.. is a good idea for a child to start learning how to use a computer at an early age, but it is those students in the high schools who would receive the most benefit from having the computers. Older students need to gather information for research papers, write reports, and almost all homework has to be word-processed. While elementary school children are playing games, high school students are being deprived. Children should be given the option to learn at an early age.
If a child has a head start on a concept, they will pick up on it quicker, and may not loose it. Most children learn at a faster rate when they are younger. Computers are necessary at the elementary school level because they allow children to utilize a tool that they will need for the rest of their education and most likely for the rest of their life. Children may be unable to use computers that may be at home because parents may not feel that it is safe. Computers at schools are safe for all children to use, and will not disturb any of the parents work. Older students however do have a greater need for computers in the classroom.
Most students will pick up on the skills quick because mast of their work (which is necessary and more important that an elementary students work) is dependant on a computer. A solution to this problem may be to ration the number of computers throughout grades K-12. By having an equal number, there will be a greater opportunity to utilize the computers. The curriculum in every state should be the same. This is also a large flaw in the educational system.
Almost every student has taken the same classes as a student from a different state, but not all state requirements are the same. For example, New York and California have a set requirement for a high school student to receive a Regents Diploma. To receive this regents diploma, students have to complete all classes set in the guidelines, graduate with a certain number of credits, and a number of educational sequences. Then, those students will receive a regents diploma on top of their regular high school diploma.
This is basically something that makes more work for the board of education, as well as students and teachers. Most colleges do not look at what kind of high school diploma a student has, because only two states have a different diploma. I believe that all states should have the same requirements for education, because in the end (the journey to college) everyone comes from a different education. Most schools try to follow the same curriculum today, but there are still some flaws. Some may say that New York and California should feel honored and privileged to have the option of obtaining a regents diploma. Because they are harder to obtain, and require more effort, colleges (especially in these states) look upon these students highly than others.
Since students in different states come from a variety of backgrounds, and not all schools are the same, it is in fact difficult to teach the same curriculum nationwide. After all, most students come to college with the information that they need to know. It is very difficult to operate one school exactly the same as another due to lack of funding, location, and available resources. For example, a small town farm community with around 200 students in attendance may not have the materials (textbooks, learning tools, computes), educational staff, and resources as a large private school. Not all schools have the same resources to teach all the same classes. Teachers in some cases may not even know the material.
Also, many states set guidelines and establish a curriculum based on what educators believe is needed and acceptable. It is pointless to spend money on something that is not needed, and will never be utilized. It is very difficult to teach the same curriculum nation wide. Theodore Sizer brings up some good points in his writing, What High School Is.
The ideal goals of high school, in Sizers opinion are as follows: cultural diversity, aesthetic awareness, self realization, moral and ethical values, competence in human and social relations, citizenship and civil responsibility, and carrier and economic competence. But in reality, what is practiced is totally different. There is a hectic pace, generous class size, segregation by age, impersonality, low premium reflection, little attempt on relating what you learn, and modularization of the day. So basically even if all states and all schools set up the same curriculum, it would not be followed exactly due to the kaleidoscopic mix of people. School is supposed to offer students no matter age, race, gender or religion an equal education.
However, there is an immense amount of discrimination that goes on in schools throughout the country. Black students do not receive the same respect and education as white students, the wealthy are favored more heavily than the poor, there is religious discrimination in parts of the country, and there is also some discrimination with gender in the classroom. Cheris Kramarae and Paula Treichler explore this in a short essay titled Power Relationships In The Classroom. They discuss the different ways of learning between men and women in the classroom. For example, men prefer to have controlling teachers, a strong structured debate, lectures, and prefer to be aggressive and act on their own. While on the other hand, women prefer small groups, support of friends in debates, personal teachers, and female teachers over male teachers.
Now it is not possible to make everyone happy all the time, but it is difficult for a student to pick up in a class if they feel as though they are treated differently than others. This proposes the question: Is school gender neutral, or gender bias? Throughout the twentieth century, and beginning the twenty-first, developments are still being made to the educational system. It has made a great amount of progress in the last 100 years, and still has more to go. Schools all over the country are doing a mediocre job of educating todays youth due to the many flaws in the education system. As of right now, there is no set solution to this problem, but hopefully in the long run everyone will be able to receive the same well rounded education as a person twenty miles or even one thousand miles away. Education is very important in todays society, and it is a shame to see a brilliant mind go to waste due to these flaws.
Bibliography Works Cited Cheris Kramarae and Paula Treichler. Power Relationships in the Classroom. Language and Power. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
2000. 228-241 Sizer, Theodore. What High School Is Language and Power. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 2000.
328-335 Education Essays.
