Destroying Teachers while Helping Big Business In the article “Why the United States Is Destroying It’s Education System,” the American journalist Chris Hedges goes into a broad view of what he thinks is taking place in the American school system across the country. He uses persuasive wording and facts to coax the audience to agree with his opinion on big business. Hedges presents a strong argument against big business through the use of clever wording that represents the stressful and extremely frustrating situation that students today know so well. However, Hedges fails to understand the importance of big business to future generations and he undervalues the importance of standardized test to make sure students are excelling. Hedges …show more content…
He essentially is saying that Corporate America is taking the students and teachers out of the education system, just like they take the people out of business. In other words, big business is convoluting the system so that the nuances of the teaching and learning process are practically eliminated. Creating students who understand and can apply the material should be the goal of the education system, not creating mindless drones to fulfill the roles corporations wish to force people into.Hedges makes a strong point to say that our nation today does not reflect what our forefathers set out to establish. They wanted informed citizens who could get a strong job that provides both financial and emotional stability and happiness. However, Hedges points out that Corporate America will push a person aside if they don’t accommodate the corporations requests by saying “Those who don’t are pushed aside” …show more content…
He states, “A nation that destroys its systems of education…It prizes, test scores above critical thinking and literacy” (Hedges). Hedges indicates many times creativity is taken out of schools, in addition to not being used enough in educational development. However, what Hedges does not seem to comprehend is that testing students does not always have to be a bad affair. If the tests more accurately portray what is being taught in the schools, then the standardized testing would have a better effect on students because they’re being tested over material that actually pertains to them. As a result, the standardized testing is less of an agonizing hour and actually time well spent. If students and teachers were more willing to teach and learn the nuances of certain materials, then, as a community, this country would be stronger and have a better understanding of what is needed to succeed financially and emotionally in
Chris Hedges, the author of the article “Why the United States is Destroying Its Education System” attempts to persuade his audience to agree with his argument through the use of rhetoric. In this text critique, I will thoroughly analyze the effectiveness of his article by highlighting important premises, tropes, ideographs, and narratives. He claims that the United States’ education system is on a downward spiral due to education reform and the influence of corporate power.
Another major criticism of the “No Child Left Behind” deals with the implications of using a standardized test as means of assessing achievement.
In the essay Idiot nation, Mr. Moore uses humor anecdotes and some solid numbers as to how governments spending is not adequate for schools in these modern times, he contrasts that amount to the billions spent on the military, jails, and other programs that would better be spent as the schools. And how schools are being incentivized by corporations such as soft drink manufacturers putting the donations and sponsorship above the health of the students. Mr. Guggenheim has us follow several students in their quest to leave the tainted teacher’s union schools for the private or charter schools that are unencumbered by teachers with tenure, and with the ability to pay more to the better teaches for the above par performance, and that have a vested interest in the students succeeding and going on to
The ability for all children from varying walks of life to receive a well-rounded education in America has become nothing more than a myth. In excerpt “The Essentials of a Good Education”, Diane Ravitch argues the government’s fanatical obsession with data based on test scores has ruined the education system across the country (107). In their eyes, students have faded from their eyes as individual hopefully, creative and full of spirit, and have become statistics on a data sheet, percentages on a pie chart, and numbers calculated to show the intelligence they have from filling out bubbles in a booklet. In order for schools to be able to provide a liberal education, they need the proper funding, which comes from the testing.
Standardized tests have been used to see how much a child has learned over a certain period of time. These tests have been a highly debated issue with many parents and just people in general. In the article “Opting out of standardized tests? Wrong answer,” the author Michelle Rhee argues that people should not be trying to opt out of standardized tests because it allows the country to see how much a child has learned and the things they need to improve. On the other hand, in the article “Everything You’ve Heard About Failing Schools Is Wrong,” the author Kristina Rizga argues that standardized tests are not an efficient way to measure a student’s intelligence. Rizga better proves her thesis through the use of solid argumentation. Rizga is more
In a nation dominated by capitalism and free trade, steps are being taken to turn the ability to learn and other education rights into commodities that can be manipulated and controlled by companies. Charter schools are public schools funded by state money, but not unionized; they also can be in the form of a traditional brick and mortar schoolhouse or an online school (Ravitch)(Molnar)(“Preface to 'Are Charter and Magnet Schools Good Alternatives for Students?’”). According to their proponents, charter schools allow parents more sway over their child’s education (Jacoby 77). A charter school proponent Jeff Jacoby states, “Their goal: to build the kind of school that used to be commonplace in America-one providing a rigorous, traditional, fact-based
Strauss, Valerie. "How Standardized Tests Are Affecting Public Schools." Washington Post 18 May 2012: n. pag. Print.
