Inadequacy In America

Steven Singer attempts to contradict the narrative presented by many right wing politicians that claim the American school system is failing in his article, “U.S. Public Schools Are Not Failing. They’re Among The Best In The World” (Huffington Post February 13 2017). In this piece Singer works to argue the claims that have been made against the US public school system; he defends the system by listing the various positives in the system, and exercises pathos by shining light on how America guarantees the right of education to all students regardless of social class or race; Singer uses this point throughout the article by justifying the fact that our test scores are not up to par with other countries by reiterating the fact that because we

In the essay, “America Skips School”, Benjamin R. Barber states how he thinks education is not of great importance in America, and he gives advice on how to fix educational issues. He describes how Americans lack simple literacy skills, and says Americans do not truly value educating future generations. Barber says that the blame gets put upon the teachers for not teaching children the proper material, and often times the children themselves get blamed for not carrying the responsibility of the future properly. But Barber himself believes the true blame is children are mimicking society’s actions, and ignoring what they are taught in school. He says children don’t take education seriously because society shows them they can advance and become

In America, people talk amongst themselves about wealthy and successful people and during the discussion many think of people who have been educated in a traditional schooling system. John Gatto argues in his article “Against School” that this traditional schooling is indeed not necessary to end up educated and successful. Through the use of rhetorical strategies, such as his personal experiences, expert testimony, and anecdotes, Gatto backs up and argues in points. Gatto begins his article by talking about his personal experiences as a teacher and how the education system let him down. Gatto states “The obligations to amuse and instruct myself was entirely my own, and people who didn’t know that were childish people.”

Throughout history schools have served an important purpose; they aim to educate children and improve society by giving children the necessary skills needed to make advancements when they become old enough to make contributions. Although, schools are often criticized, by politicians, parents and in some cases the general population, for not serving their purpose properly. Often the people making these judgements are unaware of what is needed in schools. Society has been making judgements towards the education system for centuries and in some instances, it has been for the better. The thought behind the purpose of schooling hasn’t evolved as much as it has been broadened to include the vast majority of the population and along the way it has

The U.S.’ prison population has increased by 500% from 1972 to 2003, accounting for a rise of 200,000 incarcerated persons to over 2,000,000, which is significantly higher than other developed countries. Growth in this population according to Mauer seems to be fueled by periods of rising crime rates, which the media loves to distort and blow out of proportion in order to instill fear in its citizens. Rather than addressing more important issues such as the underlying causes of crime, the media plays on its viewers’ fear by focusing on news such as gang violence, shootings, and drug activity. This reflects one of Mauer’s themes, the ‘dumbing-down of America’, where due to the controlling educational system, obedient media, and oppression; Americans

In Carl Singleton’s article, “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s,” he argues that students aren’t receiving the failing grades they deserve. School systems are to blame for the lack of quality in America’s education. No other recommendation for improvement will succeed. The only way to fix the American education system is to fail more students. According to Singleton, the real root of the issue is with the parents.

Unsatisfactory schools do not maintain suitable conditions for students to learn and they are not treated as well as students from other schools. An example of this is in Kozol’s Fremont High School when it states that, “Long lines of girls are ‘waiting to use the bathrooms,’ which are generally ‘unclean’ and ‘lack basic supplies,’ including toilet paper” (Kozol 707). Student who have the desire to go to college hit dead ends in the school. One of the most impactful parts of the passage was when Kozol quoted Fortino saying, “You’re ghetto, so we send you to the factory” (Kozol 710). This shows the distrust that students in low-income areas feel toward our education system.

If you were to change something about the education system in the U.S, what would you change? How would you critique the quality of education? Education historian Diane Ravitch answers these questions in her excerpt that was published in 2014, “The Essentials of a Good Education.” In her text Ravitch argues that the education system is flawed and that the vision of a good education is unfair and unequal. Ravitch supports her claim by providing examples of the negative effects of the educational system and using historical context.

The idea of classroom causing problems for America’s society is elaborated when President Johnson explains that many children in America don’t have enough money to afford school. “There your children’s lives will be shaped. Our society will not be great until every young mind is set free to scan the farthest reaches of thought and imagination.” In order for a society to be great, education is the foundation; schools are where child learn about their world, and what it is they will do in the future to earn money to live a good life. And to better prove his idea Johnson states, “Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it,” then questions what will happen in years when time has become elapsed to conclude any efforts are needed to come into play for there to be a Great Society.

We are told that we are the land of the free, but in school we are taken many rights. We’ve been told to put our trust into the government, but only to realize false hopes. We are told to follow the books, but realize that they too are filled with mistakes. We are told to help the school by fundraising to grow our education, but then get fined because it’s illegal to sell during school hours and to strangers. Even though they do their best to educate us, they too are restricted on teaching us too much for it “doesn’t go with the school’s study plan,” we seem to have liberty to know all but at the end we are left empty.

The current US educational system is far too outdated and inefficient for the youth (more specifically, students) of the 21st century. Since the days of the industrial revolution, youth have been taught, in essence, the same thing, over and over- to obey orders quickly, quietly and repetitively without truly learning the information that will supposedly "improve" their futures. Kids and teens alike rarely get the chance to truly learn something of their own accord; instead, the higher-ups (teachers, principals, school board, etc.), choose what kids and teens these days must know and what they are better off (in their opinion) not knowing. Students will never feel the pride and happiness that comes with learning something they have wanted to learn, independently. The higher-ups never

Our educational system is failing us. The United States of America is supposed to be the “greatest” country in the world but statistics are showing that our government/educational system is failing us; children/young adults of the nation. Being a student of a middle ranked school in Arizona, I personally have had a first-hand feel for how good and/or bad teaching affects students. Just in high school I have had teachers that would just assign websites as our lesson and even teachers that sit at their desk for the whole hour; don’t even go over the mindset, homework, and maybe only show one problem so that we’ll know what the homework will be like. Until sophomore year I didn’t even know the differences between you’re, your, too, and to.

Standardized Testing Argumentative Essay The United States’ education system sets kids up for failure. This is due to mandatory tests called standardized testing, which attempts to see where a child’s current cognitive abilities lie. However, standardized testing fails to do so, and is a detriment to student education, failing to prepare students for post-education life. These fallacies in the US education system are due to the avocation for teachers to ‘Teach to the Test’ and testing material not being suited to properly gauge student progress and knowledge.

What were you doing when you were 3? When I was 3 I wasn’t in school,but normally a child that young would be. Instead, I was watching cartoons, making a mess, and eating snacks. What I should’ve been doing was going to school, but me as a kid, I wasn’t a fast learner, I did know my ABC’s but, I didn’t learn them fast.

America’s education system has been an issue for quite awhile now, many students have complained about how they are taught on a daily basis. As a high school student who has been in three different American public schools, education is not what is going on inside. From students not even showing up to them showing up not caring can lead back to the way we are being taught. We are bored and tired of taking pointless tests with pointless information. All students dread the days when final exams arrive.