The American education decline continues to plummet. The generation today knows less and is less literate than their parent generation. People blame this decline for so many different reasons, but those people can all agree on one common denominator—children are not learning in the classroom. Benjamin Barber, in his article “America Skips School”, argues many reasons why children are not learning in the classroom. His overall thesis was “the reason for the country’s inaction is that Americans do not really care about education—the country has grown comfortable with the game of ‘let’s pretend we care’” (Barber, 2014, p. 2.). Barber thinks America lost her focus about educating her young to become educated citizens. Rather, her young care and …show more content…
Besides the classroom, nowhere in modern society emphasizes learning for the sake of knowledge. In society, the people who receive praise are the ones who did not have a solid education. America has become obsessed with success stories that forgo education because educational knowledge no longer contains any value. American leaders do not make an extra effort to try and fix the failing education system, so if the world powers of America do not care to make progressive improvements for the education system, why should citizens of America even care about the education system? The students in school have picked up on these thoughts and instead of listening to the classroom teacher the students listen to the world teachers. Barber defines these world teachers as “the nation’s true pedagogues, are television, advertising, movies, politics, and the celebrity domains they define.” (Barber, 2014, p. 2.). These leaders have different values than the values set as the standard by the education system. The education system values wisdom, knowledge, critical thinking, and the ability to articulate one’s thoughts and ideas convincingly. While the American system contrasts these ideas: “We honor ambition, we reward greed, we celebrate materialism, we worship acquisitiveness, we cherish success, and we commercialize the classroom. . . We recommend history to the kids but rarely consult it ourselves. (Barber, 2014, p. 4.). This reasoning lays the foundation for the destruction of the school system. Adults do not find value in education, but they encourage their children to try and find value in area the adults do not. Children have caught on to this and decided the absolute best option for them to success is to flee the classroom setting and surround themselves in the world where they can learn firsthand the steps to become successful. The societal influence cultivates children more effectively than the classroom
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.
As American’s we place a high level of importance on attending school and receiving a certain level of education. Across the world, the recommendations for attending school vastly differ based on the culture of the society. In America, we require our children to attend school until they are almost of legal age, push high school graduates to attend college and we constantly emphasize structured learning. Many children in today’s world lack many skills that would allow them to “teach” themselves outside of school leading to an increased interest in televisions, computers, and phones. Technology has taken away society’s attention away from independent learning such as reading, writing, and outside experiences. John Taylor Gatto’s emotional voice in his writing “Against School” has allowed me reveal my psychological voice regarding the educational system.
Many Americans do not question the credibility of the education system within the country because they believe it forms good citizens and creates a stepping-stone to success. John Taylor Gatto is an American teacher who has experience in the classroom for thirty years and has now devoted his life to critiquing American schools exploiting his own experiences. In his essay “Against School”, he argues that the 12-year system of school may not be necessary, due to its curriculum, and that it may be a tactic of manipulation from the government to promote obedience. I agree with his argument because there are many paths to individual success outside of public education, such as homeschooling or vocational school.
President Ronald Reagan once described America as, “A Nation at Risk,” He was addressing this statement to the education department thirty years ago and meant it as a wake-up call. He was aware that the United States was falling behind in education and needed to take action in order to prevent the demise of the country. Reagan correctly predicted the grim fate of America if education did not see improvement. Today, research finds that American education is failing to provide the necessary skills to succeed in college and various careers. The quality of education in America is a growing issue and every year graduate students are finding it more difficult to obtain high paying jobs and start his or her career. According to studies conducted globally, the curriculum in America is not as advanced and years behind international schools in countries such as China and Japan. There is much controversy in government over what can be done to reverse the situation in public schools but possible solutions that have been suggested are hiring more qualified teachers, more classroom time, and investing more money into education.
The human mind is perhaps the greatest object on the earth, animate or inanimate, but without the proper training, the mind is a relatively useless tool. Through the development of formal education systems, humans as a whole have tried to ensure the training of all minds so as to continue prosperity for the world. Most of the time, though, education systems do not realize the harm they are doing to developing minds and the subsequent negative consequences. Among the largest of these inadequate education systems is the American primary schooling system. The American education system is in fact failing; it continues to deplete children of their natural creativity and thirst for knowledge while preaching conformity, which in turn creates an ill-prepared and incompetent public.
In “Idiot Nation,” Michael Moore discourses on the collapse of American education system and the three main reasons behind it: politicians’ ignorance, shortage of teachers, and the rise of Corporate America. Moore first points out how ignorant the President and politicians are by stating that the President cannot simply identify whether Africa is a nation or a continent. Next, Moore attributes the lack of funding in education to the fact that politicians prefer to build bomber than to improve our education system; this leads to shortage of resources, overpopulated classrooms, and decrease of books available for students. He then notes that the low salaries of teachers, which are caused by the insufficient funding of education, result in shortage of qualified teachers, leading to the failure of the education system. In addition, Moore discusses about the rise of Corporate America, which is another factor corrupting the education system. To get funding from Corporate America, schools diminish the time students have in class, by making students watch advertisements from businesses and help businesses conduct research during class time. Throughout his excerpt, Moore uses exemplification, surprising statistics, rhetorical questions, and simple but clear reasoning to effectively express his ideas and convince readers of his arguments.
