Misconceptions of Education

One of the biggest issues discussed on every political level is education. Education is what gives the future generation the tools they need to succeed. The issues regarding education of immigrants, especially in underdeveloped areas have been largely debated, and there are many misconceptions surrounding the issues. The first is that the educate system is failing. Although this idea is gaining momentum, it is simply not true. Graduation rates from high school and college have continually increased, and significantly since a century ago. This does not show the whole story though, because a century ago it was not so common to graduate college or even high school. The times have changed and now college graduates struggle to get jobs that high school graduates used to fill back then. A Large part of why there is the misconception that the education system is failing is because the advancement of degree requirements has elevated faster than immigrant education has improved. Due to this widening gap, it seems as though immigrants are no longer receiving a decent education. Not to say that there aren’t problems that need to be addressed, but it would be blatantly inaccurate to say that education is as bad as its ever been. Another common misconception is that to be successful in school and in life, immigrants need to become true Americans. For some reason, people believe that an immigrant cannot succeed without abandoning their native culture for that of America. While there are areas that Americanizing is crucial for success, like overcoming the language barrier, it is untrue that “becoming a real American” is the key to educational success. In fact, the very opposite may be true. Often when immersing in the American culture and associating with other American teens, educational and economic success is negatively affected. There exists much fewer difficulties to overcome for American teens, and they therefore treat school with a relaxed attitude. This behavior of not working hard or committing to work is sometimes imprinted on immigrant students, who need to work eve harder just to overcome all the hurdles in their way. This may be why Asians are so successful at navigating the education system in this country. Their culture emphasizes hard work and discipline, and parents often do a good job at shielding their children from contradictory ideas in American culture. This displays how Americanizing is not the key to success in the education system, while protecting immigrants from harmful American cultural ideas may be a source of success.