Schools are the basic foundation of knowledge, which is imparted to children. They give a chance for children to gain knowledge in various fields such as humanity, literature, history, mathematics and science. By obtaining knowledge, they are in a better position to know the world around them. A school is a society where faith and other values are developed. Schools also play an important role in a democratic social set up. Students of today are the citizens of tomorrow. Schools are the backbone of a society, where children interact with other children and develop certain social skills. Education in schools opens doors to various opportunities that would not be possible if it had not been for the knowledge one gained at school. However, in the articles, “Idiot Nation” by Michael Moore and “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto, the authors express their concerns about the degrading quality of education. There are many problems the education system is facing today, and several of them are having negative effects on the quality of the education that the students are receiving which are highlighted aptly by the effective use of rhetorical strategies by Moore and Gatto.
The purpose of Michael Moore’s article is to focus upon the different insights of a society and to point out all of its flaws. As a college dropout himself, he blames the education system and tells the readers about its loopholes. He blames the ills of America on it being represented by ignorant high ranking officers and blames the people for electing ignorant presidents who keep bragging about everything and end up looking stupid. On the other hand, Gatto who was a teacher for almost three decades claims the students as well as the teachers were equally bored at the s...
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...they were given enough motivation. On the contrary, Moore is giving a message that a strong initiative has to be taken to make our system free of corruption and improvement in the American society has to be made for us to be recognized as a super power. Moore also focuses on the fact that the responsibility for the failure of the education system is because of the unholy nexus between the corrupt politicians and the corporate. To sum up, both these authors have been successful in catching the attention of audience and supporting their arguments through their effective use of rhetorical strategies.
Works Cited
Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen and Bonnie Leslie, Eds. Rereading America, 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2013 Print.
Gatto, John Taylor. “Against School.” Colombo, Cullen and Lisle 141-150
Moore, Michael. “Idiot Nation.” Colombo, Cullen, Lisle 121-140
If a person saw a hole in the roof of their house and then went away saying “ I hope that gets fixed” others would ridicule and call them a fool. Barber argues the people of America have done this in the case of education. In his essay “America Skips School” Benjamin Barber discusses the problem of how education has steadily declined and determines something must change. He discusses some solutions he thinks could fix them. Yet, some appear illogical. Barber’s argument uses the phrase “If we were serious” followed by an illogical solution as a call to action.
This article points out the flaws in our modern education systems. Students should enjoy school and feel as though they are learning important things in the subjects offered. The classes can be altered to tend to the interests of children, so they can properly express themselves. School should be preparing children to be mature, how to handle hard situations, and ultimately prepare them for their future lives. Overall, Gatto’s article has its flaws, but it can be used to help improve the education system for upcoming
If it was not apparent enough that America’s education system is failing, Michael Moore’s “Idiot Nation” openly explains to us about the truth. America, for being the richest country, is behind in the educational standpoint. America needs to rethink their standards when it comes to education. America is more focused on corporate earning than educating our youth. The author of “Idiot Nation” makes the reader think about how America is viewed in the world. The purpose of Michael Moore’s essay is to point out what is wrong with this nation and also give the reader the motivation to actually do something about the situation at hand. Moore is trying to make readers aware of where we send our children. The author is trying to shock readers with the facts to do something to improve the American education system.
He had created a monster. He started off with a class to help citizens in that lived in poverty a new start and for ones who didn’t make it a chance to get a higher education. Marsh didn’t think the project would solve the world’s problems. The class of graduates made it the entire year was just a small portion of adults in the poverty area that took the step to get chance to get a higher education. Most had no set plans on what they would do with this education. Most people had the same thinking as the cameraman that if they people living below the poverty level received education poverty would go away. Marsh felt that he failed and got students hopes up. One does not blame the camera man for thinking that education could fix the world’s problems especially because the problem is poverty and inequality. The cameraman and his wife did have good faith and reason to think that education was a cure. Just a couple of months before graduation day President George W. Bush surprised journalist and other listeners by speaking of the growing economic inequality in the United States. ‘The fact that inequality is real,’ Bush told an audience of Wall Street Executives. ‘It’s been rising for more than twenty five years.’ The problem in our economy is that it is increasingly rewarding education and skills because of education. The Washington Post noted in the coverage of the speech ‘Bush’s remarks were an unremarkable statement of what many
O’Rourke’s article on Weekly Standard is an older critique of the public high school system in America. He is a contributing editor to Weekly Standard and also works with the Cato Institute. O’Rourke’s main point in the article is that the public school system needs to be shut down and ended due to high spending per pupil and no noticeable increase in test scores. In “End Them, Don’t Mend Them,” published on Weekly Standard in June of 2010, P.J. O’Rourke argues against the public school system by citing evidence of increased spending per student across the nation, insignificant gains on standardized test scores, and pointing out that there is no correlation in spending and testing. O’Rourke appeals to the logos and ethos of the reader but fails to appeal to the pathos by building a clear bias and agenda in his essay.
