Why The Education System Is Failing America | CNBC Marathon

CNBC Marathon explores if why the education system in the U.S. is struggling by taking a hard look at the Common Core, teacher’s salaries and sex education.

First implemented in 2009, Common Core was an ambitious initiative to revolutionize the American education system. National leaders from Bill Gates to President Obama supported the idea and it cost an estimated $15.8 billion to implement. Years later, research showed the new curriculum had minimal impact on student performance. So why did Common Core fail? Can a common curriculum be successful for all students?

At the same time, teachers earn nearly 20% less than other professionals with similar education and experience, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In many states, their wages are below the living wage, forcing teachers to seek secondary jobs to supplement their income or leave the profession all together. So why are teachers paid so little and how can the U.S. fix that?

And the majority of U.S. students report they've had sex before graduation, which means the type of sex education they receive can be a big deal, for themselves personally and for the economy. The federal government doesn't have any official regulations for what schools must include in sex education curriculum, which has lead to inconsistent lessons across the country. Watch the video above to learn why sex education is so crucial for the economy and what happens when some students are left behind.

CNBC Marathon brings together the best of CNBC’s education coverage on YouTube.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:31 How Common Core Broke U.S. Schools (Published Aug. 2021)
14:30 Why Teachers Are Paid So Little In The U.S. (Published Dec. 2020)
25:51 Why Sex Education Is So Bad In The U.S. (Published Dec. 2021)

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Why The Education System Is Failing America | CNBC Marathon

[SaL-epzb]

I think we can all agree the schools need to incorporate financial education all throughout high school.

[clarissagafoor]

As a teacher (not the American curriculum) I'd like to say that we shouldn't be sending children homework that they can't do by themselves! If students are unable to understand what is coming home with them there are huge problems with the programmes/teaching!

[frankhynd]

I read a story of an Indian IT guy who spent five years working in the USA. He had a daughter aged 10 who was proficient in math when she left India. She did well in math in her America school. When she returned to India aged 15 she was given a placement exam at her new school to see which grade she should placed in. She came home crying to her parents as she was two years behind in math compared to the other 15 year old girls!

[Tvirus]

I'm an engineer and that first example of common core is similar to how I do math in my head. Some people actually understand math and others just plug in equations or follow procedures. There are times for both methods, not everyone goes into STEM and really it is about results. Keep what works and use what works best for you.

[hertears]

As someone who grew up doing Common Core—

It just took time away from learning things that were actually useful in class, it frustrated the teachers attempting to teach it, and it cost the school a lot of money to get all the printed math books and other Common Core materials for essentially no benefit to the students.

I can’t recall a single time Common Core was spoken of positively by the teachers or the other students.

[distrologic]

What most people don't understand is that basic education is 80% culture. You can't just write a list of things to learn, you need to design an engaging environment for people to receive information and play out tests. You also need to include the parents of children to make them understand and play in key of the curriculum.

[themasterrogerdelgado]

I'm a second year teacher in Las Vegas. That first year I worked harder than I had at any point in my entire previous career. I used to be a programmer for 30 years making 6 figures for most of that time. I quit after saving up a retirement nest egg and started teaching because I had always wanted to give kids the advice and wisdom of my experience that I wish I had had when I was in high school. I'm going to keep at it for another couple of years and hope it gets easier.

[FlexibleFlyer]

