Literature Review

Education is one of the most important things in our nation. In our fast paced society it is important to know the basic fundamentals of math, science, and English so that you can keep up.  Education affects our futures drastically and without it we may end up on the street. Sources for this project came primarily from online database JSTOR and Proquest. Sources tend to fall out along certain lines, which are basically policies, evolution, creationism, effective, money, and attention. 

Many of the sources I have include policies. These policies include Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind, which are the two most recent and widely known education policies. In one source, Ravitch, Diane. "Los Angeles Times: A Wise Editorial about NCLB and Race to Top." In this article, the author somewhat explains the difference between the Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind education policies. “Instead of confronting root causes, our elites confront the failure of the NCLB regime of high-stakes testing by demanding more of the same and making the stakes higher for teachers and principals.” The author talks about the underlying issues in the policies and that the government doesn’t dig deep enough to fix the problems in education. This information was published in 2013 on a blog. 

In many sources, I found information on evolution. Evolution is a very controversial issue and it has been around for centuries. In one source, "Evolution Resources from the National Academies," describes the difference between creationism and evolution in schools. “Many teachers are under considerable pressure from policy makers, school administrators, parents, and students to downplay or eliminate the teaching of evolution.” It goes to show that students lack certain information because some teachers are against evolution so they refuse to teach it. It also describes that technology and society are becoming faster paced and it’s necessary to learn about evolution and science in order to keep up. This information was published by National Academy of Sciences on the web. In another source, I found more information on evolution. This article further explains the problems with evolution and creationism taught in public schools. One teacher was forced to quit because he taught evolution while the school preferred creationism. “The former science teacher at the Cape Town school worried about the students and the lack of “competent science education,” fearing that it will hamper the students’ learning of science.  The parents, who the school told about the teacher's lesson plans, apparently told their children to dismiss anything the science teacher said about evolution in favor of creationism.” This was a huge problem and led to many questions regarding how students should be taught. This information was published by God Discussion in 2012 on the web. 

Another source I have includes the belief of creationism. Creationism is the belief that the universe and living organisms originate from specific acts of divine creation, as in the biblical account, rather than by natural processes such as evolution. In one source, Schehl, Pam. "Ohio Court Spars on Science Teacher's Creationist Lessons," This article talks about a public school science teacher who kept a bible on his desk and was accused of preaching religious beliefs in class. This was a very controversial topic because people didn’t know whether they should allow their kids to learn about evolution or creationism. The teacher who got fired was accused of burning crosses into their students’ arms and he tried forcing his beliefs on them. This information was published in 2013 on an online news article. 

Another popular topic in my sources is attention. Attention is a very important thing when it comes to school. If you don’t have a student’s attention, then you’re doing your job poorly. In one source, Bowie, Liz. "Class Size Grows in High Schools after Cuts to Teaching Positions." This article describes the effects due to cutting down teaching positions in schools. “We must make sure that all students are challenged and given the opportunity and support they need; whether that is a gifted and talented student at one high school or a student who is academically struggling at another.” This describes that cutting down class sizes can negatively affect the students because some may need more attention and help from the teacher, and with larger class sizes, it would be more difficult to receive that help. This information was published in 2014 in the Baltimore Sun.  In the article, "Does Class Size Count?" Mosle, Sara goes into more depth talking about the attention of students and how important it is. This article also describes what would happen if class sizes increased. It goes into depth explaining what could happen. “To many educators, the answer seems obvious: Teachers who have fewer students can give each child more attention and tailored instruction.” It is apparent that cutting teachers will impact the students and the way of learning. Loss of attention is a huge issue. This information was published in 2013 in The New York Times. 

Many of my sources deal with money. Money is a huge issue all around the world, and in the United States these vary from low income families to under budget schools that can’t afford to give their students enough resources to properly educate them. In one source, Lecker, Wendy, Jonathan Pelto, and Valerie Strauss’s "How Grossly Underfunded Are Public Schools?" describes how public schools are underfunded a lot of the time but it also explains that money isn’t the only cause in poor education. “Despite vast differences among states, courts enumerated a remarkably consistent list of necessary inputs, including: high quality preschool, small class size, additional services for at-risk students, supports for teachers such as professional development, curriculum supports, supplies, equipment, adequate facilities,  and adequate books and other learning tools.” All of these factors need to be improved and money can fix most of them.  This information was published in 2012 in The Washington Post. In the article, "World Socialist Web Site," Khara Sikhan also describes the issues of money in the education system around the country. This article explains the risk low income students have of dropping out of high school. The author describes that the escalating attacks on the public school system, hundreds of thousands of teachers have been laid off, thousands of schools closed, and millions of students pushed into overcapacity classrooms and overbearing requirements. These circumstances bear down hardest on teenagers in the poorest families, and many are compelled to join the workforce to supplement the household budgets. It’s very common that high school students get jobs which can create a lot of stress on them and urge them to drop out of high school. They need money to survive and feel the need to focus on work rather than school. This information was published in 2013 on the web.

The remainders of my sources associate with teachers and how effective they are. It’s hard to find a teacher that actually makes an impact on a student’s life. It takes a lot for a teacher to be dedicated to do their job well and make a difference in kids’ lives. In one source, "The Effective Teacher versus the Ineffective Teacher?" describes what makes an effective teacher and what teachers can do to become more effective in giving a student a good education. “Research indicates that teacher preparation/knowledge of teaching and learning, subject matter knowledge, experience, and the combined set of qualifications measured by teacher licensure are all leading factors in teacher effectiveness” There are many aspects on what makes a good teacher and I believe this article explains them pretty well. This article was published in 2010 on the Examiner.  Another article, "Protecting Bad Teachers, " describes teacher unions in more depth and how they can be unfair because students get stuck with bad teachers and there may be nothing they can do about it. Only one out of 1000 teachers is fired, due to tenure. Many argue that it is unfair because ineffective teachers are guaranteed a job even if they don’t deserve one. In Chicago, one in four students nearing graduation could read and do math, but those teachers didn’t get fired because they had tenure. If teachers didn’t have their job guaranteed, it would probably force them to be more effective in their ways of teaching. This information was published on the web.