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Almedina Zahirovic
Ms. Emily Parrish
English 1010
March 17, 2014
What Is The Extent Of Our Educational Paradigm?
Our modern day students are inching into an educational apocalypse: failing classes,
skipping school and most importantly not learning, but who is to blame? The educational
paradigm is a perplex model, there are different viewpoints and structures to it. Every class has
its own paradigm to follow, issued either by the teacher or the educational administration. Many
of us have had personal experience with this topic; we are sucked into a nebulous hole, forever
stranded in this model unable to be set free, for example, or showing up for English class and
going through lifeless lectures on hyperboles, and clauses. Although students are a big part of the
educational paradigm, there are other factors that substantially impact the effect of the model
such as: the way students learn, critical thinking factors, the students motivation, a teachers
stance in their education, and effective evaluations on opposing ideas. Therefore we must first
focus on these factors to make the paradigm more effective. Revival of these factors is heavily
needed to help the educational paradigms barriers grow, strengthen and enhance.
Even though the educational paradigm is debatable, one cannot deny the importance of it.
Supplying for the cost of a nicely structured model is a hefty price to pay. Thorough research has
shown that advocates of education reform have pointed to Finland consistently over the past few
years, urging the U.S. to take note of its educational success. According to Smithsonian, 93
percent of Finns graduate from academic or vocational high schools and 66 percent go on to
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higher educationyet Finland spends about 30 percent less per student than the United States
(Olmstead). According to a study conducted by The Washington Post, students that are from
low-income or poverty-prone families are more susceptible to performing at a lower average
because of the lack of support at home. Between 2000 and 2010, average student spending
increased, but more slowly than the growth in low-income students in every region but the
Northeast, where student spending grew faster, the study found. All three levels of government
pay for public schools. The federal contribution is about 10 percent, with states and local
governments providing the rest. Because local governments draw on property taxes to provide
their share of school funding, poor districts with a limited tax base dont raise as much money as
more affluent communities. That often means that children in poor communities attend schools
with fewer resources, and less-qualified teachers (Layton).
The structure of the educational paradigm can be chronologically organized. Since every
teacher is permitted to have a structured model their students are entered into a non-stop cycle.
This cycle can be very beneficial but at the same time detrimental. Since it may be changed as
needed the three key elements must be there: motivation, critical thinking, and also effective
evaluations on opposing ideas. However, things can be added to make it even better. As lined
out in Tony Wagners book, The Global Achievement Gap, that set of core competencies that
every student must master before the end of high school is: critical thinking and problem solving
(the ability to ask the right questions), Collaboration across networks and leading by influence,
agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurialism, accessing and analyzing information,
effective written and oral communication, and curiosity and imagination (Swallow). We
penalize mistakes, says Wagner. The whole challenge in schooling is to figure out what the
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teacher wants. And the teachers have to figure out what the superintendent wants or the state
wants. Its a compliance-driven, risk-averse culture. Innovation, on the other hand, is grounded
in taking risks and learning via trial and error. Educators could take a note from design firm
IDEO with its mantra of Fail early, fail often, says Wagner. And at Stanfords Institute of
Design, he says they are considering ideas like, Were thinking F is the new A. Without failure,
there is no innovation (Swallow). Even though students have their own mind-set they are still
prone to the educational system and the way that it functions. This may or may not work for
some students, as stated previously every student has their own way of learning: visual, written,
oral, or auditory. This can cause the student to fall behind if a teacher has a different set of
guidelines for their own teaching environment.
Teachers can personalize their own models and get students engaged. A study was
conducted on two teachers that taught both taught the same level of Psychology. One was named
Dr. Good and the other was called Dr. Excellent. Upon closer inspection though, there is one
important difference between Dr. Excellent and Dr. Good; Dr. Excellents teaching is more
impactful on students than Dr. Goods teaching. Dr. Good is not an incompetent teacher. Her
teaching evaluations are above average, and students comment that they have learned much from
her classes and enjoy her teaching. Dr. Excellents students, too, rate her above average, her
students rave about what they have learned in her classes and how much they have enjoyed them.
The written portions of Dr. Excellents teaching evaluations are telling. Many students note that
Dr. Excellent has inspired them to study harder than ever before, helped them to become
interested in learning for the first time in their lives and instilled confidence in them as learners.
In just the past year, three students have dropped by Dr. Excellents office to tell her that,
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because of their experience in her introductory psychology course, they are changing their
majors to psychology. One of these students said to her, Dr. Excellent, I want you to know how
much you have changed my life. I will never be the same again. I now have a clear idea of what I
want to do, and the confidence that I can do it, (Cullen, Buskist, Polick).
