|
| |
Major educational issues in the United States center on curriculum, funding,
and control. Of critical importance, because of its enormous implications on
education and funding, is the No Child Left Behind Act.
Curriculum issues
Curriculum in the United States varies widely from district to district. Not
only do schools offer an incredible range of topics and quality, but private
schools may include religious classes as mandatory for attendance (this also
begets the problem of government funding vouchers; see below). This has produced
camps of argument over the standardization of curriculum and to what degree.
Some feel that schools should be nationalized and the curriculum changed to a
national standard. These same groups often are advocates of standardized
testing, which is mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act. Aside from who
controls the curriculum, groups argue over the teaching of the English language,
evolution, and sex education.
President George W. Bush signing the No Child Left Behind ActA large issue
facing the curriculum today is the use of the English language in teaching.
English is spoken by over 95% of the nation, and there is a strong national
tradition of upholding English as the de facto official language. Some 9.7
million children aged 5 to 17 primarily speak a language other than English at
home. Of those, about 1.3 million children speak English "not well" or "not at
all." While a few, mostly Hispanic, groups want bilingual education, the
majority of school districts are attempting to use English as a Second Language
(ESL) course to teach Spanish-speaking students English. In addition, many feel
there are threats to the "integrity" of the language itself. For example, there
has been discussion about whether to classify as a "second language" the dialect
called African American Vernacular English (known colloquially as Ebonics, a
portmanteau of "ebony" and "phonics"). While it is not taught in any American
schools, debate continues over its place in education.
In 1999 the School Board of the state of Kansas caused controversy when it
decided to eliminate testing of evolution in its state assessment tests. This
caused outrage among scientists and average citizens alike, but was widely
supported in Kansas. However, intense media coverage and the national spotlight
persuaded the board to eventually overturn the decision. As of 2005, such
controversies have not abated. Not surprisingly, scientific observers stress the
importance of evolution in the curriculum and some dislike the idea of
intelligent design or creationist ideas being taught since it brings religions,
like Islam and Christianity, into discussion. Some fundamentalist religious and
"family values" groups, on the other hand, stress the need to teach creationism
in the public schools. While a majority of United States citizens approve of
teaching evolution, many also also support teaching intelligent design and/or
creationism in public schools. Support for evolution was also found to be
greater among the more educated.
Today, sex education ("sex ed") in the United States is highly controversial.
Many schools attempt to avoid the study as much as possible, confining it to a
unit in health classes. There are few specifically sex education classes in
existence. Also, because President Bush has called for abstinence-only sex
education and has the power to withhold funding, many schools are backing away
from instructing students in the use of birth control or contraceptives.
However, according to a 2004 survey, a majority of the 1001 parent groups polled
wants complete sex education in the schools. The American people are heavily
divided over the issue. Many agreed with the statement "Sex education in school
makes it easier for me to talk to my child about sexual issues," while a
proportion disagreed with the statement that their children were being exposed
to "subjects I don't think my child should be discussing." Also, only 10 percent
believed that their children's sexual education class forced them to discuss
sexual issues "too early." On the other hand, 49 percent of the respondents (the
largest group) were only "somewhat confident" that the values taught in their
children's sex ed classes were similar to those taught at home, and 23 percent
were less confident still. (The margin of error was plus or minus 4.7 percent.)
There is constant debate over which subjects should receive the most focus, with
astronomy and geography among those cited as not being taught enough in schools.
| |
|
