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Molly Hartness
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
September 27, 2016
Topic Proposal: Can The US Public Education System Pass The Test?
Introduction/Overview
For my project, I will be exploring the notion that public schools in America are
failing. I am seeking to learn more about why people have this opinion, whether or not it
is valid, and how we can fix it if it proves to be true. More specifically, I want to
understand and develop an opinion the debate between public schools and charter
schools. Charter schools are publicly funded but privately run schools, according to
Wikipedia. Many elements are involved in this question, such as politics in education,
teacher salaries, standardized testing, and funding for schools. I plan to examine all of
these aspects to gain a deeper understanding of the issues facing US public schools.
When I began my research, I first searched for videos that illustrate the history,
root, and issues of education in our country. I find that watching professional videos
greatly aids in my understanding of a topic. In one video by The Young Turks on
YouTube, this quote was shared from Martin Carnoy of Stanford University: The big
takeaway is that were not doing as badly as the pundits are claiming. Our advantaged
kids are doing very well in reading, as well as anybody in the world, and in math,
disadvantaged kids have improved more than almost any other country. This video
argues that the privatization of schools is simply a method focused on money.
[Link] also presents an argument against charter schools, saying that

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parents choice in their childs schooling does nothing but pulls us from the idea of
working together to solve problems. Also, parents in lower income families are typically
not heavily involved in their childs school, so charter schools have a strong potential of
segregating children according to classes. The children of educated and engaged parents
would be at charter schools while public schools would be left filled with underprivileged
and poverty-stricken students.
On the other hand, in his TED talk, Geoffrey Canada asserts that enough is
enough concerning our schools. He brings up the point that while everything else in the
America is evolving and thrivingtechnology, business, healthcareeducation is still
stuck in the past. Canada infers that no one has been bold or motivated enough to make a
change, and he suggests the potential of charter schools. When researching education
reform, Michelle Rhee is a name that will not take long to pop up. Rhee is an advocate
for charter schools because she never wants families to feel like their kid is trapped
inside a failing school. She explains this in an interview with Brookings Institution.
However, she also indicates charter schools are not a magic bullet for education reform,
and any unsuccessful charter school should be evaluated and possibly shut down.
Politics plays a huge role in education. Because schools are funded by states,
politicians can essentially make or break public education. Randi Weingarten, president
of the American Federation of Teachers, states, [Teachers] want to tell legislators whats
going on, they want legislators to visit their classrooms, they want people to help them
have the tools and conditions they need to do their job. I have heard statements that no
one in charge of public education actually has any experience on teaching and educating.
I would like to investigate the way the system works and analyze its effectiveness.

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Standardized testing and teacher incentives are also influential elements in the
success of American public schools. According to [Link], there are two opposing
opinions on standardized testing. There are those who believe standardized testing is a
beneficial and valid way to measure knowledge, and there are those who disagree, saying
that standardized testing is unable to judge the full intelligence of a student. This also
begs the question of whether test scores are even a good way to discover whether public
schools are failing. A video from Seeker Daily shares that many believe teachers are at
fault for failing schools. Tenure laws make it difficult to fire inadequate teachers, so kids
are struggling at the expense of teachers who are not helping them. Teachers also have
poor job conditions, and their salaries and rewards are not pushing them to excel in their
jobs.
Arguments about public education are everywhere. Parents, teachers, students,
administrators, politicians, the media, and average citizens all have an opinion. A vital
factor in the success of public schools is the government, and the upcoming election has a
crucial role in examining this issue as well. Some of the leaders in education reform
include Geoffrey Canada, Michelle Rhee, Sir Ken Robinson, and Rita Pierson. Each of
these individuals has strong opinions on how we can change our education system in
America. There are also groups like the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a
group advocating for more charter schools, and Save Our Schools, a movement on a
march to save and transform public schools.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

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schools better than public schools? Would better conditions for teachers lead to higher
incentive, thus improving schools?
My Interest in this Topic
We constantly hear comments about how corrupt and broken our public education
system is, but few of us pause to examine why it is bad. Frankly, I am tired of being
uneducated on the subject of education. I want to be a middle school teacher, so this topic
is interesting and necessary for me to learn about. I also grew up as the child of an
educator, so I have heard commentary on the difficulties of public education, especially
in North Carolina.
For three years, I lived in Mount Airy, NC where there was a growing charter
school. The divide between the public school parents and students versus the charter
school parents and students was a crippling issue for the city. My dad was the public
school superintendent, so I would hear him discuss the negative effects of the charter
schoolit was exclusive and indirectly discriminated against minority, lower class, and
special needs children. Being an upper-elementary aged child, I didnt understand these
predicaments. Still today, I have ashamedly not taken the time to explore the public
school vs. charter school debate, so I am eager to learn more about this idea.
Hearing about the issues facing education prompts passion within me to make a
change. When I become a teacher, I dont want to fight with the same problems facing
teachers today. I want to be a part of a revolution in American schools. The first element
of reform is knowledge, so I see this assignment as the perfect opportunity to gain
knowledge on this subject.
Next Steps

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I still have a good amount of research to do on my topic. One of the things I plan
on doing to collect research is interviewing teachers, administrators, and parents directly.
This first-hand feedback would be beneficial for my analysis. Although it may not be
feasible, it would be incredible to communicate with a few political leaders and official
education leaders in North Carolina to hear their thoughts also. I have also found valuable
information on PBS, The Charlotte Observer, and Huffington Post I need to read and
analyze more.