Somewhere in America a parent is asking their child what they learned at school today, the child will most likely say that they didn’t learn much. It is sad to say that with today’s education system, this is true. The K-12 school system has oppressed students far more than it has liberated them, and this must change if America wants to produce members of society that actually have something to contribute. Students graduate high school having learned how to play the “game” of school leaving them grossly unprepared for college. Students should leave high school with a base of knowledge and strategies they can employ to succeed in college if that is where they wish to go, but instead they come to college knowing how to line up quietly and copy
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.
Labaree discusses how the United State’s education is in a school syndrome, as people in America want schools to teach society’s ideals as well as let people express their individuality. These two demands are polar opposites that cannot be achieved. As the focus goes towards balancing these in hopes of improving society as a whole, the bettering of actual student learning is put on pause. Labaree talks about the beginning of education reform, in the 19th century, being the most successful in developing society; however, as education reform continued throughout time, its effectiveness wore off. He then addresses how the desire for education reform is more about improving society than it is about learning. He finishes his argument by providing possible solutions to fixing this problem, but states that fixing this problem will never happen because no one is willing to give up both demands. Overall, Labaree goes in wonderful detail explaining the problems of education reform. What made me choose this article was that he addressed the desire that people have on school systems in promoting both society normality and individuality. This correlates well with my topic in whether public school systems promote conformist ideals or individuality.
Education is one of the cornerstones and pillars to the establishment and preservation of democracy. In history, countless scores of philosophers and political thinkers believed that only an educated citizenry can take on the quintessential task of upholding democracy. Thomas Jefferson, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, stated that “an informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will.” A renowned defender of public education, Jefferson proposed plans for an education system that included grammar schools in his presidency. As a result of these relentless policies for education, the United States expanded on the concept of public instruction through the establishment and upkeep of a practical education system. The United States continued this tradition and established a reputation as one of the best education in the world. Currently, this is no longer valid as other countries such as Finland, China, and South Korea are competing for the dominant position through rigorous reforms that aim to boost student performances (“Best Education”). Meanwhile, the American system is inefficient, inhibited by political obstacles and gridlock while Finland, the top ranked country in terms of schooling, is continuing to improve. According to the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) examinations that tested pupils across a variety of subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science of 2009, Finland’s students were ranked among the top (“PISA 2009”). The American students were ranked below average for industrialized countries in the world, revealing the reality of the educational crisis in the country. Finland’s education system, compared to the Americans, offers major differences that greatly ...
Something I have always known since I was a little kid is that the educational system in this country is a complete fraud. American schools claim to live by the ideal of No Child Left Behind, but millions of students get cast aside each and every year. In schools these days, it is obvious which students are the elite—those that are raised up and motivated to go to college—and the ordinary student— those that are somewhat ignored throughout their schooling and are lucky if they even earn a GED. As a recent graduate of high school, and a product of this country’s educational system, I have had the opportunity to develop my own opinions regarding the myth of education in our society. Based upon my observations going through the school system, and the various arguments posed by several authors in “Rereading America”, I strongly believe that schooling in this society caters solely to students in the elite category while ostracizing students that do not live up to the elitist ideal.
In his essay “Against School,” John Taylor Gatto illustrates his view point that the American population would be better off by managing their own education. He compares the school system to the concept of boredom; that students as well as teachers are victims of the long ago adopted Prussian educational system: “We suppress our genius only because we haven’t yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simply and glorious. Let them manage themselves.” In other words, Gatto believes that the main reason for the existence of schooling consists in that it trains our children to be obedient citizens who can’t think on their own. His point is that as a society we cut off the intelligence and creativity
America now knows where they stand on the totem pole regarding education. Having a powerful military and democratic government will only get Americans so far as being a world leader. Teaching American students rigorously will increase America’s dominance as a country and as a people for generations. Teachers are an essential need in America. The United States often takes teachers for granted and if the U.S. government helps educators by improving the quality of their teaching, students will succeed in the classroom. America can perhaps no longer be a country with a zombie-like attitude, but a country thriving with accomplished students supported by the community around them.
Schooling and education in the past were only attended and given to rich, wealthy people and males. In the Greek education system, only males were given the opportunity to go to school, while the women and slaves stayed home and worked. Education in America has some of the average test scores and lower grades in the world, and there are many problems with the system itself. According to a poll taken by registered voters, lack of school choices wasn’t a very big issue compared to the number of votes that said that absence of parental involvement and budget cuts were. When students graduate from high school, there is a good portion that are not fully ready for college. There are at least twenty things that are very important skills in life that
This book, Dare The School Build a New Social Order by George Counts, is an examination of teachers, the Progressive Education Movement, democracy and his idea on how to reform the American economy. The book is divided into 5 different sections. The first section is all about the Progressive Education Movement. Through this, George Counts points out many downsides and weaknesses of this ideal. He also talks about how he wants teachers to lead society instead of following it. In the second section, he examines 10 widespread fallacies. These fallacies were that man is born free, that children are born free, they live in a separate world of their own, education remains unchanged, education should have no bias, the object of education is to produce professors, school is an all-powerful educational agency, ignorance rather than knowledge is the way of wisdom, and education is made to prepare an individual for social change.