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Historical background of Education
The history of the american education system
Historical background of Education
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Who's To Blame
Is the education system beyond repair in the United States? In recent years, many American citizens have pondered over this question in hopes of gaining some type of clarity. Along with this question many also wonder what is the reason for the decline in academic performance show by today`s students. In Michael Moore’s piece, "Idiot Nation" he addresses the concepts that he feels led up to the decline in academic performance shown by student of today. He goes on to detail how governmental influence may be a contributing factor in why student`s are becoming less educated thus less prepared for life in society. The question that now presents itself is, is the lack of funding for education systems the reason for the decline in performance
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We read in Moore’s work of how government funding towards education came to its end in the Richard Nixon era in 1974. The Nixon Administration would change the rules surrounding government funding for school libraries, stipulating that federal education money would now be given out in the form of a "Block Grant" in which the state would control the money that would have rather gone to school libraries directly, giving the state right to use it however they chose. With this new ordinance in place a majority of states and schools would not use the grant to fund for library materials. With this in mind Moore would then go on to question whether political figures, the same ones who refuse to fund education adequately in America should be ballistic regarding how students in America have fallen behind to other countries in test scores. This statement by Moore proves to be true when you look at conditions that surround urban school today which include crowded classrooms left with no heat in the winter, and no air conditioning in the summer, desks and chairs that are old mismatched and broken and tattered books published as late as 1980s or earlier. In many cases, students have to learn from textbooks whose content is outdated factually and theoretically and which have offensive stereotypes. With these compelling element their is no wonder student can not fully comprehend classroom …show more content…
Social status can be defined as the position or rank of a person or group, within their society. Social status can be gained through a multitude of ways such as the career field one is in, the amount of community involvement they display or by a persons financial standing. Students of course, not having a surmountable amount of status rely on their parents. An example of this could be “ the working class schools” in which most of the student parents have blue-collar jobs who are below the federal poverty level ( at or below $12,000 or less). In these schools students receive an education that is far more mediocre compared to the students whose families make a larger income in that the higher statues students receive an education that prepares them to be independently minded and creative while the low status student learning to memorize and work to be able to follow directions. In Jean Anyon essay “From Social Class And The Hidden Curriculum Of Work” she assesses this theory of social class discrimination. Anyon examines the type of learning and objectives focused on in 5 different school which represent 5 different statues of families in society. In Anyon’s examination she discovered that the students whose family has a low social status receive a more command and follow type of instruction in which any command not followed is reinforced by punishment. On the other hand
America has not changed it’s educational system in over two hundred years. For this reason, our students and population are falling further and further behind. Our society has done nothing but move forward, so why hasn’t our learning? Everybody has a story, opinion, or response to education. We need to invest in refining our tools to succeed, to create a better sense of self, and a stronger, more well-rounded nation. The American educational system is hurting students by passing them without merit and relying on standardized tests; however, many are now running back to these hollowed halls to ensure better futures.
The United States has proven to be a world leader with their powerful military, democratic government, and stringent foreign policies. There is one category however, the United States struggles to be number one in, education. As shocking as this may sound, the public school system in America is not superior to other developing countries. I have witnessed this scandalous phenomena firsthand, engrossed in the public school system from kindergarten to freshman year of high school. The student body and the school administration is morphing into a nonproductive system with a zombie-like attitude. American students lack academic drive and curiosity compared to European and Asian countries because the standard for academic success is constantly lowered. Americans must reform the school system and change their perspective on how important an education is to the rest of the world.
In Rereading America Michael Moore entitled “Idiot Nation” focuses on the failing educational system in the United States of America. The American nation has decreased in their studies and have lowered their standards, yet America still claims they have their priorities in order, which is education. Moore attempts to persuade his readers that the people who are to blame are lack of education in politics and the budget cuts they are making, however, politics blame teachers for making America decrease in their schooling test scores. Americas have many opportunities and useful tools to be successful; however,
Social class should not be used to define a person. Every person has the ability to overcome the roadblocks that society has placed in their path, so long as they have the determination and motivation. In Gerald Graff’s article, “Hidden Intellectualism” , he explains how social class is irrelevant when it comes to education, despite what society will lead you to believe. He displays how everyone is intelligent in his or her own way.Lynda Barry during her article, “ The Sanctuary of School” spoke about the importance of education to her and many other students like her.Another writer, Mike Rose shows how despite the thoughts that society puts in our heads we can still be successful in his article “Blue Collar Brilliance”.Regardless of social
Some people view America as a country with a weak educational system, Michael Moore is one of these people. In his article “Idiot Nation,” he believes American school systems are being run poorly causing our student’s intellect to be sluggish. Moore believes that this is being caused by political leaders and most people in society that “have decided it’s a bigger priority to build another bomber than to educate our children.” (Moore 131) These people would rather worry about situations with war than providing a decent education to the students. Because of these decisions, school systems don’t supply the most efficient education for students in our nation. This then leads to the students not learning all that they should in school. Moore outlines school systems in multiple ways that make you notice the defects in the schools and realize that people can be more knowledgeable if our nation had efficient, well-structured schools.
