Why is it that American Education Grades 1-12 is so far behind from the rest of the world?

Question

For example, in El Salvador kids usually begin learning Algebra 1 in the 4th or 5th grade while kids here in America usually start learning it in 9th grade and some even fail it and have to retake it in 10th grade. In summer 2008 I am moving to El Salvador to complete the 12th grade and I am so worried the kids in El Salvador are so far ahead from the ones here in the USA. The only advantage I probably have over them is my English nothing else. Why is it that american education is so bad? Are the kids to blame who usually join social cliques like rocker, prep, ghetto, emo etc. or are the teachers to blame who some don't teach at all and are more worry about getting a raise. or is it the American Education Curriculum?

Answer 1

It's not the kids to blame, it's the system and the parents. Teacher have to teach to national standards and state standards, which often conflict with each other. My chem teacher in high school complained that the national standards focused on understanding broad concepts, while the state standards focused on being able to solve problems and recite facts. If a teacher divides time between both standards, then neither standard will be sufficiently met.

Also, many new teachers do not get much support. I had two high school teachers leave after the first couple weeks of teaching, because they were stuck with a class full of unruly children. It seemed like the teachers that stayed, either took a hard-line approach to keep order in the classroom, or (more often) took the easy way out and let kids be disruptive, and there is a lot of cheating.

This bad behavior comes from parenting. Too many parents let their kids get away with a lot, and will sometimes yell at the teacher if their child gets disciplined for bad behavior. And there are parents who just don't care about their child's education, so the child has no motivation to do well.

Answer 2

There are a lot of reasons american education is so bad.

1) Parents are not involved in their childs education and don't care if thier children get an education or not.
2)The whole country in general has lost morals, respect, everything.
3)Teachers do not get paid enough, have too many kids that they can handle. This makes them not care and not teach the children as they should.
4) America took God, bible, and disclipline out of schools. The students are so BAD now and no one is doing a thing about it.
5)America schools have to follow a law called 'no child left behind'. It is SUPPOSE to mean that schools are suppose to make sure that all children SUCCEED in school.
But, that is not what is happening. Schools are CHEATING, LYING and VIOLATING LAWS to make it LOOK like their students are succeeding, but they are failing.
6) American schools LOWER the learning standards to make it look like the schools are doing GOOD since the work they make the students do is so EASY.
7) Schools do not help children with learning problems. They are suppose to by law, but the don't.
MOST people who are in jails, prisons, on drugs, etc were students who had learning problems and the school would not help them.

There are so many more reasons, the whole country is just bad in general. Long gone are the days of America being the best country in the world!!

Answer 3

Because too much emphasis is put on taking and passing tests, instead of indepth teaching of practical subjects.
Public school systems need to hold PARENTS accountable for their kids' behaviour, instead of blaming the teachers and the school systems when their kids graduate and have the reading and comprehension levels of a kindergartener. Teachers are afraid to flunk a student because the parents go insane and look for any excuse beyond "your kid is not doing his schoolwork."

Answer 4

U HAVE A POINT THERE BECAUSE I TOO COME FROM A COUNTRY WERE STUDENTS ARE AT THE HEAD OF THE GAME AND STUDY HARD COURSES ATE YOUNGER AGES BUT I THINK THAT THE CULTURE HERE IS MORE ABOUT HELPING THE CHILD GET GENERAL IDEAS ABOUT EDUCATION AND MAYBE OTHER COUNTRIES ARE MORE ADVANCED BU ITS EVEN MORE STRSTFULL..............