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Explores why the U.S. education system is failing students and teachers due to outdated methods, underfunding, and privatization.
Key Takeaways
- Simply increasing education funding does not guarantee better outcomes.
- The U.S. education system's structure and priorities are outdated and ineffective.
- Teacher shortages and poor working conditions exacerbate education challenges.
- Privatization harms public schools by diverting essential resources.
- Reforming education requires addressing systemic issues, not just surface-level fixes.
What the video covers
- The U.S. spends more on education than many countries but ranks poorly in access, efficiency, and effectiveness.
- The education system is outdated, modeled similarly to prisons with strict regimentation and lack of student engagement.
- Teachers are overworked, underpaid, and there is a significant shortage impacting education quality.
- The focus on standardized testing undermines effective learning and critical skill development.
- Privatization and school choice policies drain funding from public schools, worsening conditions.
- Public schools have a long history in the U.S., established to provide free education to all children.
- Private schools predate public ones but are less accessible and contribute to inequality.
- The free market approach to education leads to damaging outcomes similar to healthcare and infrastructure.
- The federal government currently cannot eliminate public schools due to education being a right.
- Potential solutions include rethinking funding, reducing privatization, and fostering better learning environments.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Sponsor Message
- 01:18Overview of U.S. Education System Problems
- 02:37School Environment and Institutional Structure
- 03:53Impact of Standardized Testing on Learning
- 05:08Importance of Educating the Next Generation
- 06:22History of Public Education in the U.S.
- 07:46Origins and Role of Private Schools
- 09:04Consequences of Privatization and School Choice
- 11:35Funding Challenges and Unsafe School Conditions
- 12:53The Necessity of Public Schools and Systemic Issues
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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ourselves on being the best at things we spend more money than any other nation on our military healthcare and education unfortunately simply throwing money at things doesn't make you the best at them our military despite having the budget
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[Music] In the United States, we like to pride ourselves on being the best at things. We spend more money than any other nation on our military, healthcare, and education.
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is routinely ranked the worst in the developed world in terms of access efficiency and effectiveness while each of these topics deserves its own video in this episode we're going to focus on the u.s education system why it's failing our students and
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Unfortunately, simply throwing money at things doesn't make you the best at them. Our military, despite having the budget of the next 10 biggest spenders combined, is tremendously wasteful and is constantly used as a destabilizing force in regions we wish to dominate or exploit. Our healthcare system, despite occupying the world's number one spot for per capita expenditure,
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authority of the teacher who conditioned you with countless commands every day sit down open your textbook to page 10 stop talking line up you were punished for speaking to classmates making a joke or coming in a single minute late
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is routinely ranked the worst in the developed world in terms of access, efficiency, and effectiveness. While each of these topics deserves its own video, in this episode, we're going to focus on the U.S. education system, why it's failing our students and teachers, and
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designed our prisons also designed our schools for many of us school is an unpleasant memory sure most of us had fun with friends we made in class but that fun was exclusively outside of school hours odds are the memory of your education
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what we can do to fix it. Think back to your time in school. What do you remember? Early mornings, long windowless hallways punctuated by locked doors, a strictly regimented schedule. Your school life was dictated by the
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of the pack compared to other industrialized nations this single-mindedness also has a more critical consequence by demanding our teachers simply prepare students for testing rather than fostering an actually effective learning environment we end up with students who not only
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authority of the teacher, who conditioned you with countless commands every day: sit down, open your textbook to page 10, stop talking, line up. You were punished for speaking to classmates, making a joke, or coming in a single minute late.
