Disclaimer: The following debate contains views that are not held by the writers, the views herein are intended for purposes of discussion only to encourage conversation in line with civil conversations surrounding the current political playing field.
Round 1
Ginny Hemmila – Our school system is flawed. Excessive Importance is placed on standardized testing over true learning. Teachers are often underpaid; the teaching profession is underappreciated and as a result less attractive to those choosing their careers. The academic achievement gap between students of different socioeconomic statuses has been observed to be persistently wide. Our school system is not up to par internationally, and we are not making any significant improvements towards solving these issues. Education is paramount, and our model is obsolete. Adaptation brings progress, and we must adopt a different system in order to make notable steps toward a better education for all of our citizens.
Shan Amarnani – The saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind when talking about the current system of education. We have been using the same system for over a century now. If there really is a fundamental flaw in the system, we would have figured it out by now. With the current system, motivation and academic performance have a correlation. If a student has no interest in learning, the system being used wouldn’t even matter because ultimately, the student will fail to see the value. With the current system, the more successful students are the ones that tend to spend more time learning the material. Because the student has decided to put in the time and effort, said student is rewarded with above average grades. This system has been working since the day it was implemented and there really is no reason to change it.
Round 2
Shan Amarnani – There is a simple explanation for the academic achievement gap between students of different socioeconomic statuses and it has to do with time spent out of school rather than in it. There was a study done about this issue. Students of all backgrounds were asked to take a test in the spring semester then again in the fall semester after summer break. The results were astonishing. All students performed similarly in the spring semester and scores did not vary much. During the fall semester after summer break however, there was a big difference with the performance of students. Those from the upper-middle class did significantly better when compared to student belonging in the lower-middle class. This tells us that the education provided to students of all backgrounds is consistent. The issue stems from the activities students do during their summer break. It can be concluded from the study that productive activities such as piano lessons or advanced classes can significantly impact their academic performance.
Ginny Hemmila – The way that a student spends or is able to spend their summer break plays a part in academic performance, but there are other factors to consider with that. Changing the traditional summer vacation to a shorter break or several spaced out breaks may reduce this gap, or improving the availability of advanced programs and extracurricular activities that the school offers or providing more services for its students so poorer students can spend a little less time on jobs or other priorities they may have. These are only potential examples. Other countries have reduced their socioeconomic achievement gap by actively initializing progress in their educational system by making changes. Some of the numerous problems that students face in the United States are caused by external factors, not directly by their education, but we can still make efforts to minimize the effects of those disparities within schools.
Round 3
Ginny Hemmila – Have we improved our education system over the past century? Yes. That doesn’t mean that it’s fine as it is. Compared to our own educational history, we’re doing pretty well, but we only improved by making changes. Our present system is better than what it was fifty years ago because we looked at what we could fix and we did our best to fix it. The flaw in our education system is shown to exist by the other, better models that have been created. When we look only at ourselves, the state of education is the best it’s ever been, but on a more global scale, we’re beginning to lag. Countries like Finland and Poland have drastically improved their education systems in a matter of decades, surpassing the United States along the way. A better school system is possible, but we will never see it if we never change.
Shan Amarnani – Just because something is not perfect is no reason to scrap it entirely. Changing the system of education entirely would be much too chaotic to deal with. Instead, rules and regulations that work in the present system should strictly be enforced and those that don’t need to be revised. Teachers need to be trained better and tenure not so easily granted. Reinforcement of what currently works with the system is what we need. Some of the best mathematicians have come from American educational systems. What does this tell us? This tells us that the current system works. Like everything else, there is always room for improvement and the educational system is no exception. Over the years, our educational system has been improved upon so why not improve the current system even more instead of changing it? Changing the system will cost us time and money so it would be in our best interest to stick with what works.
