The Problem with American Education

Kobe Bryant recently inked a $48.5 million dollar deal with the L.A Lakers in exchange for two years. This comes out to a annual salary of $24.25 million dollars! Compare this to the annual teachers salary of only about $33 thousand dollars. Why do we place so much emphasis, and invest so much money, on celebrities and athletes? It's no wonder that American Students are currently ranked 29th in the world in the field of mathematics. With these sort of statistics, it would not be surprising to see the United States fall from its position as a world superpower, and quickly become a fraction of its former self.

When we look at the average American household, I can almost guarantee that every single person in the family watches some sort of media/entertainment, be it movies, reality T.V shows, sports, anything really. And theres nothing wrong with that. The problem lies in the fact that these shows, celebrities, and athletes are regarded as more important, and more valuable than educators, engineers, scientists, and mathematicians. These stars are being paid millions of dollars, to do work that requires no academic skill whatsoever. If you ask a child in America what he wants to be when he grows up, he will certainly say something like "Sports Star!", or "Famous Actor!". If you ask the same question to a child in China, the answer will be more along the lines of "Doctor!", "Engineer!", "Scientist!". Therefore, it should come as no surprise that countries such as South Korea, China, and India are far far ahead of America in the rankings. We, as Americans, simply do not value or realize the importance of education. We place too much importance on these insignificant athletes, celebrities, and movie stars.

This is only the first part of the problem. The second, lies in the very fundamental American mindset. We, as a whole, place way too much emphasis on Self-Esteem. When we look at countries located in Asia, we see that parents there are willing to do whatever it takes to make their children successful. Parents force their children to study until they are academically proficient at whatever subject that they are in. Why, in America, is this considered child abuse? It's ridiculous! If you look at children here, B's, C's, even D's are considered acceptable by some parents! The parents refuse to force their child to do anything, and simply tell the child to try their best. The child brings in poor grades, and may not even end up going to college! Many end up corrupted, and in lower skill jobs. Now, how is this not considered child abuse? Furthermore, these very same parents are the ones saying that the Asian way is not right! I'm not trying to condone one way or the other, I realize that the Asian parenting style too, has its own faults. But unless the American People, me included, decide to wake up, our country is headed towards disaster. "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest" -Benjamin Franklin

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