{"id":1638,"date":"2017-02-16T13:47:13","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T18:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/journalism\/?p=1638"},"modified":"2017-02-16T13:47:13","modified_gmt":"2017-02-16T18:47:13","slug":"school-failing-or-improving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/journalism\/2017\/02\/16\/school-failing-or-improving\/","title":{"rendered":"School: Failing or Improving"},"content":{"rendered":"

Einstein once said, \u201cIf you judge a fish by it\u2019s ability to climb a tree, it will believe it\u2019s whole life believing it\u2019s stupid.\u201d There are many students who relate to that fish and people around the United States are complaining that the educational system isn\u2019t suitable for students in public schools. Research shows that high schoolers that fall behind in 4th-8th grade have less than a 1 in 3 chance to be ready for a career or college.<\/p>\n

<\/a>2.1 million high schoolers in the United States dropout every year, and about 25% of freshmen don\u2019t graduate high school in four years due to falling behind. Last year, 15 year old students ranked the 40th in math out of 72 developed countries. Malek Hazime, an 8th grade journalist from Unis Middle School, said, \u201cI think the reason to this is because a lot of parents don\u2019t care about their kid\u2019s education and as a result, they slack off and don\u2019t care about their grades because they think nothing will happen to them and they think that they don\u2019t have to try in school.\u201d 8th grade journalist, Jaafar Chahrour, had a much different opinion on this topic, he thinks that, \u201cThe reason why high school students fall behind in math is because a lot of teachers, not all, don\u2019t do their job, they slack off and don\u2019t care whether their students fail or pass and they don\u2019t help them. If all teachers did their job right then maybe we\u2019d actually have a good ranking in mat<\/a>h and reading in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot of people believe standardized testing is necessary, but are they really? Frederick J. Kelly, the man who invented standardized testing confirmed that, \u201cThese tests are too crude to be used, and should be abandoned.\u201d Jaafar Chahrour said, \u201cStandardized testing is necessary because it tells stuff like where a student is at, if they\u2019re falling behind, or at grade level, and they say which subject the student needs improvement.\u201d Research shows that standardized testing does not improve student achievements. In 2002, the United States went to being the 18th most educated country out of 40 developed countries. In 2009, the United States went to being 31st most educated in the world. Alissa Genser, a 7th grade math teacher at Unis Middle School said, \u201cYes, standardized tests are necessary, but they don\u2019t always show the accurate level of the student.\u201d Standardized tests might be a little useful but they\u2019re a waste of time and they\u2019re inaccurate. Standardized testing takes about two weeks to complete and teachers could be using that time to teach students.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Finland\u2019s educational system is voted best in the world. In the United States, 80% of students graduate high school in four years, while in Finland, 93% of students graduate high school is four years. Studies show that the brain isn\u2019t fully functional until around 10 A.M. Schools in the U.S start way too early, while schools in Finland start from 9 to 9:45 A.M and ends at 2 to 2:45 P.M. Shorter school days mean more rest, and sometimes less is more. Also, kids in Finland don\u2019t start school until they\u2019re at least 7 years old, and they don\u2019t receive homework until they\u2019re well into their teens. Malek Hazime said, \u201cI think Finland is doing a much better job than the U.S in education because their system makes students think more creatively and they have less homework, and less homework equals less stress.\u201d Students in Finland only get one standardized test. The standardized test is given to students who are 16 years old. In the United States, students start taking standardized tests in 3rd grade.<\/p>\n

A lot of people think the education in America needs improvement. They say that students don\u2019t get enough breaks from school. School starts too early, too many standardized tests, and knowledge gets crammed down their throats. Teachers are teaching students things that aren\u2019t essential in the real world. Learning how to do taxes, what to do if you’re accused of a crime and taken to court, and how to create a resume for a job, are much more important than algebra or chemistry. Hopefully, the United States will soon see it\u2019s flaws in education more clearly and eventually fix them.<\/p>\n

Alirida Noureddine<\/p>\n

Unis Middle School Journalist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Einstein once said, \u201cIf you judge a fish by it\u2019s ability to climb a tree, it will believe it\u2019s whole life believing it\u2019s stupid.\u201d There are many students who relate to that fish and people around the United States are complaining that the educational system isn\u2019t suitable for students in public schools. Research shows that …<\/p>\n

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