Today, the American school system is concerned about the well-being of its marketplace and those participating in it. In order to maintain the foundations of this system, one must examine the logic of school competition itself and the vehicles that drive this motive. Although this mindset is clearly demonstrated in schools, it is imperative to confirm its effectiveness. This can be viewed through evidence based research. The only way to begin to understand school competition is to unpack its components. The overarching goal of school competition is that educational systems are looking for high achievement, efficiency and cost, and innovation to ultimately contend for students and the money attached to them. In other words, schools refer to the basic thought of making sure the school functions at the best quality, that their services are at a low production cost and high profit, and that schools are continuously looking for new improvement through innovation. This process is considered an educational market. The marketplace involves the rational choice theory on behalf of parents and guardians selecting educational environments for their children. The theory states that humans are rational beings. Parents are constantly analyzing the benefits and costs of the schools available to them. The educational system believes that the highest achieving …show more content…
This evidence is an example of stated verses revealed preferences. Families are really seeking components such as basic demographics fitting to their identity, the proximity of the school to accommodate to scheduling, and an institutional culture that incorporates their disciplinary practices and religious values. Obviously, these desires cannot be completely matched by one option for schooling. Thus, there are several types of schools for families to select what best fits their revealed
The oversite committee then evaluates the success of their money allocation and incentivize the success of the public school’s education. “Americans do not appear ready to pay the price.” (Barber, p. 215) Money is the most powerful motivator, and if the success of school districts reaps the benefits of more financial resource, educators will fight to be the best. This new desire to be the best, is possible with the equalization of opportunity from the allocation of funds to the poorer schools. The race to the top would already be won by the larger, richer, and more powerful school districts without those foundational funds. “Because we believe in profits, we are consummate salespersons and efficacious entrepreneurs.” (217) Barber’s essay supports the idea of incentivized results. Not only would districts compete with other schools, but their standards would be raised year after year in consequence to the oversite of the
The point of education is to gain knowledge. That knowledge will help people progress in life and that will lead to a growing society. Throughout the years education became competitive and was less about gaining knowledge and more about getting a better score on standardized tests. In the article How the Myth of Meritocracy Ruins Students by Erica Etelson, she explains how the education system is becoming more and more competitive and if there is not a change it will slowly make the education system worst. Her main argument of the article is that the idea that success should be based on ability and talent of individuals is wrong because success should not be based on ability and talent of individuals. Etelson backs up her argument by explaining to the reader about the pressure students are under, how competitiveness is causing a problem, and why things need to change. The education system needs to change so that students can go back to gaining knowledge and grow rather than compete for the best test score.
Wheeler, Timothy. “There’s a Reason They Choose Schools.” National Reviewer 11 Oct. 2007. Rpt. in Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 618-20. Print.
In the 1990’s the school choice movement gained momentum through John E. Chubb and Terry M. Moe’s bold assumption that “school choice would make it possible to break the iron grip of the adult interest group, unleash the positive power of competition, and achieve academic excellence” (Ravitch 118). Many advocates for school choice share a similar belief in the positive effect school choice and competition create in schools. When comparing the statistics to this notion, however, one finds an opposite conclusion than the one proposed. The school choice approach and the importance of competition in schools generates a stress on both charter schools and district schools to feature high-achieving students and dismiss
Competition should not be enforced because it makes people feel too stressed and feel like winning is all that matters. “Competition is not inevitable part of human nature, that it causes anxiety and shame, that it creates disabling stress that inhibits performance, and that it fosters aggression and hostility.” (Kohn 1) According to this information it shows just how this hurts people and stresses people way too much. Nobody wants anxiety and shame or stress from just a silly competition. Levine, a clinical psychologist says, “The pressure faced by many children in competitions are leading to an increase in mental health disorders, drug abuse, anxiety and sometimes suicide.”(1) This should open many eyes to see what competition is doing to people. Putting them under way too much that it leads to either physical or mental problems, which is not right. Competition should be taken out of human society obviously when it is coming from a clinical psychologist to do so. “We adults naturally want to insulate our kids from the insanity that awaits them. But are we doing them any favors? Yes, kids have to learn that life is about a lot more than winning and losing. Yet, if we work so hard to cushion them from experiencing loss, when the sting finally finds them, it’s bound to feel more significant...