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compounding the problem a teacher shortage so to sum up the problem our students are unhappy perform poorly and don't gain the critical skills they need and our teachers are unhappy overworked and we don't have enough of them to meet a growing need
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You had to get permission to use the restroom. Class started with a bell and ended with a bell. There's another kind of institution that follows a similar structure. It shouldn't come as a surprise that in the U.S., many of the same architects who
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problems plaguing the american education system these three problems are the system's outdatedness its underfunding and its privatization the lack of funding and the rapid privatization of the education system go hand in hand so let's start there when you think of
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designed our prisons also designed our schools. For many of us, school is an unpleasant memory. Sure, most of us had fun with friends we made in class, but that fun was exclusively outside of school hours. Odds are the memory of your education
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district free of charge public schools have existed in the u.s since before it officially became a country but the first board of education was established in massachusetts in the year 1837 the person spearheading the education initiative horus mann
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itself is pretty negative. Besides the experience of attending American school, the outcomes the system produces are also less than stellar. Despite our cultural obsession with getting American students to perform well in standardized testing, our scores fall squarely in the middle
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the country what may be surprising to some is that private schools actually predate public schools in the u.s as early as the 1660s individual teachers were offering their services to young people and adults as a way to supplement their income
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of the pack compared to other industrialized nations. This single-mindedness also has a more critical consequence. By demanding our teachers simply prepare students for testing rather than fostering an actually effective learning environment, we end up with students who not only
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fast forward to more modern times and like with health care and infrastructure we begin to see a problem with accelerating privatization the practice of privatization is simple it entails the handing off of once public responsibilities to privately owned companies
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forget everything they crammed into their heads immediately after taking the test but who also lack the skills required to learn effectively. The students aren't the only ones suffering. The U.S. has exceptionally high teacher turnover due to low pay and long hours, and
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things done more quickly or with a greater profit but what free market enthusiasts fail to realize is that the outcomes are incredibly damaging as is the case with american health care or extremely fragile as evidenced by private infrastructure
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compounding the problem, a teacher shortage. So to sum up the problem: our students are unhappy, perform poorly, and don't gain the critical skills they need, and our teachers are unhappy, overworked, and we don't have enough of them to meet a growing need.
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and left millions stranded in freezing conditions of course a crisis like this is considered an acceptable risk when there's a nice profit to be had this free market logic has slowly seeped into the realm of education over the past couple of decades various
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A country depends on its young people, those who will grow up and take the reins from the previous generations. So why are we failing them so badly? Before we get into some potential solutions, we need to understand the three main
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private schools this has led to a number of problems the most obvious is that by spending federal money to incentivize parents to enroll their children in private school they've robbed public schools of badly needed funding why spend money to move
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problems plaguing the American education system. These three problems are the system's outdatedness, its underfunding, and its privatization. The lack of funding and the rapid privatization of the education system go hand in hand, so let's start there. When you think of
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students in each class which overwhelms the remaining teachers there's not enough money for school supplies or even basic school maintenance which leads to unsafe learning environments these problems compound over time which makes the schools perform worse which then suggests to the federal
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the average school, whether elementary, middle, or high school, you're generally thinking about a public institution. That is, a school that is federally funded and tasked with providing education to all people of the appropriate age in a given school
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some innate to how private schools operate and some based on the responsibility of the federal government first and foremost it has been long established that the state has a responsibility to provide access to free education to every student
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district free of charge. Public schools have existed in the U.S. since before it officially became a country, but the first board of education was established in Massachusetts in the year 1837. The person spearheading the education initiative, Horace Mann,
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get rid of public schools entirely the other issues stem from the private schools themselves by their very nature private schools are not beholden to any kind of governance when it comes to what is taught within their walls all they have to do is provide proof
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believed that public education was the best way to overcome poverty, bridge social gaps, and prepare young people to enter the workforce. The federal Department of Education was established 30 years later with the goal of standardizing and helping to implement education across
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their student body is overwhelmingly white christian and wealthy now there's nothing inherently wrong with a parent wanting their child to get a religious education but the problem is in the u.s christianity has been co-opted by conservatism gone are the days when people understood
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the country. What may be surprising to some is that private schools actually predate public schools in the U.S. As early as the 1660s, individual teachers were offering their services to young people and adults as a way to supplement their income.
