All Americans have rights that are given to them for being American citizens. Children must learn about citizenship to be successful when they are older. Learning about others and their needs broadens one’s view point. The US Constitution was put in place to give everyone equality regardless of race, gender, disability, or social status. The most pressing responsibility that is lacking is sacrifice. Many Americans expect to be given rights but are not willing to make a personal sacrifice for them. In order to maintain rights and liberties, American citizens have three main responsibilities: education, equality and selfless service.
The first responsibility is education. Many parents begin this process when the child is very young. Children learn values even before they know what values are. As a child grows he or she becomes more aware of what is expected of him. Learning she is in control of her words and her actions and that her words and actions affects others. When he lies there are consequences that follow. Sharing is taught as a way to show respect to others. Not getting what she wants when she wants it teaches her self-control. Children learn responsibility if they know what is expected of them. The most basic education begins the building blocks for successful young citizens.
Free formal education is provided as the child continues to grow and expand her mind. In America, there is an increasing separation in the way children receive their education. In “A Tale of Two Schools: How Poor Children Are Lost to the World”, many schools do not have the resources to meet national standards. Mainly inner city schools have classrooms with outdated technology and too many children in the classroom. The teachers are also n...
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... not want to assume the responsibilities there would not be any. People have laid down their lives to protect the freedoms of this nation. Citizens need to realize and understand that rights and freedoms of this country are maintained and upheld by fulfilling three responsibilities: education, equality, and personal sacrifices.
Works Cited
Adams, John and Abigail Adams. "Letters." Selzer. 253-55. Print.
Douglass, Frederick. "What, to the Slave, Is the Fourth of July?" Selzer. 229-48. Print.
Kozol, Jonathan. "A Tale of Two Schools: How Poor Children Are Lost to the World." Selzer. 142-45. Print.
Selzer, Jack, ed. Argument in America: Essential Issues, Essential Texts. NY: Longman, 2004. Print.
Stanton, Elizabeth C. "The Seneca Falls Declaration." Selzer. 262-67. Print.
Where We Stand In America: Schools in the 21st Century. PBS, 2008. Web. 6 Feb. 2011.
This is the setting, background, and characters of Mike’s tale of “the struggles and achievements of America’s educationally underprepared”. Through this book Mike constantly emphasizes three main themes. First, the importance of an educational mentor; later in this article we will examine several of Mike’s mentors. Second, social injustices in the American education system; specifically the lack of funding and bureaucracy’s affect on the public educational system. Third and lastly, specific teaching methods that Mike has used to reach out to kids on the boundary.
The Constitution lays out the rights and obligations of the newly formed United States government. But, what of the rights and obligations of its citizens? Starting in 1791 only two years after the Constitution was ratified the Constitution began to evolve and this process continues to this day. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. This Bill of Rights outlines the protections which citizens have from the government of the United States. The question raised in the title of this paper is; Are the Bill of Rights, written well over 200 years ago still relevant today? Of course they are and probably even more so. To illustrate this fact we will examine each of the ten amendments rewrite each one using common everyday language of today and if possible discuss why this was important in 1791 and why we may or may not need this document in writing today. In restating each amendment I will try to write it as if it is a brand new document, which is a stretch to say the least. With out the struggle of the colonies through war and abuse by the English Monarchy would one have the foresight to see how a government may take for granted the rights of its citizenry?
America’s public school system started off very rough, but through the dedication of many hard-working Americans, it was starting to shape into a system that allowed all children, regardless of race, gender, religion, or nation of origin, to have an education.
As well as by our civil leaders. “Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.” (Malcolm X, 1965). As our national creation myth of George Washington and the Cherry Tree reminds us of our integrity as agents of free-will in the “land of the Free and home of the Brave”, to the anthropomorphic metaphor of Liberty that stands on Ellis Island, Americans sincerely believe that these values and attitudes are what make us uniquely American. In fact, these virtual citizenry birthrights (historically excluding racial minorities and women arguably until the civil rights movements of the 1960s, though the case may be made that this fight for equality is still a work in progress) are explicitly stated in the legal framework of our constitution, as illustrated by the following two amendments:... ...
Jonathan Kozol wrote a book titled Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. A Tale of Two Schools: How Poor Children Are Lost to the World is an excerpt from the book. The excerpt tells the story of two high schools in the Chicago area.
...responsibilities as a citizen of the United States? The Free Library. (2005). Retrieved March 03, 2008 from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Are you a good citizen? What are your rights and responsibilities as...-a0137097600
Gamoran, Adam. "American Schooling and Educational Inequality: A Forecast for the 21st Century." American Sociological Assocation. JSTOR, 2001. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the American educational system has undergone much transition in response to our changing society. Though there have been many problems raised throughout the years in regard to what our school systems should be teaching our children, there have also been many developments.
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.
We need to give responsibility to our child because they are taking risk and assuming responsibility which often go hand in hand for Example “giving a child her first pocket knife at, say age 9 not only gives her the advantage of experiencing a little risk play with a sharp object. It signals that she’s responsible for keeping herself and other safer”. (Michael Ungal 28). In some case that experience allow to see them unsure about whether their child is competent enough to keep herself safe or responsibility freedom to play for our children alone and climber in the trees that allow advantage to take a good decision in grow up when we don’t say with it. Also when our children going to grow up is good decision too orient about your education because is one decision than they need to take, the parent don’t allow take decision about it, because when their children don’t take that thing they like or can be person frustrate in the future. For Example “when we have a lot of responsibility in our childhood or younger age all these responsibilities you had while younger were always like them”. (Michael Ungal
In many low income communities, there are teachers that are careless and provide their students with poor quality education. These teachers are there just to make sure that they keep receiving their monthly paychecks and act in this way because they believe that low income students do not have the drive, the passion, or the potential to be able to make something of themselves and one day be in a better place than they are now. Anyon reveals that in working class schools student’s “Work is often evaluated not according to whether it is right or wrong but according to whether the children followed the right steps.” (3). This is important because it demonstrates that low income students are being taught in a very basic way. These children are being negatively affected by this because if they are always being taught in this way then they will never be challenged academically, which can play a huge role in their futures. This argument can also be seen in other articles. In the New York Times
Every child deserves the right to a fair and equal education no matter their race, gender, language, social class. However, often time’s people do not provide that for children, including the child’s own parents. With that being said the changes have to start somewhere. Research has been done in finding solutions for teachers and curriculum, schools, and for parents to help increase the learning of all children, but even more so for those children in poverty.
Ramírez, Eddy. "Budget Cuts Hit The Classrooms." U.S. News & World Report 145.10 (2008): 68. MAS Complete. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
Children need to learn responsibility at an early age. It is something that can be taught to them by implementing small changes into their routine. These changes will help instill pride and the idea of accomplishment. Once present, they will want to continue this positive feedback, which in turn will teach them responsibility. Chores teach children responsibility.
I, like many Americans, thought that by virtue of living in the United States, one was entitled to a free education that would set them up for future success. Unfortunately, I have found out that that is far from the truth. The issue of education inequality is a prevalent and significant issue in our society, and it took my being exposed to it first-hand to raise my awareness.