上外全新版大学英语综合教程讲义-book1-unit8

UNIT 8 Dealing with Education Problems

Text A Fable of the Lazy Teenager

Part I Background Information

The General View of American on Education

It is a general view that every American has the right and obligation to become educated. American believe that, through education, an individual acquires the knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities which will enable him to fit into society and improve his social status. Very often, they look to education as the cause of personal and national success and the cure of social and economic ills, holding the view that the future of the nation depends largely on education.

Characteristics of American Education

Formal education in the United States consists of elementary, secondary and higher education. Elementary and secondary education is free and compulsory. Some schools colleges and universities are public and others are private. Diversity is considered to be an outstanding characteristic of American education. As each state has the freedom to develop as extensive or limited a school system as it desires, and delegate its power over education to local districts to the extent it wishes, many variations can be found in the education system of the 50 states.

The Principal Functions of Institution of Higher Education in American Education

The system of higher education has three principal functions: teaching, research and public service.

Educational System in America

The U.S. public school system is gigantic, with roughly $314 billion in annual expenditures, 5.4 million employees (2.7 million of which are teachers), and 46 million pupils. It also has many unique qualities that set it apart from school systems in other industrialized nations, such as local control, local funding, and a commitment to provide a kindergarten through 12th grade education to every student who enters the system.

When it was created in the mid-19th century, the U.S. public school system was viewed as a means of improving society. This is one of the reasons the system has aimed to serve all pupils for 13 years, while other countries developed educational systems that removed underachieving students at younger ages. The inclusive nature of the U.S. school system has played a crucial role in unifying a nation of immigrants, transmitting national values and concepts, and offering — in theory, if not always in practice — the promise of equal opportunity through equal education.

Another unique feature of the U.S. system is that it vests authority over the schools with thousands of local school boards rather than a centralized, national agency. Local