Chief Issues in America’s High Schools

Academic Spotlight

As teachers, very often student essays, projects, creative pieces cross our desks and we think, “This should be shared with the masses.” Sara wrote a synthesis essay for AP English Language & Composition on educational issues facing high schools today. It felt relevant and certainly worth sharing.

By Sara Habibipour

With evolving standards of economic, cultural, and societal situations, it is no surprise that some aspects of the American high school system are problematic and outdated. However, they often go unaddressed among the adult administrators who continue to implement the norms of the traditional system. In order to address these issues, we must first recognize what they are. Chief issues in the American high school system include the lack of proper education due to socioeconomic disadvantages, the mandatory community service requirements, and the culture of high school that does not prepare students for the real world. 

Firstly, the current high school education system does not favor students of lower socioeconomic status. According to Horace Man, education is “the great equalizer of the conditions of men”; however, there is a “distance between the two extremes of society” due to the lack of equal and proper educational opportunities for students. He explains, “With every generation, fortunes increase on the one hand, and some new privation is added to poverty on the other.” Although there have been improvements since Mann’s time, such as the implementation of mandatory universal education, there are still major disparities among low-income schools. But, as seen in a school in Union City, New Jersey, these problems can be addressed. Union City’s students are mostly immigrants, undocumented, bilingual, and of low socioeconomic status, yet “they boast a graduation rate of 89.5 percent–roughly 10 percentage points higher than the national average” (Kirp). What differentiates Union City schools from others in America? School officials explain that they “[enroll] almost every 3- and 4-year-old. There’s abundant research showing the lifetime benefits of early education” (Kirp). These schools also exhibit what Harvard professors call the “institutional core” which teaches students to “become thinkers, not just test-takers” (Kirp). Teachers “raise their expectations” and prepare students from low socioeconomic communities for college by not “simply [giving them] more work, but higher-quality work” (Kirp). The chief issue among the majority of America’s high schools is that even though these issues can be addressed with a rearranged set of ideals and practices as seen in Union City, they are not being implemented. Instead of implementing “old-school” strategies such as giving excessive amounts of work and strictly teaching content, we should follow the paths of these few successful schools so that “education can be a ticket out of poverty” (Kirp). If American high schools in low-income neighborhoods can address this, we would be one step closer to improving America’s high schools. 

Secondly, although the community-service requirements may seem beneficial to the students’ morals and their communities on the surface, it can ultimately have negative effects on their willingness to continue these deeds into their futures. The Dalton School, a small private school in Manhattan, claims that they enforce mandatory community service because it heightens the student’s “moral center,” gives them “a sense of accomplishment,” and “[makes] the world a better place.” However, the negative effects seem to outweigh the benefits. According to Psychological Science, “[C]ommunity service requirements can have negative effects on students’ intentions to volunteer in their future.” This statement particularly applies to students who do not feel “ready” to volunteer. However, research shows that when these students were given free choice, they were more likely to want to volunteer than if they were forced to do so.  In order to address this flaw in the American high school system, “institutions should design these programs to contain an element of free choice and to offer programs that allow students to choose the type of volunteer activity they engage in or allow them to combine personal interests and skills with their service requirements” (Psychological Science). We should not get rid of community-service requirements completely; the Dalton School is correct that community service can have several benefits for students. But, making community service mandatory discourages students from participating in community service in the first place, leading them not to experience the benefits that it can have. If schools could make opportunities more accessible and interesting for students, then that would be one of America’s educational issues solved.

Lastly, high school culture doesn’t prepare students for the real world, and administrators don’t put enough effort into changing that. Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, proposed that high school as we know it should be abolished, particularly because of the toxic culture of high school that doesn’t work to prepare students for their adulthood. This culture can be defined as “…the artificial intensity of a world defined by insiders and outsiders, in which the insiders hold sway because of superficial definitions of good looks and attractiveness, popularity and sports prowess” (Botstein). Although high school may have certain norms and “rules,” those rules do not translate to those of life. Students spend their energy trying to fit into an “age-segregated environment, much like a gang…” rather than spending time pursuing their interests (Botstein). In Botstein’s words, “By the time those who graduate from high school go on to college and realize what really is at stake in becoming an adult, too many opportunities have been lost and too much time has been wasted.” Why is this a chief problem of the American high school system? Botstein would say it’s because “…the culture of the inside elite is not contested by the adults in the school.” Although this is a curable problem, it is too often ignored by adult administrators stuck in traditional ways, leading to the decline of generations of American high school students. According to Botstein, to fix this, “Young people should graduate at age 16 rather than 18. They could then enter the real world…in which they could take a place of responsibility alongside other adults mixed in the company.” From a young age, students would be prepared to pursue their interests and serve their communities rather than dwelling in petty high school culture. 

In conclusion, the chief issues in the American high school system include the lack of proper education due to socioeconomic disadvantages, the mandatory community service requirements, and the culture of high school that does not prepare students for the real world. In a rapidly evolving society culturally, economically, and even biologically, we need to recognize the flaws in our high schools. Rather than abiding by tradition, we should frequently address what needs to be changed, starting with easier tasks such as changing community-service requirements than graduate to addressing education inequalities rooted in systemic disadvantages in our country. 

Sources:

Botstein, Leon. “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood.” The New York Times, 1999. Reprinted in The Language of Composition.

“Community Service Mission Statement.” The Dalton School. Reprinted in The Language of Composition.

Kirp, David. “The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools.” Strategy for America’s Schools. The New York Times, February 2013. Reprinted in The Language of Composition.

Mann, Horace. “Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education.” (1796-1859). Reprinted in The Language of Composition.

Stukas, Arthur, Mark Snyder, and C. Gil Clary. “The Effects of ‘Mandatory Volunteerism’ on Intentions to Volunteer.” Psychology Science. 1999. Reprinted in The Language of Composition.