The Flawed American Education

“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”. —Robert Orben.

While there is some debate as to who said it first and when, this quote remains relevant when discussing issues involving education policy in America. There is a consistent problem of American specifically Arizona youth when it comes to education and entrance into the workforce. The lack of funding to school systems and teachers of the future has translated into a generation of undereducated people entering the workforce. While the awareness of the lack of funding toward Arizona education continues to be high, little is done to prevent further damage while less is done to address the issue of lengthy periods of time of underfunding towards Arizona education and therefore the future of Arizona continues to be in jeopardy as each year thousands graduate, underprepared to enter the workforce or higher education.

In the article, “Education Policy Issues Caught in Arizona Crossfire.” Issues of disagreement of state officials complicate many issues including academic standards and school finance are discussed that show a real problem for Arizona schools. Many of the important points are; control of the state school board and testing, impact inside school buildings, common core, Classrooms First Initiative Council and many others. The most concerning is the bureaucracy involved and unwillingness to work towards common goals. The common theme of the article is the contentiousness of the official actors in the roles that impact greatly the outcome of Arizona education. There seems to be more fickle infighting and political line drawing than concern for the issues that matter. Towards the middle and end of the article, discussion of spending and measurements for improved funding and academic standards are showing promise that those in direct charge may be able to work together for resolution in Arizona’s state of education.

In the United States, educating children in Grades K?12 and holding educational institutions responsible for student achievement are public problems. (Riolearn) Academic standards and school finance continue to be pressing issues that plague Arizona schools. These issues can be broken down and discussed separately but they are very much part of the same problem. We need to understand the consequence of each and just how broad of a problem Arizona schools are facing. Public education has largely been a local matter for school boards and states that allocate most of their funding (Education Rankings). Because of the large discrepancies between prioritization of funding in different localities there has become a large gap in what is expected from an education from state to state.

Academic standards across the nation have been at different achieving levels for some time. With introduction of various measures such as no child left behind and every student succeeds acts, the federal government was acting with the hopes of allowing the states to become more standardized in education programs. Many states have now adopted common core programs as well to help to prepare students to be ready for the next stage in their education and entrance in the workforce. Unfortunately, still all opportunity is not created equal and many Arizona schools are not able to provide the tools needed for their student’s success. While these acts and programs where designed to help, teachers are now to some degree facing challenges with connecting curriculum to exams and feel as though they must teach to the test to keep the average test scores required for fear of losing their positions or the funding their school so desperately needs. While not as extreme as the case of Brown v. Board of Education, the current situation of education is showing potential in “denying them the full potential” Birkland, T. A. pg.143. If one can recognize that there is a problem it is the beginning of how to relegate that problem.

Having children within the school system in Arizona, and relatives who teach in these districts, I feel an investment and great concern for the current state of education. These discussions are long overdue and the consequence of lack of or losing funding for the schools should be dealt with. In my community, the classroom student to teacher ratio continues to climb and I see the underfunding in every school event. There is the matter of the problem of accountability. Who is to blame for the funding cuts and drop of education importance in this state? While it is easy to blame those currently in charge of the system, we must remember that many have been elected and are doing what they believe is what the state wants. It is our voices that should have guided them and perhaps too many have either not spoken up or failed to realize how drastically we were falling behind in education. It could be the higher number of transplants and retirees that live in the state. They do not have an investment in the system because they do not make use of the system.

School financing greatly impacts many areas of the success of a student. To the size of the classroom, resources available and even what nutrition program is available. Arizona at one time was competing and even exceeding the national standard for dollars towards education, but for too long continual cuts devastated Arizona school systems and our ranking is among the lowest for investment in education. Now, rather than reinvest into the established school systems, new charter schools and privately funded schools are competing and out-resourcing the public schools. For many there is an advantage towards what a charter school can offer because they have seen the conditions that public schools are in and want the best opportunity for their children. While that is understandable, it will not help the greater problem of the overall lack of investment in Arizona education and the general population of kids growing within that school system that suffer because of decisions made for decades. It is after all these kids who will enter the work force, (or not) and will either continue to need our support or that we will rely on for support.

References:

Education Rankings. (2017). Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education

Government and Public Service. (2017). Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://www.riolearn.org/content/pad/pad100/PAD100_INTER_0000_v2/lessons/lesson04.shtml?encrypted-sectionid=TlJmbFVvYXpsMmRoL2QzbUQ3TWNITHAzSjBQL1VHb0hzbWE3TDFkNDlsWT0

Birkland, T. A. (2016). An introduction to the Policy Process; Theories, Concepts and Models of Public Policy Making (4th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Krasna, H. (2010). Jobs That Matter; find a Stable, Fullfilling Career in Public Service. Indianapolis, IN: JIST Works.