Public Schools in Jordan

Is our Jordanian government doing its Job when it comes to education? Are we getting the best out of each Individual, or are public educational systems failing their students? It Is rather obvious that public schools are not meeting the needs of each child, and as a result children end up losing their eagerness to learn. It Is fairly disappointing to realize that the majority of Jordanian students are much more concerned about scoring high grades than about learning.

Public schools are falling their students and are considered inferior because of three major issues: individualized teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and the negligence of creativity and individuality. The first reason behind the inferiority of public Jordanian schools is their poorly qualified teachers. According to Professor Richard M. Engineers, University of Pennsylvania: “There has been a great deal of controversy over what kinds of preparation are necessary for teachers to be considered qualified. Highly qualified’ teachers are those with a college degree, a teaching certificate, and competence in their subjects. ” Those three qualifications are rarely present within the same teacher. Moreover, a teaching certificate Is not even required by our Jordanian schools. Other than the absence of high standards when It comes to employing teachers, schools especially those located in remote governesses sometimes oblige their teachers to teach outside the scope of their fields, which reflects poorly on the students.

Public schools’ weakness lies within their assumption that anyone with a collage degree Is capable of teaching, which is not always true. A successful educator is both passionate and devoted; he inspires the child to become the best that he can possibly be. However, due to the low social standing of the teaching occupation in our community, the majority of our teachers severely lack enthusiasm. They stick to their primitive teaching methods and focus excessively on lecturing and memorization.

They rarely strive to train themselves In the different modern teaching approaches. Secondly, many problems arise when there are more students than the teacher is capable of handling all at once. Classrooms at public schools are generally overcrowded beyond the acceptable capacity. Classes can be completely full and sometimes crowded with over thirty-five students. One of those problems is, the bigger the number of the students, the larger the variance In the levels of intelligence. Some students may need a slower pace than others.

At public schools, all students receive the same level of attention. There is less focus on the individual student, and teachers sometimes fail to notice when a student is struggling simply because there are thirty other students to focus on In the same class. Another problem that arises when a classroom Is overcrowded Is the Increase of the number of distractions. More students means more noise which leads to difficulties with incineration. Students have a harder time focusing and processing Information, and teachers end up wasting time fighting over the noise. Absentia number of Jordanians are discontent with the teaching systems applied in our public schools. The teaching methods used by the majority of our educators fail at creating an environment where the child can discover and develop his own talents and passions. They fail at kindling the child’s curiosity. Generally, these methods do not acknowledge the different types of intelligence; they do not allow free dialogue or exploratory learning or even team work.

Teachers nonchalantly ignore the importance of creativity and imagination in the learning process; they neglect to involve the child by simply dictating information. The main issue is rooted within the rigid curricula and the standardized tests that encourage children to memorize with little emphasis on analysis and critical thinking. The answers are right or wrong, either black or white; there is no room for innovation. Students have a difficulty voicing their opinions because they have been spoon-fed facts and rules throughout their entire educational Journey.

In conclusion, Jordanian public schools have many deficiencies and shortcomings that need to be properly addressed shortcomings that vary from the quality of the teachers, student to teacher ratio per class, to the traditional teaching styles that they cling to. Our government needs to take drastic measures to change what is fundamentally discrediting our public educational systems. Without the necessary measures, the Jordanian youth will not be capable of keeping up with our ever- changing world, and our potential for achieving greatness as a nation will be lost forever.