Flaws In The Public Education System

Prior to high school, my middle school recommended that I attend “Grant High School”, which was looked down upon by my parents due to its reputation. Grant High School only has a 78% graduation rate. My father had been planning on surprising me with an opportunity of a lifetime and began planning since I was in 7th grade. I left my friends and current life behind to move to a place called Oak Park to attend Oak Park High School, which is ranked in the top 100 public schools in the nation and a graduation rate of 99%. I truly believe this is the reason I am here at San Diego State University today, because I was given an opportunity I may not have received by attending Grant High School. What about students that are not as lucky to have an …show more content…
Canada discusses what the failure of the public education system in low-income neighborhoods like Harlem can do to a child’s future, “You grow up in America and you 're told from day one, 'This is the land of opportunity. ' That everybody has an equal chance to make it in this country. And then you look at places like Harlem, and you say, 'that is absolutely a lie”. Canada recognizes the flaws in the public education system that have been ongoing longer than even before he was in a decision making position to make changes. Canada then states, “Either the kids are getting stupider every year, or something is wrong with the education system”. Canada has been the President since 1990, so he has seen nearly 3 decades of progressive failure by the public education system and recognizes the fact that something needs to change. Geoffrey Canada emits his emotion when he states, “When I first found out that Superman wasn 't real, I was about maybe eight. And I was talking to my mother about it. And she was like, 'No, no, no. There 's no Superman. ' And I started crying. I really thought he was coming to rescue us. The chaos, the violence, the danger. No hero was coming”. Canada was not crying because a superhero wasn’t coming to save the day, he was actually crying because nobody is going to save the children from the immensely flawed public education system. His personal experience and emotion have a deep impact on the emotions of the audience because of his desperate desire to make a change and see the children succeed and have an opportunity that the previous generation did not yield. Canada also states, “Education spending in the U.S. has increased during 1971-2007 but test scores have decreased”. How could an increase in spending on public education result in lower test scores? This is logical proof that there is something terribly wrong with the American