Reflection: Part I

Education has unquestionably always been one of the most crucial aspects of the United States. Since its inception, the education system in the United States has aimed to provide a high-quality education that will enable all children to reach their full potential as individuals, serve effectively as citizens of a free society, and compete successfully in a changing global marketplace. Today it is more evident than ever to see the unity that education and the public school system create in the United States. On a broad scale, for instance, schools establish agreements regarding the goals and objectives that everyone should adhere to. Furthermore, one of the primary ways that public education unites the United States is through the promotion of equality. 

Despite the fact that there was a lot of division between genders and races at the start of the common school movement, the goal of providing education for all remains relevant today. The diversity of demographics in public schools is an essential part of developing unity. According to the book's first section, there is only "one kind of public school, free to all, whether rich or poor, Catholic or Protestant, white or black - excluding none comprehending all." The public school system views education as a basic human right, and anyone, regardless of economic status, gender, race, or religion. There is not a single school in the United States today that does not have policies in place to protect students from inequity or discrimination. Any student has the right to study in a safe and progressive environment where they will be treated equally and protected from all forms of discrimination.

Regardless of the system's unity, public schools have in some ways strayed from their core traditional purpose of molding young people into good citizens capable of safeguarding our democracy. Civic education and American history, for example, are not widely required or taught to the level that they should be in public schools. For instance, not all states have a regulation requiring American history to be taught in elementary or high schools; only 45 states have a regulation requiring American history to be taught at the elementary level, and only 46 states require it at the high school level ("Chapter 3: American History in the Classroom | AHA", 2022) . Even though American history is required by law, this does not guarantee that all students take it at the same level. In my personal experience, I did not receive a proper level of American history education until I reached high school and purposefully chose to take advanced history and American government courses in the 11th grade. Prior to that, I was not permitted to take those courses, and even then, the level of knowledge I thought I had prior to taking them was nothing compared to the outcome after completing the courses. 

Another way in which the education system divides the United States is through the funding that public schools receive. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 47 percent of school funding comes from the state, 45 percent from local governments, and the rest comes from the federal government; thus, the quality and resources of the school vary depending on the area ("School Funding Issues: How Decreasing Budgets Are Impacting Student Learning and Achievement", 2022). For example, research shows that students in schools with larger budgets made significant gains in both reading and mathematics; this is especially noticeable in schools with low-income students, who previously did not have access to more comprehensive courses ("School Funding Issues: How Decreasing Budgets Are Impacting Student Learning and Achievement", 2022). One example of how school funding affects schools is my personal experience. I am currently residing in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Ironically, my neighborhood is known as "the worst part of Elizabeth," and as someone who has attended various elementary schools across New Jersey and witnessed the impact that different schools can have on student outcomes, I can say with certainty that funding is one of the most important components of the public education system.  

References 

Chapter 3: American History in the Classroom | AHA. (2022). Retrieved 25 September 2022, from https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/american-history-in-schools-and-colleges-(1944)/chapter-3-american-history-in-the-classroom 

School Funding Issues: How Decreasing Budgets Are Impacting Student Learning and Achievement. (2022). Retrieved 25 September 2022, from https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/school-funding-issues