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economics and a rabid hatred for anything that could be considered even remotely socialist this is not by accident the political right has adopted religious patriotic language in an attempt to secure a large and dedicated voting bloc evangelicals and it's worked in modern
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This private schooling often took place in the evenings and was less structured than typical day school. By the beginning of the American Revolution, private schools had become pretty well established and were favored by those who could afford their fees.
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good guy in every conflict including those where we were clearly in the wrong today's supposedly christian education would not be recognized as such by the jesus of the bible instead it's a new religion the religion of free-market conservatism
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Fast forward to more modern times, and like with healthcare and infrastructure, we begin to see a problem with accelerating privatization. The practice of privatization is simple: it entails the handing off of once public responsibilities to privately owned companies.
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pro-corporate voters heck judging by what we've seen recently it wouldn't come as a surprise to see public schools go the same way the previous administration even suggested the creation of a commission for patriotic education a slate of pro-america capitalist
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Since the '80s, there's been a consensus—a deeply flawed one, but a consensus nonetheless—that there's nothing the government can do that the private sector can't do better. The word "better" is doing some heavy lifting here. Private companies often get
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education were established the stated goal was to educate young people but if you take a look at how school was and is structured it becomes more clear what education was actually for like it is today the school day was
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things done more quickly or with a greater profit, but what free market enthusiasts fail to realize is that the outcomes are incredibly damaging, as is the case with American healthcare, or extremely fragile, as evidenced by private infrastructure
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servile workers for the factories of the industrial revolution step onto a factory floor and what's expected obedience focus the ability to follow instructions for hours on end the day even began and ended with a bell school was then
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projects. Take the Texas power grid, for example. It's entirely deregulated. This allows them to cut costs and make a greater profit. It also sets them up for disaster, as we saw with the recent winter storm that completely knocked out the state's power
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driver of the economy companies still need workers but they demand a new set of skills young people entering the workforce are expected to be able to be flexible creative and on-call at unreasonable hours even from a capitalist perspective
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and left millions stranded in freezing conditions. Of course, a crisis like this is considered an acceptable risk when there's a nice profit to be had. This free market logic has slowly seeped into the realm of education over the past couple of decades. Various
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which of these two hypothetical classes sounds more applicable to real life latin or home economics guess which one is more commonly taught if the goal of school is to prepare kids for the real world as we're meant to
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federal initiatives have provided parents the option of using federal funds to send their children to private schools, whether by providing so-called school choice vouchers or allowing for the possibility of school transfers, where students can move from low-performing schools to higher-performing
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then there's the fact that school curriculum just hasn't kept pace with advancements in modern technology basic computer classes are offered as electives if at all even less common are video production digital art coding web design 3d modeling and countless
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private schools. This has led to a number of problems. The most obvious is that by spending federal money to incentivize parents to enroll their children in private school, they've robbed public schools of badly needed funding. Why spend money to move
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digital techniques since i work creatively for a living i took the liberty of teaching her a bit about digital art and apps like procreate her skills have improved more in the last two months than in the previous two
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kids around when you could simply fund the schools that are designed to be funded by that money? Because of this practice, public schools face a vicious cycle. There's not enough money to pay teachers, so teachers leave, which leads to more
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with skills they could translate into a rewarding career or hobby by the time they graduated from high school or college okay so what are some solutions we could pursue it's all well and good to say teach better classes but that only
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students in each class, which overwhelms the remaining teachers. There's not enough money for school supplies or even basic school maintenance, which leads to unsafe learning environments. These problems compound over time, which makes the schools perform worse, which then suggests to the federal
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the bottom line private schools have an incentive to at least prepare students for standardized testing so that their parents will be happy and keep paying tens of thousands of dollars per year for tuition but that education comes packaged with
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government that they're doing the right thing by incentivizing the move to private schools. Okay, but if the private schools perform better and the average parent can afford them, why not just abandon public schools? There are a few reasons,
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education should be to prepare students for the job market there's a lot to be said for picking a trade and excelling in it electricians welders ac technicians these are all critical roles in our society one problem with vocational schools is
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some innate to how private schools operate and some based on the responsibility of the federal government. First and foremost, it has been long established that the state has a responsibility to provide access to free education to every student.