I was a university supervisor for student teachers for 22 years. I taught (beginning in secondary school and then moving to college and university levels) for 53 years. Huge changes in education. Expectations were lowered to meet the bottom of the barrel learners. Cooperative learning teamed the brightest with the weakest----and both groups were the losers. Behavioral and disciplinary problems abound. When the support personnel---social workers, psychologists, aides, nurses, etc.----outnumber the teaching staff, then something is wrong. It's all about the HOME LIFE!!! When parents take an interest and are actively involved in their children's education, that message of "We care" is received by children. When parents don't care if the children even attend school, know how to hold a pencil (by age 5), know basic colors/numbers/the alphabet, then that child is already behind the learning curve. It's also a matter of values----so many people don't care about education; rather, it's drugs, alcohol, designer clothing, blingy jewelry, and hair and nail appointments that are far more important than schooling. Standards keep being lowered; everything must be geared to social justice and equity----well, it's a proven fact that no matter how much money is poured into education the results continue to decline at a dramatic pace. All the money in the world isn't going to fix a society that doesn't value education. All the money in the world isn't going to fix broken homes or homes where baby daddies are the norm. All the money in the world isn't going to fix parental apathy and neglect. All the money in the world isn't going to change the social promotion reality that sees students reading on the 5th grade level and graduating from high school. Sweeping changes are needed in America's schools----and not dumbing down of the curriculum and the including of every fad and trend that administrators endorse. Our educational system
has been failing for years, and right now it's on life support. I don't see things getting any better anytime soon. Common sense and standards went out the window long ago.
That's why the smart money is removing children from public schools and placing them in a learning environment where they are expected to be active learners and not passive occupants of seats.

[mannytuzo]

One thing I also noticed during my time in HS was that all the counselors and most teacher PUSHED going to college. I never got asked what I wanted in life or how I was doing or if I liked my classes it was always “this class is eligible for college credit” “this class won’t get you ready for college” “what college you want to go to?” “Community college?! NO! 4 year colleges are much better”.

[Sofiasart]

I was an an honor student with an A+ in calculus. I had such a difficult time helping my kid with her common core math homework. I only confused her more because I tried teaching her the traditional way but she was required to show her work the common core way. It was frustrating. I took her out of public school and now she is thriving in homeschool.

[Hilbilitkr]

The education system in the United States has gone down hill for the past 50 years. My daughter was behind at the end of third grade. My wife and I pulled her out of public school. She finished 5th grade with a 9th grade level in math. She exceeded 5th grade level on all subjects. Public schools are producing functionality illiterate students. My daughter will never be back in public school.

[gameoftomes]

Another thing education needs to do is properly teach kids how to study. If they need to make flash cards, come up with a rhyme or acronym, have recall questions, space studying out, diagram main points, summarize, compare summaries and questions with others, just overall having opportunities to study with peers. This was actually never brought up to me until college and really helped.

[matthewwiemken]

Lady in video is correct. Teachers literally have the future in front of them every day, yet only see themselves as over glorified babysitters and parents see them the same way. Raising well educated humans starts with the parents:)

[jenniferpowell]

My greatest concern is how to recover from all these economic and global troubles and stay afloat especially with the political power tussle going on in the America..

[cdwwwxy]

The school system failed me years ago.I’m struggling till this day😢

[Olexandr____]

Do you have geography at school at all?
Those internet videos of americans tring to find South Africa on the map is outstanding!

[xwhiteskin]

I’ll never forget when one of my teachers was subtly discussing the pay teachers get years ago, and she mumbled “I’m basically working for free”. Kinda broke me at the moment not goin lie.

[ryerye]

I've taught the A-levels (UK) and the Florida/Michigan curriculum at international schools. The US has a lot less focus than the UK. Americans are confused about what "raising standards" really entails. Foreign curriculum pushes students to master a smaller set of skills with smaller textbooks and more essay writing whereas the US focuses on a wider range of concepts with superficial multiple choice polling. Often this leads to foreign students having mastery and being well spoken about foundational concepts while American students win trivia night but can't really explain why the know something.

[steveconnolly]

Here in Tokyo over 25 years, I've seen the education system in action, from K-12. The high school students who homestay in the US are consistent in their description of their US math and science classes. They can literally sleep through them. Japanese kids who visited me in the States during the summers got up in the morning and first thing, with their parents helping, did their voluminous summer homework assignments. Every day, without fail.

[suzboeh]

I was a public school teacher in the 2009-2010 period referenced in this piece and the economy was poor so states made a decision to go with common core to get the federal dollars, not to improve education. Very glad to see this reported here as I feel this is often overlooked or unknown.