The Universal Curriculum
Inequality in the American educational system developed from the republican and democratic political powers competing for different goals within the high-school curriculum. The present curriculum separates the two educational theories developed by the republican and democratic parties and teaches only the basic levels of education. With the present curriculum, students receive a separate and varied curriculum which divides the students’ knowledge levels and creates an imbalance within the United States working force. To maximize students’ academic abilities and close the rift between students’ knowledge levels, the United States should incorporate characteristics from both political parties by creating a controlled and universal curriculum for all school districts.
The Democratic Party developed a curriculum based upon teaching certain disciplines which includes; whole-language reading, understanding math through calculators, and essay exams. The curriculum prepares students in a “natural” method by allowing students to learn curriculum subjects at the individual’s own pace. By emphasizing vocabulary and language, a student learning through the democratic method of teaching develops verbal skills and an understanding of math concepts. Although “disciplines are arguably the most important human inventions of the last two millenniums, their importance tends to be obscured” when education focuses upon facts, skills, tests, and subject matter (Gardner 473). When teaching disciplines, a student grasps the basics of knowledge in an original manner that capitalizes on an individual’s ability to perform well in everyday situations. The democratic teaching method believes in using examples that the co...
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...erent subjects. As the student grows older and more mature, he or she would have the opportunity to act upon those moral thoughts and teach the same lessons to the younger generation. In order to prepare students to their fullest academic abilities and close the gap between knowledge levels, the combination of the Republican and Democratic teaching methods would benefit the American Education standards and supply students with the right tools for learning.
Works Cited
Gardner, Howard. “Toward Good Thinking on Essential Questions.” New York Times 11
Sept. 1999: 16. Rpt. in Perspectives on Argument. Nancy V. Wood. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2001, 472-75.
Hirsch Jr., E.D. “Finding the Answers in Drill and Rigor.” New York Times 11 Sept.
1999: 16. Rpt. in Perspectives on Argument. Nancy V. Wood. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2001, 475-77.
... a Moral Monstrosity.” In Dynamic Argument. Ed. Robert Lamm and Justin Everett. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. 425-26.
When I first encountered the word argument in this chapter I thought that I would be informed on what an argument is and how to construct an argument in an essay. After reading the chapter I think arguments much more than creating diversity over a topic. Also, it is much more than making a claim. There are many different styles and ways to present an argument.
There are many examples of strong argumentative writing in the second half of the book Everyday Arguments. Topics of writing examples include today’s college student, the internet, sports, earning your living, diet, and reading popular culture. Of the writings, two stood out as notable works to be critiqued; Who is a Teacher, and Thoughts on Facebook.
Americans have embraced debate since before we were a country. The idea that we would provide reasoned support for any position that we took is what made us different from the English king. Our love of debate came from the old country, and embedded itself in our culture as a defining value. Thus, it should not come as a surprise that the affinity for debate is still strong, and finds itself as a regular feature of the mainstream media. However, if Deborah Tannen of the New York Times is correct, our understanding of what it means to argue may be very different from what it once was; a “culture of critique” has developed within our media, and it relies on the exclusive opposition of two conflicting positions (Tannen). In her 1994 editorial, titled “The Triumph of the Yell”, Tannen claims that journalists, politicians and academics treat public discourse as an argument. Furthermore, she attempts to persuade her readers that this posturing of argument as a conflict leads to a battle, not a debate, and that we would be able to communicate the truth if this culture were not interfering. This paper will discuss the rhetorical strategies that Tannen utilizes, outline the support given in her editorial, and why her argument is less convincing than it should be.
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.
Rottenberg, Annette T., and Donna Haisty. Winchell. The Structure of Argument. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
In today’s high schools, education is no longer equal for all. More often than not, it is seen that the selection of subject matter of instruction has utilitarian ends conceived for the masses, and higher education is only available for a select few. In fact, Horace Mann wrote that there exists two theories- the European theory and the Massachusetts theory. The European theory describes men being divided into classes (only some have the luxury to not work), while the Massachusetts theory states that all are to have an equal chance for earning. Unfortunately, the hope of living by the Massachusetts theory is fleeting; the distance between the poor and rich of society is ever increasing, destroying the dream of ever living in a truly democratic society (Source 1). And where does this problem being? It begins at the high school level, where all children are held to the same standards, and only a select few are given the opportunity to achieve a higher education. This is common in the majority of high schools and it is becoming more prevalent. Clearly, this is the exact opposite of Dewe...
The first topic to discuss is the logical appeal of the argument. According to the proponents for the issue of part...
Before the start of this school year, I was not clueless as to how to craft an argument, but, to say the least, I was unexperienced. I thought that “argumentative” was simply a fancy name for “persuasive”—needless to say, I was mistaken. Blinded by this fallacy, I avoided acknowledging any opposing views in my essays (such as in my TV argumentative impromptu), which only made it seem as if I did not have sufficient information to defend my arguments. I thought I had to induce my audience to agree with me and that if I mentioned any alternatives, I would lose them.
Arguments can be made out of just about anything. An argument has two sides, and conveying an opinion is one of those two sides. Arguments sort out the views of others and the support of those arguments represented by those people from past events. These events let others show their argument about what will happen in the future, and of how the future carries on today. Newspaper articles can be arguments, and laws being passed in Congress have a form of argument associated with them. There are many types of arguments that are presented in many ways. In Everything’s an Argument by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, information is given about three specific types of argument: forensic, deliberative, and ceremonial. Forensic arguments deal with the past, deliberative talks about the future, and ceremonial is all about the present. I have identified each of these arguments in the form of newspaper articles.
Crusius, Timothy W., and Carolyn E. Channell. The Aims of Argument: A Text and Reader. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print.
* The Aims of Argument. 4th ed Ed.Timothy W. Crusius and Carolyn E. Channell. New York:McGraw Hill,2003, 352-355.
Politics and business influence have been a long term problem for the establishment of a free and fair education opportunity. America has been called ?the melting pot? of the world, meaning that within the nation live such an abundance of individuals from different aspects of life. Within the world, we find some societies less fortunate than other societies. Economic diversity is present within the United States as well. It is commonly understood that the wealthy are becoming better educated than the poor, and similarly that the wealthy have a better chance to survive in the economic growth of today?s society.
A mere question is how Tannen pulls the reader into her article titled “The Argument Culture.” Deborah Tannen uses multiple rhetorical devices such as language, logos, and imagery to explain in depth the “adversarial mindset” plaguing America and shows us her solution in the article “The Argument Culture”. Tannen wanted to inform Americans how argument based we truly are and persuade us to make change. Like I stated earlier Tannen begins this process by placing a question in our minds, “Balance. Debate. Listening to both sides. Who could question these Noble American traditions” (Tannen 403)? Tannen then structures her article to develop understanding of the concept among the uninformed. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos also play a key role in the description of the culture, but Tannen adds in real life examples and imagery to create mental
In 1949, a small book had a big impact on education. In just over one hundred pages, Ralph W. Tyler presented the concept that curriculum should be dynamic, a program under constant evaluation and revision. Curriculum had always been thought of as a static, set program, and in an era preoccupied with student testing, he offered the innovative idea that teachers and administrators should spend as much time evaluating their plans as they do assessing their students.