Education is one of the key pillars upon which our country is founded. Education and the funding, performance, and quality of America’s schools play a major role in the nation’s economy, political platforms, and ranking among other countries in the world. In fact, in 2009, the Program for International Students Assessment ranked U.S. students 17th in the world in science and 25th in math, (ExxonMobile, 2012). These statistics, and others like them, have led some of the largest corporations in the nation to spearhead initiatives to invest time and money into teachers, supplies, job training, and technology. While these initiatives, program ideas, and teacher investments are important, but the problem with America’s educational system is that there is one common denominator not being considered; students themselves. Building new schools, rezoning, creating smaller class sizes, and offering incentives for teachers to further their education are great ways to boost invest in education, but how will any of these initiatives motivate a student who does not want to learn? If a student did not want to learn in the class of a teacher who has a bachelor’s degree, will putting that child in the class of a teacher with a master’s degree make them want to learn? . Far too long have teachers, administrators, and other school board officials been blamed soley for students’ failure and lack of success in the classroom when in they should not only share the blame, but be blamed less.
Parents and students themselves should be held more accountable for students’ success in the classroom. There are factors that make up students that no teacher or administrator can control such as the students’ home environment, genetic makeup, and life experiences. All of these things can affect student achievement. Teachers and administrators have been blamed so much that there are programs in place