The antagonist of mankind is not, as some scholars would argue, ignorance. Nor is it oppression, failure, or rejection-- but, rather a combination of all four, frighteningly meshed into the inevitable agony that we call high school. It is inevitable because all American citizens must face this diabolism at some point in their lives, regardless of intelligence, economy, or social station. Thus, high school is the common enemy of every man. There is hope, however. If one can master certain skills under the four basic categories-- mental, physical, ethical, and social-- he can enter high school a little more prepared than his peers and stand a fighting chance in the battle for survival.
Undeniably most important to surviving high school are mental skills. These are tools that allow one to act quickly and stay one step ahead of the enemy. For instance, it is crucial that students know not only the answers to questions, but also how to make up a seemingly rational answer on the fly and sufficiently explain their reasoning (however false it may be) should a teacher sudden...
Leon Botstein, the author of “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” serves as the president of Bard College, as well as a professor of arts and humanities. Botstein wrote this article after the tragic shootings at Columbine high school in 1999. This event triggered something inside Botstein causing him to think negatively about the American high school system. In the article “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” Botstein explains, in his own words, of the corrupt happenings of present day American high school (368-369). Although Botstein may have high credentials, he provides no evidence to support his negative claims and opinions about teenagers and American high schools.
The purpose of Rebecca Solnit’s “Abolish High School” is to criticize the present high school system along with the emotional and academic strain it puts on developing minds. Solnit’s intended audience is any educated person with the opportunity to voice their opinions on the current approach to schooling.
The trivialization of high school in the present educational organization for teens has been posited in the public; however, it is one vital issue that is being debated.
High school is the stepping stone between childhood and the real world. John Dewey spent most of his life striving to improve this transition. He believed high schools were not preparing students for the needs of society by merely teaching the basics, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Dewey argued that high schools “must present situations where problems are relevant to the problems of living together, and where observation and information are calculated to develop social insight and interest.” This type of education would create socially-responsible citizens who have the ability to work together and solve societal issues; in turn, America’s democratic society would flourish. With this said, high schools continue to ignore Dewey’s suggestions,
Juveniles are being taught that in order to have a nice car, branded cloths and the house of their dreams, by getting into an expensive mortgage, they have to be an employee of a huge corporation. In addition, they have to undergo to a prestigious school, study hard, have excellent grades in order to become popular and respectable in the world. However, many people would not become those super leaders, but these majority of people have a great role in the capitalism society of the US. As Gatto says, “We buy televisions, and then we buy the things we see on the television. We buy computers, and then we buy the things we see on the computer. We buy $150 sneakers whether we need them or not, and when they fall apart too soon we buy another pair” (38). Such results are in part of a wrong education that teenagers have received trough many decades. In addition, Gatto highlights that modern educational system has been working in a six basic functions methods that makes the system strong and unbreakable: The adjustable function, indulge students to respect authorities. The integrating function, which builds the personality of the students as similar to each other as possible. The diagnostic and directive function, which allows a school to set permanent scholar grades in order to determinate his or her future role in society. The differentiating function, which gives to the student a good education and after his or her role is diagnosed, they prevent any educational progress. The selective function, function that the system has used to prevent academic growth for the non-selected students. The propaedeutic function, which works in the selection of specific groups of intellectual adults to keep perpetuating the system all over again making it a continuous sequence. (Gatto 34). Gatto’s facts revealed the survival of the educational system for decades,
Throughout the length of schooling, students go through various changes. In their first year of school, children are required to make the transition from being at home for the entire day to being in school for a number of hours a day. These transition periods happen many times through the schooling years, but the most drastic changes occur during the transition from high school to college, where students weather numerous lifestyle changes. While each individual student goes on their own journey, certain themes remain common between different students. Studies are done to look at these themes identifying the numerous differences and similarities.
Clearly, all students should learn the basic things that every adult should know throughout their life. A majority of students have to go through real world situations on their own, and they though...
Kessler’s points are accurate. I choose this topic because I can remember countless times that my mates would question the relevancy of the information being taught to them. This is an opportunity to illustrate that this irrelevancy is the reason for high college graduate unemplo...
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
American high schools today have lost track of what the purpose of going to school is. The article, “Let’s Really Reform Our Schools,” written by Anita Garland, explains how we can help our schools and make them a better learning place. In order to get high schools to be a better place to learn would be to throw out the “punks”, have the schools get uniforms, change junk foods to healthy foods, and get rid of prom and competitive sports. After all of this, the students who want to learn, can do that without all of the distractions.
I felt as though I was watching a train barrelling towards me, an inevitable bullet that had come tumbling out of the opposing pitcher’s arm. But instead I stood immobilized, watching my team's only chance of winning whiz by me. Strike three. I heard my team from behind me shouting “SWING!” with my mind screaming the same. But my bat remained unmoving, the pop of the catcher's glove like the nail into the coffin that was our defeat. All I had to do to keep our hopes of winning hope alive was swing, and yet I couldn't. I stayed on the field afterwards, tossing the ball up in the air and swinging away, landing it on the thick maple barrel of the bat.
The limited experience that a high schooler receives does not give them the opportunities that they deserve. Also, the general information that is taught to students does not apply to their needs; this information does not allow them to find their path in which they want to live their lives. In addition, a democratic education system is not portrayed throughout high school. Relationships between students and teachers are nonexistent, and students are dropping out of high school as a result. Our society is full of unsuccessful human beings that have no idea of how to live their life. This is what our education system has created. Now, we must make the change and stick to Dewey’s educational
In life we all face obstacles. The troubles that we face don’t define us, how we overcome the situation is what makes us the people we are today. Throughout my life I have faced many trials and tribulations that I had to overcome with the help of my mother, ofcourse. I was smooth sailing in life until I started high school.
The purpose of a high school education is to prepare one for college and ultimately, the workforce. By the end of freshman year, in high school, the average student has learned a sufficient amount of material in enough subjects that he or she can be considered "well-rounded" in his or her studies. This is because the rate at which material is covered in schools, across the nation, has increased dramatically compared to the past. Students now learn more advanced curriculum at a younger age, and this continues to become more evident year after year. High school has now become more focused on teaching students a small amount of information on several essential subjects, rather than having them focus deeply on the subjects they seek to pursue in their career.
Having explained the reason most children have become disheartened at the thought of school, I now turn my attention to the students who do realize school’s educational value. These are the students that will continue to prosper throughout their lives because they realize the extreme importance of education. There is a secret, yet not so secret, motivation behind their determination to exceed standards and expectations in school. The secret they withhold is their overwhelming desire to be successful in the future.