How Population Growth Affects the Educational System

The world population is on the rise. At the same time, America is working harder to maintain an educational system that ensures a proper education to every student, regardless of race or financial ability. Providing this education seems to be more difficult as time goes on, and there may be a direct correlation between the population growth and educational issues.

The higher the population of school age people in a society, the more teachers are needed to teach these students. This can place a strain on an already overtaxed system. Many teachers are moving to different professions for the monetary increase, while those who stay are overburdened with the ever increasing number of students. The educational issues this causes can increase when teachers are dealing with students who have to stay after school and come in early due to parental work obligations.

All buildings are built with a specific number of occupants in mind. In schools that experience an increase of population, this number can be exceeded. This can cause serious school overcrowding which can cause negative feelings among the students. This means the district needs to build more and bigger schools. This costs money that most school districts do not have, resulting in having to take out loans and the community having to assist in the building of a new school.

Most schools attempt to foster positive attitudes about education and learning, but this can be hard to do if students are experiencing school overcrowding. This attitude can shift if the high population of the school becomes distracted by other more negative attitudes and ideas. These negative attitudes can include drug usage, gang mentalities and a lack of education idealism. This is especially true for those schools that were previously prone to such distractions. A lack of control can appear in schools with too many students and not enough teachers.

Schools need funds from the community to exist. Those communities that have experienced a population growth without an economic growth may find resistance in the funding of the school. This can lead to a lack of funding and insufficient funds to provide enrichment activities to the students. This can result in the school becoming boring for students and a lack of sports or other activities. Schools may also find a lack of supplies to cover the students in need. Schools in communities that experience a population growth as well as an economic growth do not need to worry about this as much.

Negative attitudes about schooling can carry on through a student's life, resulting in a lower chance for that student to attend college or other extended education. This lowers the earning potential of the student, resulting in a possible poverty situation. Correcting the issues of population growth in the educational system is necessary to prevent dropouts and to encourage continued learning.