Chapter 15

Recently, the role of schools have become a shifted agent that has altered from being concerned with the quality of education into putting a great emphasis on taking part in a global economic competition. Increasingly throughout the years, politicians and others in the Untied States have become quantitatively interested with education and less concerned with solving some of the more important problems that have continued to trickled down and affect the final outcomes of an effective educational system. Numbers are definitely important and cannot be ignored because they are useful measurable components yet students are not merely numbers; numbers do not have emotions and feelings, numbers do not suffer and numbers do not die because of the poor choices made by others.
The globalization of American educational goals took place with an increasing socioeconomic and cultural divide between the Democratic and Republican parties (pg 421). While both political parties favored improving the national education with testing and creating standards, both had distinctive goals in mind. As Republicans were concerned with maintaining the traditional American patriotism and values, Democrats were trying to tackle some of the more dynamic problems like narrowing down the poverty rate at a young age and incorporating a diversity of cultures which is what our new education system has become. We can no longer ignore the multiple gaps that divide children from such an early age. Many children don’t have a voice yet they are being threatened by detrimental factors such as their public facilities and environment.
Throughout the readings that we have discussed, one of the ongoing concerns of many educators and citizens are the numerous amounts of problems the educational system has. We have witnessed or have been part of a movement where sometimes children are not the problem. Where the student will be well-rounded and intelligent yet outside factors are the components that continue to affect them. How can we confront this issue without it becoming a money problem? Apparently, “everything” in this world involves money but if people were truly concerned about the education of their children then couldn’t there be an alternative way in which this issue can be solved without it becoming a monetary issue? Communal, scholastic and parental involvement can be some of the key components to undertake this problem.