Apathy towards New York City's students: the example of Rhode Island

It is no secret that America’s schools are lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of performance. This is causing many school districts to take drastic measures to remedy the situation. Last year schools in Compton, California were placed under the purview of the State. More recently, a Rhode Island high school summarily dismissed all of its teachers, administrators and staff. This, after the institution continued to produce failing performance scores. President Obama supports the decision.


While Compton and Central Falls might be outliers in the spectrum of assisting students academically, their examples can easily be applied closer to home. New York City schools, while improving over the last 3 years, are still not up to par with what we should expect for our children. A local government report from June 2009 cites that City graduation rates are now hovering at 60 per cent, meaning 40 per cent of students are still not getting a proper education. When taken by district, several graduation rates are below 40 per cent.

This ultimately becomes a question of placing blame. Is it the system that is faulty, or is it the educators themselves? What role do parents, demographics and attitude play in all this? I would be hesitant to even begin to answer these questions. One thing, however, is clear: something better needs to be done. The stagnation and apathy towards education as a whole is not only hindering this generation, but generations of Americans who are going to be operating in an increasingly globalized society.