Recently, I shocked my peers here at the College of Wooster by telling them that in my hometown we play “Paper Scissors Rock” as opposed to “Rock Paper Scissors,” and we call shopping carts “buggies.” However, nothing surprises them as much as the fact that I had less than 240 students in my public high school. To many of them a school that small seems irrational, and they struggle to understand how I could have possibly received a quality education at such a school. What they fail to comprehend is that a school does not have to be a large public school or an elite private school in order to provide students with an education that will prepare them for the future. With a strong teaching staff and an emphasis on high performing academics, even the smallest of schools can develop great pupils.
Most people have that one teacher from high school that they will never forget. They return years after graduation and thank said teacher for everything he or she has done for them. Just as Cedric Jennings in A Hope in the Unseen was really close with his teacher Mr. Taylor, students everywhere find teachers who become their mentors (Suskind 6). For me, there are multiple teachers that have had a positive influence on my life, but none so much as my one English teacher, Mrs. Iberis. According to many people, Mrs. Iberis was “too smart” to be a teacher. She had been enrolled in medical school at the Northeastern Ohio College of Medicine, but then decided to get her masters in English instead and become a high school teacher. Most people considered her to be slightly insane because of this career choice, but I admired her for pursuing her passion and sharing her knowledge with us. Without good teachers, how can we expect to end up...
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... Lowellville Schools are proof that there are good public schools out there, and I am proud to have be an alumnus of it. My educational philosophy is grounded deeply in acknowledging the importance of academics, as well as making school a place where students like to be, and therefore like to learn. Also, I strongly believe in the vitality of competent teachers. Without good teachers, no other profession can develop to its full potential because future generations will not be properly trained. The first step in bettering the education of America is to start viewing teaching as a respectable occupation, and recognizing its importance for our future.
Works Cited
Conley, Dalton. Honky. New York: Vintage Books, 2000.
Khan, Shamus Rahman. Privilege. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011.
Suskind, Ron. A Hope in the Unseen. New York: Broadway Books, 1998.
Mike Rose's I Just Wanna Be Average essay sheds light on troubled youth within the public school system. It makes you long for the days of American pride and service. Students placed in “tracks'; to utilize overcrowded and faulty test systems. Identity lost due to poor instruction and lack of motivation. The influx of shattered images brought forth by the “Report of the French Commission on American Education, 1879'; reminds us of a time long ago when education was for every child, not select few. Stoic instructors molding young minds in the quest to advance America as a whole. Civic pride and duty were influencing every aspect of American education.
That broader conception of school allowed those schools to better support the students and address social issues that prevent students from accessing their full potential. This conceptual shift can only be spurred by a clear vision of “good education”—which then caused an improvement in their community’s education
In the text “How I Got Smart” by Steve Brody the tone is humorous and his story is intended to shock his students and shift their paradigm about teachers origins. Students often don’t know about their professors beginnings and pivotal moments that brought them to where they are today. It can be easy to view them as congenital child librarians with
Wallis, Claudia. “How to Make Great Teachers.” Time Online. 13 Feb. 2008. Web. 16 March 2011.
... past decade has not only affected teachers and valuable elective programs, but mostly importantly the education of today’s youth. The Georgia school districts have exhausted almost every way to make up for the billions of dollars of lost state financial support and they have reached the tipping point. Since over 9,000 teachers have lost their jobs, students are being forced into already bulging classes where they do not receive the kind of individual attention needed in order to boost student achievement. If Georgia leaders expect student achievements to improve, they must invest the necessary economic resources needed to achieve this goal. At the end of the day, one of the most important things in life is a good education, so we need to start putting more money into the K-12 school funding and help build back what years of austerity cuts have nearly destroyed.
Khan, Shamus Rahman. 2011. Privilege The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School.
166-173). Linda Darling-Hammond (2000) discusses how teacher education has changed and how it has affected our education system (p. 166). The author also notes how even the most intelligent people found it hard to prosper in the field without the right skills and preparation (Darling-Hammond, 2000, p. 166-173). In the article, she presents how post baccalaureate programs are carefully structured, versus alternative routes which can be no more than backup employment options. Darling-Hammond (2000) also addresses how it becomes difficult for aspiring teachers to learn both subject matter and pedagogy (p.
