this i believe proposal

Blog Post 10:

            I strongly believe that education is a key contributor to society and that teachers do not get enough credit for their work. Over this course, I have noticed that one of my main concerns about the educational system is that teachers are looked down at for the general population. Teachers have low salaries, are looked down at, and are forced to have meet state test standards yet try so hard to give their students every opportunity they can. There are so many obstacles for teachers that for some it can outweigh the benefits of becoming a teacher. Soon, people will stop wanting to be teachers resulting in our children having a lack of education. Currently, public schools are in threat due to the presidential election. Trump picked an educational advisor who hates public schools. This is a huge concern for teachers and for everyone who goes to public schools. If these public schools shut down, then poorer societies will not be able to send their children to school, creating inequality for education. This then transfers into a different problem. Usually, the poor cities in the United States are located in an urban setting, where most of the students are minorities. This would create a huge divide between white Americans and African Americans & other minorities. Hopefully, this will not happen and things will be better in the future.

Introduction:

            I believe that a huge problem in today’s educational society is the use of standardized tests. Standardized tests are not supposed to be used as they are today. These tests are unfair and not important for the students’ futures. Standardized tests are unfair because for certain areas in America, they are less privileged and poorer than other places. The SAT is a more reliable predictor of demographics than it is of academic performance. In other words, lower status students will be less advantaged at the test and score lower while the richer students generally obtain higher scores. Tests like the ACT and SAT also do not test other characteristics that teachers are teaching to their students. For example, creativity, motivation, empathy and leadership. Teachers are being assessed by the scores of their students but a lot of the things they are teaching their students are not being assessed.

Problem Statement:

            In my experience, standardized tests have been a huge obstacle for me and my friends. We stress nonstop about these tests that are supposed to “decided our future”. But they are tests, not our next step into life. Society has turned standardized tests into a wicked and manipulated educational “tool”. Standardized tests are supposed to be used for to get into college, however, multiple tests have concluded that the student’s average GPA is the best determinate for their collegiate career. I also have also read multiple papers about how standardized tests are not fair for everyone. I currently volunteer at St. Thomas Aquinas for my service this semester. St. Thomas Aquinas is an extremely poor school where the third grade students can barely read or write. Knowing these amazing students and their future standardized test that they have to take, it breaks my heart. These kids probably won’t go to a good college or graduate from high school. A lot of them have been suspended from starting fights, stealing things and talking back to teachers. They live in a different environment than other rich Cleveland children. The students ae this school come to school in dirty clothes, cannot afford Halloween costumes and live in an overall poor community. It is extremely unfair that these students will have to take the same tests as richer communities. Students at St. Thomas Aquinas are struggling to get by, yet they will pay money to take tests that they will more than likely not do well in. For my field work, I go to Gesu and there is a huge difference between Gesu and St. Thomas Aquinas. The resources that the children at Gesu have are overflowing while at St. Thomas, there is little to none. This inequality of resources will influence how children succeed in life. There needs to be a better solution for standardized tests.