“Idiot Nation,” is an excerpt written by Michael Moore, a famous author and filmmaker known for his bluntness and extreme liberalism. In this excerpt, Moore criticizes corporate America for devaluing youth education and highlights the flaws of the American education system. He notes that despite the fact that the United States is known as the most powerful country in the world, Americans are extremely ignorant in comparison to other people around the world; that even includes high-profile public figures who have attended prestigious colleges. The American government assumes teachers are to blame for American ignorance, as their job is to teach. However, the government does not realize that a vast majority of these teachers are heavily devoted the development of our children despite being underpaid for their services. Moore also points out that public schools nationwide are exceedingly impacted and underfunded. Because of this lack of funding, schools are forced to resort to
Are we the dumbest country on earth? Well, apparently we hold that tittle according to Michael Moore an Oscar winner who mentioned it in his Idiot Nation essay (124). Moore makes a clear and well defined points, which includes the reality of the United States citizen's and where they are heading, not just as individuals, but as a nation. To thrive, a nation needs a great foundation that holds and builds up each brick. However, if the foundation is damaged in losing its sight of the goal then, it will not be able to hold and build the greatest nation of this world. In addition, the bricks, which are the citizens will be defective and therefore easily crumble down. This is the scenario that the United
In the article “Idiot Nation”, Michael Moore states that America is falling behind in education compared to other countries around the world. Moore gives examples of how Americans could not figure out how to solve the simplest school problems in their heads, or had a reading proficiency past a fourth-grade level (Moore, 121-40). Compared to one of the world’s best education system, South Korean students excel in science and mathematics (Alters, 4). President Barack Obama states that the American education system needs to be fixed in a way to become like South Korea to solve the problems that are currently happening (Park, 1). Even though South Korea might be one of the best school systems around the world and seem to be the best ideal solution,
Gregory Mantsios advocates more on the struggle to proceed from one class to another in his essay-“Class in America”. Mantsios states that, “Class standing has a significant impact on our chances for survival....
In his essay “Land of Opportunity” James W. Loewen details the ignorance that most American students have towards class structure. He bemoans the fact that most textbooks completely ignore the issue of class, and when it does it is usually only mentions middle class in order to make the point that America is a “middle class country. This is particularly grievous to Loewen because he believes, “Social class is probably the single most important variable in society. From womb to tomb, it correlates with almost all other social characteristics of people that we can measure.” Loewen simply believes that social class usually determine the paths that a person will take in life. (Loewen 203)
Some people may believe that education all over the United States is equal. These people also believe that all students no matter their location, socioeconomic status, and race have the same access and quality of education, but ultimately they are wrong. Throughout history, there has been a huge educational disparity between the wealthy and marginalized communities. The academic essay “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” by Jean Anyon, an American critical thinker and researcher in education, conveys that depending on the different economic backgrounds students have, they will be taught in a specific way. He reveals that the lower economic background a child has then the lower quality their education will be and the higher their economic background is the higher quality their education is. Anyon’s theory of a social ladder is extremely useful because it sheds light on the
Many experts suggest that the education system in the United States is falling apart and that something has to be done quickly. However, the problem is not the way the education system works, but the factors that prevent it for working properly and efficiently. The education system has several issues that affect it, but poverty is the main factor preventing students from excelling in school.
In an education journal, Anyon (“Social”) provides the reader with the concept that there are four different types of schools, working class schools, middle-class schools, affluent professional schools, and executive elite schools, after observing five schools. The working class schools are made up of parents with blue-collar jobs, with less than a third of the fathers being skilled, and the majority of them being semiskilled or unskilled. “Approximately 15 percent of the fathers were unemployed… approximately 15 percent of the families in each school are at or below the federal ‘poverty’ level…the incomes of the majority of the families…are typical of 38.6 percent of the families in the United States” (Anyon, “Social”). In a more recent study conducted by Anyon (“What”, 69), she states that,
The Relationship Between Social Class and Educational Achievement Many sociologists have tried to explore the link between social class and educational achievement, measuring the effects of one element upon the other. In order to maintain a definite correlation between the two, there are a number of views, explanations, social statistics and perspectives which must be taken into account. The initial idea would be to define the key terms which are associated with how "social class" affects "educational achievement." "Social class" is the identity of people, according to the work they do and the community in which they live in. "Educational achievement" is the tendency for some groups to do better or worse in terms of educational success.
Social institutions are an important element in the structure of human societies. They provide a structure for behavior in a particular part of social life. The five major social institutions in large societies are family, education, religion, politics, and economics. While each institution does deal with a different aspect of life, they are interrelated and intersect often in the course of daily life. For example, for schools to be able to exist they rely on funding from the government. This is an intersection between politics and education. Social institutions affect individual lives through other aspects of society such as culture, socialization, social stratification, and deviance. This paper will focus on the social institution of education, and how it affects individual lives through socialization, deviance, and social stratification.