Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The pros and cons of shorter school days
Effective discipline of the students inside the classroom
Effective discipline of the students inside the classroom
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The pros and cons of shorter school days
To say school is bad for children is extremely inaccurate, many children look forward to this as their safe haven. In John Holt 's essay “school is bad for children” he argues that school prevents children from learning what they want and that it enables their curiosity making them become passive learners I found myself disagreeing with his arguments. Holt proposes ideas to reform the school system to make it more favorable for children in which i do agree with partially. School is one of the many things children need to succeed; getting students to work together more efficiently is great but taking students out of the school to learn along with removing compulsory school attendance and required curriculum is not the answer. More one on one …show more content…
Research shows that a national rate of ten percent of students are absent and it could be as high as fifteen percent, meaning that 5 million to 7.5 million students are absent. Not all children are going to like what they have to do but some things are required for a specific reason and this is one of those requirements. Holt says that at “the very least we should modify it perhaps by giving children every year a large number of authorized absences.” (74) I completely disagree with holt. Doing this will not only erupt the student himself but the class and teachers plans. Some might say they make it a law just so they can get their money. Well that money goes towards the school that the student should be in. The student is more likely to get in trouble with law or become a victim of a crime. If he/she misses regularly they will fall behind and they will have a decrease in academic scores. If this were to pass and large numbers of students were not to attend school it would make it “difficult for the teacher and the class to build their skills and progress” (Greatschools Staff) Attendance also prepares the young for later when they become employed it shows that they are reliable and …show more content…
School is a step to success; getting students to come together more and become antisocial but abolishing class is not what should pass along with giving days off and doing away with curriculum is not the answer to helping children. This will not help but only hurt them for the future and hurt our country they will not be prepared and will be lazy. Parents and adults need to help motivate children they can not do it themselves as holt says we should we need guidence. School is a chance before reality where mistakes are allowed and one 's judgment is tested along with responsibility, discipline and moral
In the article “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto urges Americans to see the school system as it really is: testing facilities for young minds, with teachers who are pounding into student 's brains what society wants. Gatto first explains that he taught for 30 years at the best and worst schools in Manhattan. He claims to have firsthand experience of the boredom that students and teachers struggle with. Gatto believes that schooling is not necessary, and there are many successful people that were self-educated. He then explains the history and importance of mandatory schooling.
Gatto argues that the staying in the American schooling system for so long has supplied him with every reason to refer to it as a childish and “ 'a disablement '” program for students. He supposes that he can bring out the best qualities in children by giving them the autonomy to make decisions and manage themselves, rather than confining them to school. According to Gatto, people may see the key problem of schooling as boredom. To clarify his point, Gatto believes having an education in school is considered as “a daily routine in a factory of childishness in order to make sure not one of them ever really grow up”.
We live in a society where we are surrounded by people telling us that school/education and being educated is the only way to succeed. However, the school system is not up to the standards we want it to uphold. There are three issues we discuss the most which are the government, the student, and the teacher. In John Taylor Gatto 's essay “Against School”, we see the inside perspective of the educational system from the view of a teacher. In “I Just Wanna Be Average”, an essay written by Mike Rose, we hear a student 's experience of being in a vocational class in the lower level class in the educational system when he was supposed to be in the higher class. Both Gatto and Rose give their opinions on how the educational system is falling apart. Today the government is only trying to get students to pass, making it hard for teachers to teach what they want. Students are affected everyday by the school system. They sit there - bored - and do not think that the teachers care, making the
Kyoko Mori says in her essay “School” that, “school and “the real world” both have their absurd moments, but school is where people go when they’re not satisfied with their “real world” lives and want a change.” By this Mori easily means that people go to school to get an education, to get a job so they can have a great future. These laws aren’t put in place for kids to only go waste there day so they won’t be off in the streets, they are put here so you will have a generation of young people who will have thinking and social skills, kids that will learn and want to be something in life. Now, of course, you will have kids that don’t want to be there, but by these laws you are pushing them to be something better, some young people might think that they simply can’t be any better, think they are unintelligent, but by these laws you are pushing them to be what they think they cannot be. Education laws are here to make kids prepare for their future, without this you will have kids not attending school, and doing stuff they probably should not be
Education critics began voicing concerns about public schools in the 1960’s (Hess, 2002). Some of the complaints against public schools included, preaching alien values, failing to adequately educate, and adopting unhealthy approaches to child development (Hess, 2002). Many parents joined the de- schooling movement based on a popular book by John Holt called How Children Learn. John Holt was a professor in Boston, who believed that children are born with the desire to learn and educate themselves. The book states that all children need the following for a successful education; materials, access to the “real world”, emotional support, freedom to explore, and time to assess idea...
Trying to implement a mandatory attendance policy at the university would be a terrible idea. The students should have to make a decision whether or not to come to class on their own initiative, not only to teach them to be responsible for their own actions but would also weed out the students who were not really focused on learning. Most college students have never been subject to the real world and many need to learn that they have to do things own their own without any outside influence because in most situations once out on their own no one will be looking over their shoulder to make sure they go to work or even meet any other required appointments. School is not a right it is a privilege and people need to realize that if learning is not taken seriously there can be extreme consequences.
