The Language Police Throughout “The Language Police,” the angered author, Diane Ravitch, speaks her mind on the issue of censorship. Censorship shelters students from the real world and gives them a false sense of reality. Ravitch believes that students are being censored to such an extreme that their freedom is being limited. The goal of the language police is not just to stop us from using objectionable words but to stop us from having objectionable thoughts (Ravitch 158). The language police are restricting what students learn by removing anything that may appear controversial.
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” Critic and editor, Francine Prose in her argumentative essay “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” strives to encourage high schools to give more difficult books to students so they can learn and grow. “Given the dreariness with which literature is taught in many American classrooms, it seems miraculous that any sentient teenager would view reading as a source of pleasure”(Prose 89). Prose embraces an abrasive attitude towards her topic in order to introduce her purpose, and she uses ethos and logos to convey her message. Prose's essay begins with her giving background knowledge about herself to her audience. By being a parent, as well as a teacher this develops a sense of credibility and allows her audience to believe what she has to say.
Yet I believe that this book, “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier, should be kept in schools to be read by teenagers. Many people believe that this book should be banned for the fact that it talks about bullying and violence. In a couple parts of the story, Jerry is beaten up. There are also multiple parts where the Vigils or Janza bully a kid. But that isn’t so bad that we should ban it.
Students do not realize that plagiarizing someone else’s work is actually stealing. The educational system does not teach this to students. The educational system should teach that you have to cite an author even if you just take their idea and do not use their exact words. The online companies that generate essays for students should be outlawed. This is making it where students that have a lot of money can easily get by with actually learning how to write correctly.
If we understand why we fear the book and address that fear, then we would not be so quick to ban it. We shouldn't shy away from open discussion and conversation, since it will be the best thing for us in this situation. By taking away from our students the opportunities to see different styles of literature, historical thought and the mistakes from our past, we deny them the right to see the full advantages of freedom of speech and
Her essay is organized into sections regarding different aspects of the education system. In each section, Ravitch gives her opinion on the issue at hand. Through this style of organization, she shifts focus from problem to solution. She begins with the problem at hand in the first section titled “On ‘No Child Left Behind’”. She tells how NCLB is not effective for educating our children.
School uniforms are to be used to limit skin exposure and anything gang related to prevent anything that might harm students or symbolize anything unsafe. In some cases, students rebel and try to make the uniform look according to the way they want to be portrayed as but the reality in that is that the policy isn’t going to let them do this. Students need to oblige to the uniforms given to them and not complain because it can get much worse than just putting on a simple shirt that you have to wear every day. Take for instance IDEA School; their uniform policy is VERY strict and they only allow you to wear what they want you to wear not what you think belongs to the uniform. In this school, the students are only allowed to wear the school t-shirt, cakey pants, closed toed shoes, and a belt that won’t let your pants sag down to your knees or farther.
The Propaganda Machine History can be a source of great national pride or great national shame, but it is something that everyone should be truthfully familiar with. In “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong”, James Loewen point out that sometimes history can be taught in a way that hides the shame and promotes patriotism. The United States of America has events in its history that some teachers leave out in class, some events that do not paint the United States is a good light. Learning the true history of our past can help our nation prevent making the same mistakes in the future. Many people look to their forefathers for a source of pride.
Persuasive essay School Uniforms are in a way very unique and different, but what is really the reason that students should have to wear them? The United States is supposed to be a country of freedom and individuality. Each and every person in the world is different, and by making people dress the same they cannot express themselves fairly the way that they would like to. It is sensible for schools to be able to make dress codes, but telling students they have to all dress the same is absolutely ridiculous. Having school uniforms is not necessary, and there are many reasons to prove why schools should not make their students wear uniforms.
They are naturally curious about sex, body, and taboo subjects. Many classrooms attempt to subvert this aspect of the teenage life, but the carnival in the classroom would have a place for it—it must have a place for it. Caroline Shields, in her book, Good Intentions Are Not Enough: Transformative Leadership for Communities of Difference, describes how in many schools, “those in power often take steps to organize the existing structures to exclude diverse voices and perspectives” and that “Rather than organize to emphasize and encourage participation…, many schools find ways to discourage discussion on controversial topics” (183). Schools are making the “assumption that people have equal access and opportunities to voice their opinions and that those who choose not to exercise that right do so out of informed choice.” They assume that students and even their parents are uninvolved and lack achievement simply because they are disinterested and unmotivated (Shields, 183). However, Shields suggest that it is because they have no voice, no power within a “typical school organized in hierarchical and uniform lines according to what has become known as the “factory model” of organizational life” (183).