Which of the following is more to blame for our education woes in the U.S.?

Question

1) Schools/administrators/teachers
2) Students
3) Parents

Before all you shades-of-gray people begin ranting, I agree--it's a bit of all three and we shouldn't over-generalize. What I really want to ask is which group(s) seems to get too much blame and which too little? Please expound on your ideas.

Again, I don't mean to be over-generalizing here, and I would agree with anyone who would say that, of course, some schools do things better than others, some students work better than others, and some parents are more diligent than others.

Lastly--please don't blame the government, unless you mean to blame every U.S. or state administration of the past umpteen years. U.S. schools have been troubled long before W became president.

Lots of answers I really appreciated. I am in my 13th year teaching myself. I would personally lean towards saying the culture of our society is to blame--one that allows some parents to believe it is not primarily their responsibility to make sure their child is being educated adequately (lack of choice in schools backs up that assertion). It's also a culture that is too afraid to have high standards of academics and behavior. We don't want to fail kids for their self-esteem and don't want to kick them out for their disruptiveness because they're not to blame. We're not allowing kids to experience pain, and without pain, you get soft and comfortable. Do any of the underachievers in schools have any sense of fear that they might go hungry, etc. if they don't work at their educations. I'm not suggesting sadism or a total scrap of welfare--I'm saying we're bringing up a generation of children who don't know pain. Schools aren't willing to make it painful--parents won't allow it.

Answer 1

If I had to answer, it would be parents..

Answer 2

schools get too much blame, parents and students get not enough. We are moving into a society that thrives on pointing the finger and not taking accountability for their own actions. We don't want to make kids 'feel bad' so we don't take score, we don't grade their work and we give them all 1st place ribbons at the science fair - because we want to be fair- Kids no longer have to put forth the effort because they won't get a bad grade or consewuences anyway because we have to keep their self esteem up. Schools are making these decisions but parents have relinquished their authority- they are not helping dtudents with their homework, they have no idea who their friends are or what goes on for them in a school day- they have little idea about how the schools are run and if they do they just don't have the time or concern to speak up and say 'this is not right'
parents are not holding their children responsible, they are not there to see what is going on with them and they are allowing the schools and their peers to be their surrogate parents. Kids are not putting forth the effort, when they have difficulties it is always someone else's fault, they take no responsibility for their actions and have little motivation to learn , research and find out things for themselves. At 13, 14, and 15 they think they know it all and have the wisdom of a 50 year old and no one is telling them otherwise.
I could go on - and I too am sick of people blaming the government for everything - the government is for the people by the people - if the people refuse to do something about the situation, they cannot expect their situation to change. Until the parents get up and start taking action regarding what is going on with their kids, they cannot complain about where the teachers, peers and government leads them.

Answer 3

If I have to narrow it down, I would choose parents. I sat with my kids at the table while they did homework. We had fun and they were straight A students. You can't just expect kids to have the desire and discipline to just do the work. We have to teach them to do it and teach them about the rewards of a good education.

Secondly, I would blame teachers. How well would we adults fare if we worked an 8 hour day then came home and did hours more of the same thing. And we wonder why kids are depressed. Stop showing videos and teach.

I do not blame the students, they learn how to handle school from parental influence. If parents would pay more attention to what kids are doing and learning, it would help the kids be better students.

And before I offend every teacher in the world I will say that like the asker - these are rather broad generalizations. I base this on the the fact that we moved a lot because of my husband's job and they attend a lot of different schools and I found much the same problems throughout their school careers.

Answer 4

Its the whole freaking culture is what causing all this educational woes in this country.

Parents either care too much abt children or dont care at all abt children. in both the cases its harmful to the children.

I think the biggest reason is Money. USA had been rich for a long time now and most of the people living have not seen the great depression in 1930's. they were born into a rich america where everybody is making more money than their previous generations. Once they realise that these riches will go off if we dont study and work hard all this countires educational problems will go off.

Answer 5

It is probably a combination, but personally I feel the parents are the majority of the problem.

Parents used to support schools and teachers. Now, they don't seem to. This happened to a teacher I know. He had a student who was not handing in assignments. He would remind and urge the student to get the work done and handed in. Finally, the teacher called the parents to let them know the student wasn't completing assignments. The parents told the teacher that the kid was his problem for doing his school work and if the teacher called them again they would charge him with harassment. How can a teacher do anything in that situation?

Answer 6

Two causes: 1) the loss of local control that discouraged parents from getting involved and 2) the dumbing down of standards. When I graduated from a public high school in New Jersey some years ago I was required to have the following: 3 years of math, 4 years of English, 3 years of science ( including either biology or earth science w/ lab), 2 years of US history, 1 year of World History, and either 2 years of a language or an additional year of science and math. In addition I had to choice an elective each year from subjects such as creative writing, performing arts, fine arts. Schools today don't come close.

Answer 7

Parents

Answer 8

well i dont think students are the problem they are the constant. parents may be a little bit but its more about how much the parent puts into the kids home time. but what really gets me is the admin teachers and the school board. where does the money that we keep giving them go. i had the same textbooks all through my public schooling. and i took basically the same history course for like seven years straight. and you also have to look at the goals kids are given. nothing during school tells you that you need to reach and go beyond. not sure what will change it but i did see the stupid in america program tonight and it really got me thinking worth checking out

Answer 9

Actually I do blame the government a little, b/c nowadays it is MUCH harder to raise a child on a one income family as it was back 40 years ago. Minimum wage is not keeping up with inflation and that makes it harder for people to afford even essentials on one salary. Due to this, there is a lack of parental teaching and supervision, so therefore you could blame this on parents. And lastly the teachers are not making nearly enough money for what they are providing to our future society. So I agree with you, it is all the above.

Answer 10

The government got more involved in school integration than in quality schooling. They made the schools a playground for social experimentation rather than education. It goes back to the Kennedy administration, at least.
School Admin has become politicized, in my town, and many parents are, at best, non-supportive of teachers.
Much money is wasted on political positions called, "Bi-lingual Educator", as well.

Answer 11

I think it is a mixture of all 3. However as a parent I would say the parents. I hear people complain all the time about our school systems, However they just set back and let it go. The only way we can help as parents is to get involved and try and change things. Instead of seating back and hoping they will.