Free Custom «Problems in Public Schools » Essay Paper

According to Collins (231), most of public schools all over the world are facing problems right from the manner the school buildings are structured to the structure of education system used. Large school sizes and class sizes bring about learning problems to both students and teachers. In the case of large schools the issue of anonymity comes into existence, and by this the Head Teacher may not be able to identify all the students physically. To rectify problematic behaviors of students does not become efficient since the school management is not very close to these students for easy identification of the problematic behaviors they exhibit. Large class sizes make teachers assume the role of managers in class as well as the role of policemen guarding over the halls and not what one would classically expect a teacher is concerned.It is known that the quality of a teacher is what brings about the difference in learning and not the class size. Reducing the class size from forth to thirty five or even thirty will not inevitably bring about a considerable benefit since that range of diminution can't actually make a difference in the style of teaching. However, reducing the number to twenty or less can make possible it possible for a teacher to change over into a teaching style that is discussion based as well as to recognize each student in the class as an individual during a conversation. This mode of education promotes individual's voice development.  Classes can also be too small. It has been found that classes with students less than eight tend to do away with dynamism possibly since it becomes very difficulty for the instructor to vanish into a discussion (Haskins and Duncan 303).   It is an offense that schools are funded unequally as depicted by the different property values in various schools. To resolve the problem, tax funding for all schools is supposed to go into a state wide pool and rigorously apportioned on the basis each student. Some of the public schools succeed because of the students' socio-economic and cultural diversity. The school systems demand the liberty to contrive assignments and admissions in a great deal of diversity. Attention should be paid to the architecture of public schools. Classrooms in some public schools appear more or less similar like a prison as they don't have enough ventilation since the windows are small. Windows should be big enough to allow for ventilation and to let in enough light as well (Franciosi 159).   

Generally in schools all the courses are supposed to be delivered linearly using a textbook in a chapter by chapter basis starting from the front toward the back. In public schools training is extremely ineffective for a number of reasons. For one, all students are trained at the same rate irrespective of how quick they are in absorbing the content. Secondly, the students advance from one chapter of a book to the other irrespective of whether they have got the hang of the material. Because of this it is evident that for each of the multifaceted skill that an individual should learn, a considerable part of one's time is unproductively spent since unnecessary material is learnt (Collins 231).

Programmed education should be applied to combat the problem of students not absorbing the content taught. With programmed teaching the situation differs to a great extent.  The greatest distinction is that a student is only allowed to move on to a new lesson if he has already got the hang of the previous lesson. For instance a student of mathematics cannot move on to integrals from calculus without first of all mastering derivatives. An advanced technology like that one of using computers ensure that students do not repeat the content they have already learnt and mastered while assisting them to reviews the old lessons so that they remain fresh in their memories. The use an adjustable speed of teaching enables each student to get the instruction at their standard efficient rate (Franciosi 159).   It is true that the system of grading employed by the public schools has a small agreement with what students truly know. For instance, if a student scores a grade of B in high school mathematics, one can not tell the percentage of the content they have attained. It is not possible to say the percentage of content attained since in most classes essays, class participation, and homework are equally crucial as tests. Grades take into account both work ethic and knowledge. It is found that students may understand the content very well but still get punished if they don't complete tasks like homework. For instance, student excelling in music subject may not score good grades in the other subjects even if they are intelligent, simply because they spend extra time practicing their musical instrument (Collins 231).  Because a student will not advance until they had got the hang of the material perfectly in each lesson, the requirement for grading should therefore be ruled out. Rather each student can just build up a portfolio concerning their knowledge and skills. By this criterion there will be equality in the selection process for college as sorting will be done aided by the portfolios built. By the movie "Waiting for Superman" in is evident that education is most valued. Apparently the movie has elevated the visibility of a corner of the debate regarding education reform. Amusingly, the attention appears to have magnified the approaches and attitudes engrafted in No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which is still the current although very raddled federal education policy. Schemes such as a steady increment in privatization, the praise and desire for individual heroes, and constant Taylorization of all characteristics of education are still applicable in today's educational systems (Mischel 212).