Article Review of Are U.S. Students Ready to Compete?
Assessment
Dr. Kat Mangione

Lockard 1 This article states that secondary education within the United States is trailing behind other countries in math, science, engineering, and technology. Innovative approaches are needed to make learning fun so they will be more successful in school. Although high unemployment rates are prevalent, firms are finding they have an educated worker shortage. Too much emphasis is placed on learning information to perform well for the sake of standardized tests and more should be placed on learning the material. History Class is completely dull if the emphasis is on learning timelines for tests, but it can be interesting if the emphasis focuses on the stories about the people and events that made it great. My father taught history for thirty years at Page High School, and he is a wonderful storyteller. Our family outings were always to historic places where he shared his extensive bank of stories about events that occurred there. I love history as a result! I often had math and science teachers that taught those subjects because it was a hoop they had to jump through to get to coach an athletic team. Their heart was not in teaching that subject, and it showed. They did the minimum acceptable level in teaching the subject; I hated those subjects with a passion. I feel coaches would be better used in monitoring study hall or something of that nature. Teaching should be for