ABOUT SCHOOLS

 By: Tania Medina S.

Journalist – ESL Teacher.

 

In the U.S, on 2020 there were 3’613.646 births according to the Centers for Disease Control a Prevention CDC, and adolescents are 13% of the total country population; despite that, the National Education Association survey reveals that, on the same year there’s a net loss of 600,000 educators, and the job openings ratio in the education sector decreased from 1.54 to 0.59. Less qualified people in the classrooms means decrease of the education quality (larger groups don’t allow personalized care) and even some population is at risk of being denied access to education, increasing this way the economic gap. 4,96%, is the percentage of the GDP spent by this country on education, lesser than any other developed nation, so the precariousness of the school system, especially public schools, is not surprise. Some could say that is not only a predicted risk but an expected effect that contributes to the overall goal of having less educated, and so less critica-thinking people “by weakening learning with unsuitable programs and creating academic chaos in the process” (David, 2018).  

But not all schools are bad, right? If you want your kid to succeed in life, or at least to end up knowing basic math, just sign him/her up into a life’s long waiting list for a well-reviewed institution. What could go wrong? The answer: student burnout. Researcher Bouchrika found out that, in 2020, 75% of American high schoolers and half of middle schoolers describe themselves as “always feeling stressed” by schoolwork. Children age 8 to 17 say the worry about doing well in school, and they report suffering headaches, sleeplessness and upset stomachs as a result. And bullying isn’t ending anytime soon, in 2019 the National Center for Educational Statistics reported that one out of every five students was being bullied. Nervous breakdowns are becoming more and more common amongst kids. Schools are producing broken people for a broken society.    

Like reverend Joy’s wife in the Simpsons, I’m here clamoring: “won’t somebody please think of the children?”  

 

References:

Bouchikra, I. (2020). 50 Current Student Stress Statistics. https://research.com/education/student-stress-statistics

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Births and Natality. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/births.htm

David, J. (2018). How the American Education System Suppresses Critical Thinking. https://observer.com/2018/01/american-education-system-suppresses-critical-thinking/

National Center for Educational Statistics. (2019). Student Report of Bullying. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2019/2019054.pdf

National Education Association. (2022). Survey: Alarming Number of Educators May Soon Leave the Profession. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/survey-alarming-number-educators-may-soon-leave-profession