The Challenges of Regina Paynter
Course/150
November 29, 2009
Traci Reese
Challenges of Change 2
Is the educational system failing our children? This is a question that many teachers and parents are asking themselves. It is difficult to watch our children struggle and become frustrated as they try learning basic math skills. The government decides what our children are taught and how they are taught and then it is left up to educators and parents to teach them. The new reform brought challenges that most teachers and parents were not prepared to handle.
Across America children are failing to meet national mathematical requirements. Studies from the U.S. Department of Education have shown a 40 percent of children (5-17) are failing math. Michigan 2008 the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) scored that only a third of students (2nd to 5th grade) are passing with a decent understanding of basic math. As reported by the Education Department (January, 2009) national mathematical scores are at a 15 year low. This is a significant increase from studies conducted by the United States Department of Education (May, 2005). In past years there are many disagreements between educators regarding why children are doing so poorly.
Children at grade level in America are not being taught at the same pace. Each state has its own mandate for their schools. The U.S. Department of Education decides what has to be taught and the most effective methods of teaching and it is left up to each state to set their own guidelines. Families who move during the school year to another state often find the transition to be very difficult for their children. Lauren Munson of Henderson, Georgia stated in the Education Now website that when her family moved from Richmond, Virginia, in the fall of 2007, her daughter Alexia did not...