, a parable of enlightening one another. A teachers role in the life of a student is to enlighten them. The key word here is enlighten not just teach, but to let their minds really explore the curriculum. A teacher should take opportunities to present information in a fun and appealing way. A good teacher produces good scores on tests, however, an amazing teacher instills a love of learning. In todays world, it is simply not enough for students to learn to be human generators that spit right back out what they have heard. Professions like doctors and lawyers need people who can problem solve to take what they know and make something different from it. Too many teachers anymore are handing out busy work and not working with students to expand their creativity. This type of teaching cannot exist in the ideal educational paradigm. There must be

Weber 5 curriculum in which a student can find appropriate solutions to situations they find themselves in. Through my years of experience, I have come to know that the best model of education is one where a student has a close relationship with the teacher. However, the ideal educational paradigm will only work if teachers are given more respect. From the documentary American Teacher, a professor once asked a new batch of freshmen from Yale if they would like to be teachers if money wasnt a problem. Almost the entire class raised their hands. However, when the professor narrowed the question down to if you were only making 30,000 a year, everyone put their hand down. It is a widely known fact that students at Yale University are some of the best in the world. They are willing to be teachers, but are turning it down because of the lack of salary and of respect. The top two leaders in the world in education are Finland and South Korea. Similarly, they stress the most respect upon teachers. The most effective, yet difficult way of cultivating respect for the teaching profession would be to raise teacher salary. It would be difficult, however, because of the argument over the distribution of our tax dollars. It would be a good opportunity to convince the American people the importance of a teachers job regarding a countrys future. I understand that a lot of my ideal paradigm is unlikely, and probably only possible in some utopian land where everyone gets along. In some cities, like Harlem, the schools are so underfunded that any parent who wants their child to succeed in this current educational model is almost forced to bring them to a private school. The fight over education reform may never desist as long as it involves American tax dollars.