A Crisis In Education
A crisis in education has hit the United States school system. U.S. math grades have plunged to one of the lowest of advanced economies. And the trend is not in our favor. A record number of students of all ages are failing standardized math exams such as regents, SAT’s and GMATs.
There are several causes for this trend. Firstly, due to state and federal budget cuts, more students are being squeezed into classes. This makes it very difficult for them to receive individual attention, and a longer time for their weakness to be addressed. This can cause a spiral of poor grades, loss of confidence, frustration, and lost hope.
Another cause is a decrease in teacher quality. Due to federal and state budget cuts, lower annual salaries or being paid to teachers. Not only that, but benefits, and pensions are being cut significantly. This drives the best and most committed teachers into the private sector where they can earn more and feel appreciated.
The remaining teachers are overworked. Wanting to cut wherever they can schools are trying to squeeze the most out of every teacher. This, however, lowers their standard of performance. They can no longer provide individual attention for students who need it, and don’t have the time to focus on under performing students to speak with them and their parents about ways to improve.
This is a problem that is not going away, and with the current prevailing attitude of politicians will just get worse. As parents and teachers with a voice, we should express our disapproval of these policies, and begin to turn around our school systems. For the sake of the future of our country, we must provide only the best education for our youth. This will help grow our economy, be more productive, and keep our competitive edge over other advanced economies.
Let us not be short sighted and cut our school budget to save a few dollars. This might help someone get elected, it might feel good in the moment, but it will have devastating long term effects. Germany, China and many other countries have far superior educational systems and their economies are growing at a much faster rate then ours. We must invest in our children’s education, keep our top teachers, bring in expert principles, and spend on school resources. The return will far outweigh the costs and we reap the fruits of this investment in our future.
As educators, we find that bringing math into every day life really helps students internalize the math concepts. Math Made Easy, has developed a program of Math Software DVDs that does just that. By seeing how math concepts play out in real life, and being able to apply them in any situation, students internalize the concepts and can use them in any situation regardless of complexity.