Problems in the Public School System Research Paper

Problems in the Public School System - Research Paper Example A more pressing observation, which most people have failed to acknowledge, is the collective failure of the American public to hold not only learners to standards but also the government and its policy towards education. Learner Apathy Learner apathy in the American public school system may be blamed on a variety of factors. Most students of today have come to put things such as sports and other activities such as T.V watching and going out to be of more importance than an education. Issues from home such as divorce or poverty make the learner unable to learn and compete effectively in the classroom (Long 54-61), plague some students. While educational psychologists have acknowledged these problems as having the potential to impair learning, very little has been done by parents and teachers in trying to prevent emotional and mental disabilities, which ultimately result into apathy in school. According to Griffith, the education system is to blame since it makes learners have misguide d perceptions on education. Many learners know that colleges take into consideration the grades of the eleventh and twelfth grades and thus they tend to relax and only start getting serious during those final years, which results, into failure (231-4). Since the American system is based on the traditional approach of classroom learning, many students may feel neglected since they may be more inclined to the practical aspects of learning. The system is also to blame for some of the apathy among students. Students in the lower classes are required to attend compulsory classes some of which they may not have an interest. Since overhauls of the system are also few and far between some of the content being learned may not give learners the challenge they require at a certain level. Accountability One of the foremost issues in the American public education system is the lack of holding of students accountable. Many public schools teachers and parents do not hold students accountable to at taining high academic standards as before. Many public schools are only interested in the dissemination of information and covering of the syllabus without caring whether the learners attain the set goals or they fail (Scovronick 186-7). Many learners in the public schools only attend school at their own volition since parents do not care whether they attend school or they do not. Many learners are known to keep away from school on many instances without receiving any reprimand or any kind of punishment from either the parents or teachers. In days of old, such behavior was expected to elicit heavy punishment and consequences for the student not only from the parents but also from teachers. Many of the parents and teachers of today lay the blame of a lack of student accountability on changing attitudes about child punishment, which makes the enforcement of student accountability difficult if not impossible. A review of research done however shows that there are a variety of methods t hat may be employed by teachers and parents in holding learners accountable in education apart from corporal punishment (Hood 345-53). Changing lifestyles of American parents such as having two jobs lead to poor relationships between the learner and the parent. Such lifestyles also leave no room for the parent to appraise the learner’s performance. Political Interference Political interference in the public system of American schooling has to be