The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. We do not even have to step further than our own city and its public school system, which many media outlets have labeled “dysfunctional” and “in shambles.” At the same time, Montgomery County, located just northwest of the District in suburban Maryland, stands as one of the top school systems in the country. Within each of these systems, there are schools that excel and there are schools that consistently measure below average. Money alone can not erase this gap. While increased spending may help, the real problem is often rooted in the complex issues of social, cultural, and economic differences. When combined with factors involving the school itself and the institution that supports it, we arrive at what has been widely known as the divide between the suburban and urban schools. Can anything actually be done to reverse this apparent trend of inequality or are the outside factors too powerful to change?
“Our Schools Must Do Better” written by author Bob Herbert attempts to persuade the audience that the public education system is falling behind the times and needs a complete overhaul in order to keep up with the rapidly changing times and technology. He accomplishes this by employing anecdotes and using emotional appeal to capture the audience 's attention as well as an authoritative tone throughout the essay. Although the introduction was eye catching and some might argue persuasive the disorganization and lack of supporting detail left much to be desired.
High school and college dropout rates are at an all time high. Secondary school students are told throughout high school that if they don’t go to college then they will never be successful. Going to college doesn’t always make a difference because many career choices such as teachers and lawyers are highly contested and result in either no job or low salary. Low pay deters teacher’s motivation and they tend to work part time jobs to supplement their income. Public schools standards are comparable to a kangaroo court’s procedure; private schools are known for better teachers, environment, and test grades. The major problems in the public school system include the lack of funding, lack of resources, and lack of standards.
America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems of schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement. Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s problems. Most important, money cannot influence student, parent, teacher, and administrator perceptions of class and race. Nor can money improve test scores and make education relevant and practical in the lives of minority students.
During my senior at Laurel High School I started analyzing what public schools actually offered me. Ultimately, they taught me it’s more important to learn to pass then to actually learn the assignments. Public schools only cares about students passing standardized test in order for them to look good. They don’t actually care if we are retaining the information which is why they are not preparing us for the real world but they did tell us what prison is like. They tell us what to wear, where to go, they feed us toxic food, and the conditions of the schools are hideous. Public schools love to claim they are college bound but it’s impossible to be college bound when you 're nothing like college. Public schools set kids up for failure which is why most Freshmen drop out their first year of college. The reality sets in that it 's nothing like what we have learned for eighteen years in a
Over time, the passing of knowledge became more organized and societies developed what is known today as the school. In the school, people of all ages are able to learn from the experiences of others. Today, America’s system has been neglected to a point that students of other nations are testing higher academically than that of American students (Duncan, 2010). Because of this, many government officials, school reformers, and concerned citizens are faced with the challenge of finding a solution. However daunting and intimidating this may be, we must remember that this is not the first time that America has faced a need for change in the school. History is full of such events calling for changes to be made; unfortunately many of these changes were never fully implemented into the school system. Therefore, by studying the past we can build upon and complete the changes started. Unleashing the full potential of the American public school, giving each student a chance to be their greatest, regardless of who they are, and/or where they came from.
When I was growing up, I remember attending elementary school, learning a new language seems to be difficult at first, but I was able to learn the English language because of the dedication of one of my teachers. Now, as I reflect on this experience, it is obvious that she was dedicated and enjoyed teaching her students to be successful. I know today that she made a difference in my life as I navigated through my education experience and high school years to present.
Leonard Sax notes an important distinction when describing quality schools. In an interview with Blah blah balh, he recites the positive effects of a single-sex school on the success of men and women. However, he admits the reality that various qualities of a school cannot determine the academic achievement of its students. As a simple example, he prefers sending a child to a good co-ed school than to a bad single-sex school. As his point demonstrates, and many other education reformers agree, modifying one aspect of a school will not yield results elsewhere. Consequently, there are solutions for any circumstances, but there is no single solution that ensures success.