Modern Day Education In America

Modern day education in America is so much different than it was in the 19th century. There are much more ways of teaching and many teachers all have different styles of presenting information to students. The main difference that is the most clear and obvious is the amount of grades or year’s students are in school for. In modern day education students are expected to complete 12 years of schooling before advancing to college: “Prior to higher education, American students attend primary and secondary school for a combined total of 12 years. These years are referred to as the first through twelfth grades” (Understanding). The old style of education was only up until a students eighth grade year and then stopped the education process. The longer …show more content…
There are now so many more teachers than years prior and this allows for less students to be in one classroom at a time and spread out with different teachers: “For public schools, the pupil/teacher ratio fell from 26.9 in 1955 to 15.9 in 2003. The ratio continued this decline until 2008, when it dropped to 15.3” (Teachers). The decline in number shows the amount of students in one room to every one teacher. Just since 1955 the number has dropped drastically, compared to how it was in the 19th century is landslide of a differential. The last point and final difference about modern day education is the certification of teachers. Teachers now must obtain a bachelors and log a certain amount of hours in a classroom setting in order to teach: “All 50 states in the country require that those teaching in public schools are certified teachers. To become a certified teacher, you must have a bachelor’s degree in education, which includes a certain number of hours working as a student teacher, and pass a criminal background check” (Do you Need a Degree”). With a bachelor’s degree and proper education on how to teach students, the students will get more information presented to them and in a more clear way, and in a way that makes it easier to comprehend and …show more content…
This makes sure that every kid across the nation has the same general level of education per each grade: “The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy. These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade” (About the Standards). The common core brings the problem of having differences in education level between cultures and social classes. The ideal is still quite new and is very controversial in society. Many educators, officials, and parents feel that the curriculum is not beneficial for the students and that is doesn’t provide them with important information they will need throughout life, and how the new proposed law has never been tested before and the outcome is unclear: “Those opposed to Common Core complain that the standards were not developed with enough input from local education authorities, while others focus on the fact that Common Core has never been tested” (Controversy). The common core makes sure that students are all on the same level but the question is still if it works or not. As for the education of our nations students, the hope is that the common core brings our nation back into one of the smartest countries in the