Главная страница | Контакты | Случайная страница Автомобили Астрономия Биология География Дом и сад Другие языки Другое Информатика История Культура Литература Логика Математика Медицина Металлургия Механика Образование Охрана труда Педагогика Политика Право Психология Религия Риторика Социология Спорт Строительство Технология Туризм Физика Философия Финансы Химия Черчение Экология Экономика Электроника

Problems and Solutions

When an immigrant family moves to the USA, one of the first questions that parents ask is, "Will my children get a good education here?" The answer depends on two major factors: where the children attend school and how hard they are willing to work.

In some schools where the community is stable, the funding is good, and the school environment is orderly, a hard-working student can get an excellent education. But in other schools — especially those in poor neighbourhoods in the nation's large cities — it is very difficult to become educated. The flight of middle-class families to the suburbs left big city public schools with mostly lower-income students. Many are deprived children from impoverished homes with only one parent. Many come to school ill-prepared and poorly motivated to learn. A large number need help in learning English. Many change residences and schools often, and a changing classroom population is difficult to teach. In some poor neighbourhoods, students do not attend school regularly because they are frightened by violent gangs. In some classrooms, teachers have difficulty keeping the students' attention because disrespectful, uncooperative students/disturb the class. Be­cause the quality of education varies so much from one school district to another, parents who are planning to move to a new neighbourhood often inquire about the schools — and even visit them — before deciding which community to move to.

Researchers are always studying the schools and evaluating the kind of education be­ing provided. Experts ask: "Are today's students learning as much as their older siblings or their parents did? Are they learning as much as students in other countries?"

What's wrong with American education? To find the answer and to fix the problem, one must look at all of the elements: the students themselves, their parents, their teachers, the school curriculum, the textbooks, and the community. Many students simply do not

244