Cookson Jr., Peter W. School Choice: The Struggle for the Soul of American Education. New
Competition teaches cooperation, which is essential in a school environment. For example, when you have to work on a group project you have to cooperate with your group to get work done. If you get in a disagreement with a group member then your work won’t get done and your grade will suffer. In order
Julie B. Cullen, Brian A. Jacob, and Steven D. Levitt in their article “The impact of school choice on student outcomes: an analysis of the Chicago Public Schools,” go over the research they have done to show the differences between the outcomes from school choice and public schools. These authors illustrate the failure of public schools by showing that students are “7.6 [percent] more likely to graduate” when they do not attend their neighborhood public school (730). This quote can also serve as evidence to Cahn and Cahn’s argument that public schools need to change their teaching style because they are decreasing the chances of their student’s success. In an article by The Cardinal Newman Society, Cullen’s et al main idea is extended by comparing public schools to, in this case, catholic schools. The article shows that with a “99 percent” graduation rate and “84 percent [students] going on to four-year colleges” they almost double the rates shown by public schools. Although The Cardinal Newman Society are definitely biased towards catholic schools this still shows how there are many alternatives to public school that show outstanding
In conclusion, education is broader than just falling into what the contemporary school system has to offer. Both Gatto and Graff proved this by explain how conforming students to certain perspectives of education limits their potential in other educational branches that interest the students. Also, curricula should bring a balance between making a school a place for obtaining information, and accommodating the educational demands for each individual student. It is imperative to understand that reforming the academic system, by fine-tuning schools to have its students learn what exactly they are interested in, will lead to having students accessing their full intellectual potential.
Healthy competition can drive people forward. Allowing a kid to doing what they want because they enjoy it can open them up socially by allowing them to reach out and teach others that don’t have that same niche. If we force a child to be overly competitive, this decreases the child’s ability to grow in other areas in life because they are too focused on being the best. If they don’t live up their standards of being the best, this will cause the child to be insecure about their abilities and they will constantly seek approval. Unhealthy competition can detrimental later on in life when trying to get into a great school, find a partner or in getting a job.
Greene,J.P. (2001). The surprising consensus on school choice. Public interest,144,pp.19. Retrieved November 22,2002 from britannica.com
him. Once his parents find out they may ground him for a while. He may
What is competition? What is performance? Competition is the activity or condition of competing. Performance is the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. When it comes to competition, people in America typically recognize only two legitimate positions: enthusiastic support and qualified support. We can consider competition as bad news, but really it’s how people overdue or misapply it to be considered on the bad side. The actual trouble lies within competition itself. The best amount of competition for the children is none at all, and the very phrase "healthy competition" is actually a contradiction in terms.
Many people in today’s society believe it’s wise to send their children to private schools. In making the decision on whether to put children in public or private schools, they look to four main factors: curriculum, class size, the graduation rate, and cost. When people have to pay for something, their first thought is, “Will I be getting what I’m paying for?” With a private school education, the amount you have to pay is usually well worth it. Public schools offer diversity. Here students can find people who are just like them and can associate better. Wherever you live, you have to send your child to the closest school. There’s no choice on what public school you can send your child to, whereas for private schools you can pick to send your child there. It’s not an easy choice for parents to decide, but many factors point toward a guarantee that a good education would be achieved, which is most important.
One might ask why some parents decide to home school their children rather than send them to public school to receive a traditional public education. In his article, “What Have We Learned About Homeschooling,” Eric Isenberg offers data which says, “Families choose to homeschool their children for both academic and religious reasons” (407). Even so, most people claim that public school offers the perfect environment for learning and developing. They argue