Has Public Schools Failed in United States of America

Public education in poorer urban and rural areas is in crisis. Too many of the students are dropping out well before high school graduation. Too many are receiving high school “certificates of attendance” that do not certify academic confidence in basic subjects. Too many are being left unprepared for the world of work. Too many are being left unprepared to go on to higher education and advanced technical training. We are condemning the American society to the perpetuation of inequalities across lines of race, ethnicity, and class that we've been struggling to overcome in recent generations. The disparities in education concord with racial inequalities and socioeconomic class in America. The present system leaves a substantial portion of America behind. School problems are reflected in student apathy, student absenteeism, student disrespect for teachers, and student tardiness. Behaviors and attitudes of students are problematic particularly in the “senior high school level”. Restoring safety and discipline and backing up teachers who are determined to maintain discipline in their classrooms  are imperatives to recruit and retain high quality teachers. 

Everyone I know see “No Child Left Behind” as a detriment to the public education environment. There is lip-service to reforming “No Child Left Behind” policies, but the focus in education continues to be in the testing process. The conversation about education is really about who will be part of the intellectual capital of this nation. Who will have access to the resources that that intellectual capital commands? Who will have access to the marketplace? And how will they access that marketplace? All of this is predicated on who has computers and uses technology now. Who is becoming technologically literate?