Why Bother Going to School Anymore?

The title sounds pretty pessimistic but that is the vibe that I get from a lot of people my age and also from the younger generation. Our country has advertised the fact that schooling is not the only way to go, despite the traditional views of going to college and getting your degree. I know many young adults my age have opted not to go to college and continue to work in place of schooling. Even though making money seems like a good idea at the time, many scholars say that people deciding to go to college now, especially in this economy, are going to earn more money in their lifetime.

Despite the perks of going to college, or even just sticking it out through the high school years, many students decide that higher education is just not for them. Even though this is an unfortunate thought, there are reasons that people may not want to go to school. The first is that most teachers do not stay within the education system for very long. Most teachers quit after only five years of teaching. Teachers should not be quitting for many years because they went to college for four years and paid to get a degree. Why would you quit a job that you worked four years for?

The biggest issue I see within the system is that many parents simply do not care what their kids do in school or HOW they do in school. I know that throughout all of my public school education, my parents were on me about doing homework and my grades. Even up until the end of my senior year, my parents would still help me with homework and reviewing my papers. Some parents now do not even bother asking how their child is doing in school; it may be because they don't care or education is not important to them. This is a sad thought to have because education should be important to every parent and they should express that importance upon their children. I also think that students have found ways to avoid telling their parents about their grades and therefore, the parents stop asking. After a while, parents just give up because they know their child will never tell them.

Despite these issues, the American education system has positive aspects and will continue to until the end of time. The fact that America has such an established education system that is still popular to its citizens is amazing within itself. The system is also expanding and becoming more available to anyone that wants to take advantage of it. I foresee the issues I discussed above, and many others, to continue getting worse, but one can only hope that things will turn around and be on the rise.


Websites used:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2010/09/27/100927taco_talk_lemann
http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Boyer,%20Ashley%20Problems%20Facing%20American%20Education.pdf