Creating New Opportunities for Children in Education

Creating New Opportunities for Children in Education

Word Count: 630

Education is a vast thing to talk about; there are so many areas that can be gone over but we’re going too focused on the difference between education between the US and other countries. The US is behind some countries because our teachers are not as valued as other teachers; the job is actually something to be proud of there. “One of the most important things we do as a society is educating our kids. Opportunity in education is the gateway to opportunity everywhere else -- in our economy, in our society and in our democracy. All children, no matter who they are or where they live, deserve an equal chance to develop their skills and intellect. But today in America, too many kids don't get that chance” (Sen. Randy Paul). This is a very valid point that he brings up, it is not that kids don’t have the opportunity to be educated, but that they are only told information through a lecture style and they can’t learn it that way. Kids need to learn the way that works for them and we need to stop pushing them as much as we have, because while pressure of learning can bring out some top of the line effort, it can cause because of this the child will actually sometimes regress in their learning.

                Sen. Randy Paul goes on to say that the people who are voting for the current education system are the people who have already been educated. The groups that aren’t able to have a real voice in this are the poor, disconnected and, most of all, the children themselves. These are the people who should have the largest voice in the talks on education because they are the ones who are the most affected by the decisions that are made. “Rahila Simzar: Reform movements in education tend to focus on a ‘one size fits all’ approach in attempting to solve educational inequity issues. While universalizing core standards and curriculum does carry some utility in leveling the playing field, it is important to keep in mind that it is not the magic silver bullet that will remedy achievement gaps alone. Support for underachieving students and their teachers, professional development promoting differentiated instruction for diverse groups of learners, and efforts towards building learning communities for teachers, school leaders, and administrators to encourage teamwork and shared responsibility must accompany these movements”(John C. Townsend).

                This seems like the solution that would make sense for us to pursue. The current education system is too difficult for students because of the stress it gives them. As Rahila suggests giving support for underachieving students and their teachers is key. In our current system students that are intelligent and smart are given the extra help, accommodations, and are liked better by their teachers. While this is important for them to be challenged to keep them interested and learning, there needs to be more focus then there already is on children that are underachieving. Most of the underachieving students have the potential to be brilliant but have tremendous obstacles academically. They should be given a teacher that is perfectly suited to fit their learning needs. Although this might require more effort in the long run, it will help more people achieve their dreams.

Work Cited

Lawrence, Lee. "Education Solutions from Abroad for Chronic U.S. School Problems." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 01 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Paul, Sen. Rand. "School Choice: Part of the Solution to Our Broken Education System." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 July 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Townsend, John C. "How Should We Rebuild the U.S. Education System?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.