It’s no surprise that there are faults within our schools in today’s society. As both authors’ point out if our educational system is
Have you ever wondered if our education system has flaws? Well in the article “Against School” written by John Taylor Gatto, Gatto once a teacher explains how public education weakens the youth. He starts off the paper by saying how he taught for 30 years, went through a termination, and personally witnessed almost all of the schooling flaws. In Gatto’s article he lists very noticeable names, such as George W. Bush, George Washington, James Bryant Conant, and H.L Mencken to name a few. Having taught children for so long Gatto believes he has the expert rule in this subject. He proposes that to bring out the best qualities in a child you have to let them make decision and let them take their own risks. Gatto’s mission in this article is to make you consider, if school is actually important.
In his article “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto writes regarding his opinions that America’s current system of schooling children is bad within itself, and unfixable. In this essay Gatto includes confusing personal antecedents, historical examples that do not correspond with modern day society smoothly, and overall he just does not fully explain his already weak evidence. Due to this, instead of convincing parents to take their children out of school and rethink society, he just leaves the reader confused over what the problems truly are.
“Against School” is a controversial article written by John Taylor Gatto. In the essay he describes the American School system as a “prison” and talks about how it attempts to make all the children equal by teaching the students topics that society think is acceptable. He also goes on to state, “Students would be willing to study if they were more motivated and were actually educated instead of schooled”. Many people say that the only way to become successful now a days is to go to school and get an education. Now I agree with this statement but what I don’t agree with is how the school system teaches. Even though some might discredit Gatto’s claims that we should get rid of compulsory teaching because he think it’s a huge
“Against School, How public education cripples our kids, and why”, an article written by John Taylor Gatto states that the ideal of schooling is not providing the main objective to students as well as it should. The main reason of schooling is to allow each student to have the opportunity for an education. Johns argues that the education system in America is not providing the right education, as it should be. He says that what it’s actually doing to the majority of students, as well for teachers, is causing boredom and imprisoning children in a building, and labeling it as children obtaining an education. John Taylor Gatto argues that going to school is not the only way to gain a proper education; he states that it is not always necessary for students to attend school to be given an education.
Gordon, Robert J. "The Great Stagnation of American Education." New York Times 7 Sept. 2013: 5(L). Academic OneFile. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
The Quality of a child’s education often either limits or opens up a world of opportunities. Those who study the purpose of public education and the way it is distributed throughout society can often identify clear correlations between social class and the type of education a student receives. It is generally known by society that wealthy families obtain the best opportunities money can buy. Education is a tool of intellectual and economical empowerment and since the quality of education is strongly influenced by social class, a smaller portion of the American population obtains the opportunities acquired from a top notch education. Many people believe that educational inequalities are perpetuated from the interests of specific classes, but some researchers like John Gatto believe that there are even stronger social forces in play. In the essay “Against Schools” the author John Gatto presents three arguments: (1) that are educational system is flawed, (2) that the American educational system is purposely designed to create a massive working class that is easy to manipulate, and (3) alternative teaching methods should be applied to teach children to think for themselves. In this essay I will be summarizing and relating each of these arguments to other educational essays. Also, I will be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument.
Before a change in the school system can occur and be effective , everybody involves must be ready to embrace it . Much emphasis , both theoretical and empirical has been placed on school discipline reform from outside through different government policies and educational laws but little has been said on how the school (The implementer ) can be shaped and reform from within , by focusing on the school-based restorative approach . The above introduction shows how schools are getting it wrong on school discipline , policy and educational laws which later have an adverse effect on the society (family and the community ) who are the agent of child development and socialization . John Dewey said , " Education is the process of learning to be a useful
The Power of education is overwhelming. It develops and enhances the minds of young children into young adults. Education serves as a tool for society to raise its youth to serve society. This process has been a never ending cycle since as long as anyone can remember. Children maturing into proper adults has been the goal of education in the past. However, there is a major controversy over the effects and power of the educational system. Throughout the past the educational system has been the focus over the development of society's youth. All parents, teachers, and concerned individuals ponder the notion of the role and effects of the system in question. Is the purpose of our educational system to teach just the cold hard facts and information, or should it exist to also serve to supply our juveniles with ethics and morals? One such person who confronts today's system is an author, Jonathan Kozol. His thoughts over this concerned area have brought him to write a book entitled, The Night is Dark and I am Far From Home. In his writing he argues that Public schools in the U.S. do not exist to educate an ethical being, but rather educate unprovocative, conforming American citizens. (133) I agree. The function of our educational system should be in existence to serve our growing children with not only the knowledge of information, but the wisdom of morality as well.
Education is a vital part of society. It serves the beneficial purpose of educating our children and getting them ready to be productive adults in today's society. But, the social institution of education is not without its problems. Continual efforts to modify and improve the system need to be made, if we are to reap the highest benefits that education has to offer to our children and our society as a whole.