Students are susceptible to the degree of education a teacher exposes them to.
Each student has had that whiff of a bad teacher, which makes them fall behind because of the
lack of personal connection between the two contradicting sides. Teachers do have a lot on their
plates, theyre criticized every day for the way they teach, the materials they choose to address
and even the way they decide to dress. However, the student is the one most affected in the long-
run. High school teachers are the most prone to blame for students that enter college unable to
understand certain things. A study conducted by the ACT test makers showed a decrease in test
scores; more than 60 percent of the students missed the median score by one or two sections. The
study also stated that half of the students were considered not college ready. Standardized and
national tests play a lead role in this. They also outlined that the minority groups were the ones
that raised the bar for the low scores in each of the subjects presented on the ACT. Teachers that
monitor students achievement and pay close attention to their academic talents rather than just
their academic flaws, tend to be the better candidate for students overall, (Kelsey). Students are
rushed to know the material, now that teachers will receive their pay based on the way their class
is doing in a subject is going to massively change a lot of things in our educational model.
Income and salary are going to be the biggest factors for teachers in the upcoming years;
they pursue college degrees to have a higher pay and then the salary changes based on the
student. However, according to an article on Students First they believe that we should pay
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teachers based on their effectiveness. Problematically, in today's classrooms, ineffective teachers
are being paid as much as highly effective teachers. This results from the seniority-based
lockstep salary schedules that enforce low starting salaries that do not permit raises or other
bonuses for excellent performance regardless of a teacher's seniority. While evidence tells us
that even the best rookie teacher will have ample room to develop into a strong master veteran
teacher, it also tells us that years of service and additional degrees are not a direct proxy for
effectiveness. Yet, these factors remain the primary drivers of salary schedules in today's
professional education workplace, (Students First).
Since teachers are affected by the wage they receive, many of them are starting to change
their ways. They also realize that even if they have a higher degree within the educational system
there are still others that havent received such a high degree, but earn just as much as them
because of their effectiveness in their teaching. However, some states and countries ban salary to
be based on a teachers excellence in teaching. They do have a system in place for teachers that
go the extra mile, that program is considered a bonus that is called a merit. Some studies show
that paying a teacher on performance is a witless thing to do; they address the need to pay the
teachers more overall.
The real problem today is if high school graduates are going to head for a post-secondary
education. It will all come down to if the students teacher had effective material to prepare the
student to head towards higher education. A USA NEWS article mentioned that recent
statistics from the U.S. Department of Education indicate a significant increase in high school
completion rates. That would have been great news had it happened more than 40 years ago,
when a high school diploma still was either a ticket to a middle-class lifestyle or meaningful
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preparation for postsecondary education. In 1970, nearly 75 percent of people with only a high
school diploma were middle class. But that's ancient history in a world where the time between
generations shrinks every year. In less than 10 years, fully two thirds of all middle-class jobs will
require postsecondary education or training. Workers with only a high school diploma
including the 75 percent of community college students who fail to complete their associate
degreeswill have few opportunities to earn more than poverty wages, (Litow). Many cartoons
have showed the effects of teaching from differentiating viewpoints when pertaining to separate
students. (See Figure 1).

Figure 1. A cartoon that shows a representation of how a teacher may teach something
influential to one and something negative to another (Epstein).
As students, parents, communities, and educators we are thrown in the whirl-wind of the
model. We, as humans, must take the factors presented to us and make the model more
organized; we are looking at generations upon generations of Doctors, Lawyers, and people that
will be basically taking the world from our grasp. We must stand up for what is right and educate
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our youth in a structured way. We must fix our educational gap among other countries and teach
our youth the fundamentals of life and also key skills to carry along with them in life. Many
believe that a single person cant make a difference, but that is untrue, they can have a huge
impact and gain other peoples support; so overall, yes, a single person can make a massive
difference, especially in a place neededour educational model. The educational paradigm will
adapt over the years, and it will change. It will also grow and impact people for generations to
come, but it all varies on whether we choose to step up and make a change or choose to sit
around and wait for the next person to try and do something to change it.
We should keep in mind that we are the only people that can change Americas
educational system. If no one is willing to step up and preach for something as important as this,
nothing will be solved. This is the 21
st
century and we must adapt the things to our era, even if it
will change a few years from now, we must leave that to the youth that will be grasping the
future out of our hands and taking them into their own, shaping and molding it from our model,
forever. We will not let ourselves be blamed for the failure of the future to come, but rather for
the success it will gain.