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Education Issues: Denver and Public schools in General

To say that public education (K-12) is a problem in America today would be an

understatement. The United States isn¶t even in the top ten in education in the world

even with all the new charter schools being made, along with the ever-standing private

schools. There is something wrong here, and according the political activist Sandra Price,

it has to do with the rules and regulations set by the public schools. And according to the

education policy activist for the Independence Institute, Ben DeGrow, the problems arise

in the structure not the budget cuts. There are many issues that need to be addressed in

terms of public school education; perhaps solutions could be found if the source of the

problems is sought after.

Education should be the same throughout the nation. This comes from the notion

brought to us in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, if we are

created equally then we should be treated, as well as educated equally. Public school has

been falling behind private schooling for decades now; this according to Price is because

of multiple factors one being the classroom size of public education. Classroom size

makes a huge difference; the difference between 15 students and 25 kids is enormous.

Although 25 students is below the average class size, taken in 2004 it offers children

opportunities to get away with things that the teacher doesn¶t see because there are too

many students in the classroom to keep them all in line with only one instructor playing

the roll of a baby sitter. The students realize what they can get away with as well as when
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these actions are tolerated. For example, with a small class let¶s say 5 kids; these students

are always on watch because the teacher can see all of them and knows where they are at

all times. With 25 or 30 students to take care of this becomes even more unmanageable

depending on what grade level we are talking about.

As the instructor helps one student at the back of the class the students and the

front of the class become restless perhaps waiting for the teacher to help them out. Their

hands stay in the air for a long time. The point finally reaches the student doesn¶t care to

have the teacher come over because a classmate has already given him/her the answer.

This is the start of a bad habit. This is where cheating and horseplay spring up from. In a

private school the class sizes are smaller, the teacher has a better hold on the class

because he/she can keep their eyes on the whole class at once. The teacher doesn¶t have

to worry about cheating because he/she can help students faster because they have fewer

students to handle. Meaning the students are getting help quicker and schooling moves

faster.

Let¶s add another aspect that shows larger class sizes effect education, let¶s talk

about the whole school and focus on High Schools. The classes are big because so many

people go there, which means that the administration, just like a big classroom cannot

watch all the students at once. The public schools are constantly dealing with students

that get in trouble, as are private schools however the same phenomenon happens, but

they are able to take care of them easier with less students. The public schools have many
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more troublemakers to deal with and they cannot watch all the students at once.

Meanwhile they are dealing with the newest troublesome students the others who

probably haven¶t gotten in trouble are doing drugs in the parking lot. Same idea just

formed into a different dimension. The school never knows because their metaphoric

back is turned. On the other side, private schools have a smaller number of students to

take care of. Meaning they can enforce the rules that they have made before the student

arrives at school and the parent has signed before the check arrives to school.

The elementary level is the most important time in a student¶s life. If the

foundations of a quality education are not set then it is the student who has to catch up to

students who are getting quality education. The parents don¶t really know what is going

on because they just see that their child is being passed onto the next grade level. As long

as that is the case the parents are proud. By the time high school comes along the students

are basically where they will be for the rest of their education career. The smart kids are

set in being smart, the same with the under achievers. Although high school gets one

ready for college elementary gets one ready for the rest of their life. Elementary schools

are the reason that kids learn to read, count and play with one another. If a student

doesn¶t read well it will carry all the way to high school and they will fall behind.

The reason public education is falling behind is also an issue of rules, according

to Price. She states that the public schools have so many rules but they don¶t bother to

enforce them. There are too many kids to enforce the rules on every student who doesn¶t
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follow them. The problem here is over population, in the small scale as in classes as well

as the full scale in terms of schools. If there were more teachers to teach the increased

number of students then there wouldn¶t be an issue. The private schools work because

they are strict on the rules as well as the number of students is a manageable one. To take

money away from education is to take teachers away from education. Taking the

instructor away from a class and making class sizes larger is the problem in United States

Education today. Too many school districts to take care of, with not enough teachers.

According to Ben DeGrow of the Denver Post, ³public education system's

shortcomings are tied to poor structural design than to revenue shortfalls.´ DeGrow As

most people would blame the economy for the difficulty of education or lack there of,

DeGrow maintains that there are many other attributes to add to the problem than just

money. According to the Colorado Department of Education, schools received about

$12,000 per student in the 2007-08 school year. Teachers are the life-blood to any school.

All professions need to get paid. Although taking money away from public

education is taking money away from families who cannot afford to send their children to

a private school. This hurts to say, this is true for every American struggling with

finances, and not just the education world is being slammed with budget cuts and layoffs.

The real reason that education is floundering in recent years is because of poor structural

design, according to DeGrow. I agree with this statement. In America in general the

system is flawed. In foreign countries, they start teaching foreign languages at an early
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age. Studies have proved that it gets more difficult to learn anything as one grows older.

The ability for neurons to make connections in the brain diminishes as time persists. The

American people have to realize that education is a life-blood to a society and the way it

is as of today is not setting up students to succeed.

Schooling needs to start with the parents, teaching the child t want to learn.

Education only works if the student is there to learn. Teaching something to a person who

has no intent on learning it is a waste of time. Public school needs to be more selective.

There doesn¶t need to be any applications however making sure that the students that are

attending would be a benefit. An essay depicting why they want to go to school in later

years would help out. Forceful education will never work. Education is at a place in

young children¶s minds that they have to be there and not that they want to be there. For

now, education will stay where it is until the parents work together with the teachers and

students.
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Works Cited:

Price, Sandra µAmerican Education Problems!¶ Right POV (2001) Online.

"Ben DeGrow | Education Policy Center." 2
 

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 . 15 Feb. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://education.i2i.org/about-

2/bendegrow/>.