The world is no longer concerned with educating whole human beings, but instead, it is focused on collecting “data.” “Standardized testing robs students and teachers of using their creativity and critical thinking. It holds everyone accountable for meeting this one standard when that is nearly impossible to do. It turns us into robots, dehumanizing both teachers and students.” (Gettysburg College, 1) Standardized test are given to schools by the government. The problem with that is that the government is not in the classroom with students every day. They do not know what the students need. Standardized testing takes away time from student learning experiences where they are not able to think critically or be creative. Standardized tests take place in an artificial learning environment. They are timed, students are not allowed to ask questions, use references, talk to another student, and they cannot even get up and move around. All of these things do not mirror the reality of the real world at all. These tests are reducing the richness of human experience and human learning to a number/ set of numbers. A student may have a deep knowledge of a particular subject, but receive no acknowledgement for it because their test score may have been low. Maybe if students could draw a picture, lead a group discussion, or make a hands-on project, they could show all the knowledge that they really have. They cannot do any of these things in a standardized test. As stated before, testing also creates “winners” and losers.” The “winners” get to move on with their life, but the “losers” often suffer from loss of self-esteem and the damage of “low expectations.” Standardized tests do not value diversity either. There are a wide range of differences in the people who take standardized tests. People have different cultural backgrounds, different levels of proficiency in the English language, different learning and thinking styles, different
The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.
Overall it is evident that standardized testing has affected the education in the United States negatively. The main flaw is that policymakers made standardized testing the center of our education system, which intern led to vast changes in curriculum where educators were forced to teach to test rather than teaching materials that fosters creativity, and enhances knowledge. Howard Gardner, famous for his work on multiple intelligences, stated he was unconcerned that American children were ranked last among the major industrial nations in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. He reported that tests measure exposure to facts and skills not whether or not kids can think (Ritter 5).
... to changes to the current United States public schools. However, the people in charge of making the changes are the ones who profit and will probably never change their mindset. The school system needs to be changed entirely, but solutions to this problem simply aren’t out there. Experimentation needs to be done in certain school systems to determine the most successful method. Until then, the United States of America will continue to support a failing school system and will continue to produce uneducated adults.
(2014) exclaimed that why do 62 percent of parents think the Common Core is not perfect for their kids, despite it has fascinated some entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates and the secretary of education. In a case in point, parents should get more involved in the education of their children if they do not approve of measures being used. She agrees to the idea of a federal government using incentives to adopt their specific education program, but then again she only sees that parents complaining and not taking action. In another context, “parents have no choice about whether their kids will learn Common Core, no matter what school they put them in, if they want them to go to college, because the SAT and ACT are being redesigned to fit the new national program for education”. (Pullmann, J. 2014, September 24, p. 1). In fact, Porter (1989) states that the Common Core standards became as opposing to teachers and teaching occupation, and the tactics are not good strong enough for enabling teachers to be dependent. The teacher is often understood to be the planned without rules. Moreover, some voices against the criticism of the common core, they believe that it is meaningless because districts are still permitted to select which material goes out with stem the basis stated by the Common Core
...e article states, “Overwhelmingly, these teachers reported that recent policy changes have hindered-not helped- their young students.” Here the article is referencing overabundance of testing and assessments in the classroom. So is the purpose here to foster creativity and individuality or to tear it down with ineffective pedagogy?
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.” This quote by Michelle Obama illustrates the idea that standardized testing should not have such a large influence on education in America. However, a majority of people are under the impression that standardized tests are an accurate method to measure a person's intellectual ability. I believe that standardized tests have developed into a very critical part of the American education system; that is hindering the growth of students and teachers instead of providing a tool that can accurately measure knowledge.
“Stop the War Against Standardized Tests.” Defining Ideas: A Hoover Institution Journal. N.p.: Hoover Institution, 2011. N. pag.