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separate from other kids their age which can lead to serious developmental issues that being said there are plenty of homeschooling programs that include on-location learning such as in museums or on community college campuses this offers a more diverse hands-on
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This is non-negotiable, at least for now. If public schools didn't exist, there would be students who could not afford to go to private school. Since education is a right, this is unacceptable. So for the time being, the federal government cannot reasonably
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some students learn more quickly than others some require hands-on experience some learn simply by watching or listening by creating one single standardized educational template we're trying to standardize a whole spectrum of humanity and that just doesn't work there are
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get rid of public schools entirely. The other issues stem from the private schools themselves. By their very nature, private schools are not beholden to any kind of governance when it
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this allows more room for personal growth but also fosters empathy and interpersonal skills the jury is still out on whether montessori schools are strictly better than more traditional education but some studies seem to say pretty conclusively that their students fare
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better than those in standard schools overall the moral of the story is that like always privatization is harming the majority in the pursuit of ever greater profits the defunding of public schools has caused our country to slip further and
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further behind our peer nations our inability to keep up with the times has produced students who are woefully underequipped to compete with students from other countries even from a capitalist perspective it should be clear that our education system isn't working
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and maybe that's the point maybe for the ruling class it's desirable for the average american student to fail so that they're forced to take the lower paying jobs that generate huge profits for their executives whether that's the case or not i think
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it's safe to say that we cannot expect the federal government to solve the problem for at least the past 40 years they've been completely controlled by massive corporations and will continue to trend towards suicidal free market non-solutions instead i would suggest that education
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on the community level could be a worthwhile endeavor if we expanded the idea of homeschooling to include other members of your community we could create localized educational templates that not only allowed for more individualized expression but also catered towards the needs and
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unique perspectives of each community local experts could teach small classes in their respective fields students could learn the history of their town city or region parents could build a network of trust where they could all help supervise or teach each
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other's children which in turn would strengthen the community fostering cooperation friendship and empathy these communities could engage in sort of small-scale exchange programs day or week-long trips where students could experience the realities of different communities which would provide them with worldly
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experience and a refreshing change of pace we tend to get stuck in the notion that what we have now is the only possibility whether that's in regards to healthcare entire economic systems or education there are so many improvements we could
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make so many possibilities worth exploring and few are more important than how we teach the next generation more and more often young people are turning to alternative sources for their education youtube is a great one i've learned a
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lot just from watching videos on topics i'm interested in another great place to learn about all sorts of interesting topics is curiosity stream if you liked today's video i highly recommend you check out education in the age of technology on curiosity stream
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it's a fascinating look at the potential changes to education in the 21st century curiosity stream is an established streaming platform with a solid track record of caring about great educational content and the financial security of those who produce it
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they've got thousands of non-fiction titles from some of the best filmmakers in the game as you probably know youtube doesn't treat its creators very well that's why some of my youtuber friends and i teamed up to build nebula so we
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don't have to worry about demonetization as educational creators ourselves we love curiositystream so we've worked out a deal where if you sign up for curiosity stream at the link below you'll also get access to nebula 100 free that's less than 15 bucks a year
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for both curiosity stream and nebula which in my humble opinion is a pretty great deal since most of us are still waiting for the vaccine why not spend some time learning about fascinating topics on curiositystream or check out nebula's exclusive content
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including my upcoming series on the resurgence of fascism you can also watch all my videos as they were intended ad free there really is something for everyone and by signing up at the link below you're helping us produce more
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content without the fear of demonetization give curiosity stream a shot and get free access to nebula when you sign up using the link below it really does help support my channel and educational creators all across youtube if you enjoyed this video and you'd like
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thanks for watching and i'll see you next week you
Topics:American educationeducation systemteacher shortageprivatizationpublic schoolsstandardized testingeducation fundingeducation reformU.S. schoolseducation crisis
