Education

Education is the foundation for which our industrial society is built upon.  The United States has a variety of educational systems for infants through adulthood.  American children are afforded a Free Appropriate Public Education as a fundamental right.  The government has established public schools which are funded by tax payers to provide an education to children in kindergarten through twelfth grade.  All students, regardless of race, religion, or disability are accepted into public schools.  Other types of educational institutions include charter schools, private schools, and home schools.

The majority of children in the United States attend government funded public schools.  Each state is required to have educational standards that are aligned with federal guidelines for learning to take place at each grade level.  Recently, there are been many laws to address the need to improve the academic performance of students in the United States.  President George W. Bush signed the “No Child Left Behind” law which required individual states to implement assessment based requirements for high school graduation.  President Barack Obama has been promoting the “Race to the Top” as a means of motivating states to increase student performance on assessments.  The government recognizes the need to improve education in the United States and is creating programs that recognize and reward states in the efforts to reform public schools. 

Charter schools are similar to public school in that they receive tax payer monies in order to operate.  Charter schools typically specialize in a specific content area such as science, arts, or have a specific methodology in which they implement.  Charter schools operate within school districts, but are not affiliated with a specific district.  Because charter schools receive tax payer monies, they are required to offer programs to all students regardless of their race, gender, or disability.  Charter schools are often smaller than their public school counterparts.  They may have limited resources in technology, playground equipment, and classroom supplies.  Even though they receive tax payer money, charter schools are not held to the same hiring practices as public schools.  For example, a charter school can hire a teacher who is not a state certified teacher.  They generally try to hire high qualified, state certified teachers, however, they are not required to.

Private schools do not receive any tax payer money and are not held to any of the state laws or standards regarding education.  Most families who choose private schools do so because of religious influence within the school’s curriculum.  Private schools operate on funds charged for tuition. 

Home schooling has become very widespread over the past decade.  When home schooling is chosen as the method of education, the parent takes on the role of developing and implementing curriculum for their child.  They may access textbooks from their local school district as well as participate in extra curricular activities within the school if they choose to.  There is very little regulation placed on home schooling students.  The students are not required to participate in state mandated testing and are therefore not monitored for academic progress by anyone except the parent.