... my opinion it is just a way it’s just a temporary act which does not last. Youth need to interact with peers, help in the decision making process, sense of belonging, and develop a value system. If we kick them out of school we are not helping them become respectful citizens in the community.
In “What’s Wrong with Schools,” Casey Banas uses the experiences of Ellen Glanz, a high school social studies teacher to express how different students and teachers feel about schooling. Ellen Glanz chooses to improve her teaching by pretending to be a student and sitting in on several classes and what she finds in the typical classroom includes students doing the bare minimum, disinterest, cheating, detachment, the list goes on and on. I agree with Ellen Glanz in that this separation between educators and students causes a great amount of passivity. Unfortunately, these types of circumstances in classroom settings are becoming more and more typical.
Throughout the world, students are encouraged to attend high school and continue their education. However, many students find it worthless and become uninspired. They blame the faculty, school policies, and fellow students, when they should be blaming themselves. Unchallenging course work is most likely a sign that the student isn’t taking a hard enough course. During my high school experience, students had the opportunity to take college courses through our high school. This gave the more advanced students a chance to practice the same routine as “normal” students, but still challenge and educate themselves. Abolishing high school would not solve any problems in our educational system. There are many ways to improve upon our school system; however, we need to start at the beginning.
In “School is Bad for Children”, John Holt discusses the faults and failures of the education system. According to Holt traditional schooling stifles children’s curiosity and learning, causing them to be ill-equipped as adults. He believes children are smarter before they enter school, having already mastered what he says is the most important thing, language. Holt goes on to describe how children no longer learn for themselves in school. Their learning has become a passive process. Children then come to realize teachers are not there to satisfy their curiosity, and in turn, grow ashamed and accept what they think teachers wants them to believe. School also becomes a place where uncertainty and incorrect answers are forbidden. The students learn how to cheat and pretend to work when the teacher is looking. As a result, they only use a small portion of their brain, and soon they grow bored. Holt suggests this boredom shuts off their brain and is the reason why many students turn to drugs. Drugs he says is the only way many young people can find awareness in the world they once had when they were little. Children John Holt says, are very fascinated
My Mom was very “Autocratic” (Popkin) about this issue. She is the youngest child of seven and every one of her siblings received awards for never missing a day of school in all twelve years. They were recognized in the town newspaper for this achievement combined with never missing a day of Sunday School. My older brother never missed a day of school from K-12. I missed one day in 4th grade when instead I went to the doctor because I insisted on staying home. My younger sisters both missed a day or two. One broke her leg but only missed about one day, the youngest was granted permission to miss school in High School for my Grandmother’s funeral. My brother left for his mission in August before school started so we got to go to the MTC to see him off; however when he left for Mexico, only my parents went to the airport to see him off (back in the days prior to the TSA when you could wait at the gate to say good-bye). My sisters and I were in school that day because my mom didn’t feel that was a valid reason to miss school. I went to school in 8th grade after throwing up in the morning. I remember feeling absolutely horrible all day and running into the bathroom at lunch to throw-up again. Clearly, missing school was not-negotiable for any reason. This issue handled in an autocratic style has had interesting effects on me. On the one hand I feel guilty when my children stay home from
When a person is young it is mainly their parents responsibility to raise them right. Raising them correctly will help them make good choices as they get older. Putting children through the right amount of education will also impact the person they become as they get older. “Programs at one stage or age may or may not prepare students for later experiences. Ideally, the learning situation in preschool will foster independence and child-initiated activities.” (Slavin). School has a big impact on a person and who they will become. Parents need to put their kids in good situations early on. This will help the kid develop better and be more
Mandatory attendance policy does not really enhance students' school performance as it's usually expected. Some teachers and schools believe students would study better if they come to class regularly. They argue that all lessons in text books should be explained, discussions should be held with full class. If students do not come to class, they would study nothing or make no progress. Some even think of students as lazy creatures who play truant to do everything they like but homework or assigned reading, so they take roll-call to ensure that all students come to class and work with them. What i can say is that attending class regularly does not mean you will have better understanding or performance. Some students sometimes miss class but they still study well. That's because there are some lessons they can study by themselves at home without spending too much time as those who study in class. On the other hand, so...
After twelve years of school, it took me until now to figure out exactly why I had been there all those years. It was not to torture me by making me learn how to spell but to make sure that my classmates and I got the opportunity to make the most of ourselves. Opportunity that would come from learning as much as possible from books and beginning to see that the world focuses on more than just history and English . I owe my success in life and school to teachers who taught me to spell and to be respectful and responsible. Those quick to argue with me say that school's usefulness is shallow: deeper-real-life experiences truly educate a person. School should be seen not only as a place to study, but also as a place to learn about real life. People cannot depend on experience alone for education just as they cannot solely rely on information from school books to prepare them for life. The lessons, whether from a book or not, learned in school transcend the classroom to real life situations.
At the beginning of one’s journey of gaining more knowledge, most children don’t mind school, for it is a change of environment for them. The majority of elementary school adolescents even enjoy school to some degree. As time wears on, we usually, and sadly, begin to see a change of heart. Children become fatigued from school and therefore don’t take pleasure in going anymore. Maybe their teachers didn’t teach them in the way that they learn most efficiently, or maybe students just become bored with the whole “school scene” itself. Whatever the case, it is apparent that by the time they reach high school, their interest for learning alone has died out.