The Education Epidemic
Although Lewis Black may regard the topic of America’s
declining education with a sarcastic tone there is no denying that education in
America is a serious, if not vital issue. The educational system often places
excessive emphasis on aesthetics and modern luxuries, consequently paying
little attention to the actual instruction being given. Moreover, although organizations
such as Waiting for Superman, the Education Equality Project, and Teach for
America are able to put more focus on each student’s individual needs, the
funding needed to expand their reach is lacking. Is there a solution? Can our
diseased educational system be cured, or is it a terminal case?
The Robert F. Kennedy Community School is famous not only
for its historical location at the site of the presidential candidate’s
assassination, but also for its $578 million price tag. RFKCS features upscale
modern architecture, fine arts murals, an avant-garde café, a manicured public
park, and the “Cocoanut Grove” Auditorium. The school has been dubbed “A $578
Million Monument to Dysfunction”. Taxpayers are outraged at the misuse of
funding, questioning why the state chose to spend over half a billion dollars
on a single school built for a capacity of just 4,200. Yet this is not the only
case of exorbitant spending for a school building. Newtown North High School in
Massachusetts and the New Brunswick High School in New Jersey were built at
expenses upwards of $180 million. What difference might it have made had these
funds had gone towards providing education for more children as opposed to
building lavish amenities?
Organizations such as Waiting for Superman and Teach for
America serve to bring good education to
impoverished or less fortunate children. Each year the budgets for these
organizations get a little more funding, allowing them to aid more students.
For example, in 2003 Teach for America had an annual budget of roughly $30
million and had fifteen thousand applicants. In 2011, the budget had increased
to $175 million and the association had fifty thousand applicants. While the
amount of funding spent per applicant has increased over the years, after
adjusting for inflation, it is evident that the organization is making good use
of their money. Had associations such as this been given some of the funding
that was instead used for building opulent schools, hundreds of thousands more
students would have been given access to good education.
The numbers and facts show that there is a large
possibility for a grim future, unless the educational system is righted.
America is ranked low among 29 other countries in science and math. When placed
against twenty-six countries in terms of literacy, America is ranked fifteenth.
Yet the U.S. ranks number one in confidence and are currently the seventh
richest country in the world. This means America is sending forth people who
are over-confident, over-privileged and under-qualified to pave the way for
generations to come.
The big
question; can this all be resolved? Is it possible for the educational system
to be saved, or is it already too corrupt? Hope may be found in Waiting for
Superman and other nonprofit organizations with the goal of bringing
specialized, individual education and attention to all. Yet the unexplained
unbalance in educational funding is certainly unnerving, and leaves many to
wonder why the budget is being so
misused. The education epidemic will always be an uphill battle; politics,
personal agendas, and poor planning are all factors that will forever affect
education in America. It is just a matter of minimizing their effect and being persistent in the fight to
improve education. In honesty, the educational system will never be “cured,”
but it may be able to be made “better”.
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