Power In The Education System - Synthesis

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Power in the Education System Students in today’s education system find themselves caught in the middle of an ongoing struggle over power. The power to directly influence the young minds of future adults holds great value to those inside and outside of the education system. In C.H. Knoblauch’s “Literacy and the Politics of Education”, Benjamin R. Barber’s “The Educated Student”, and Deborah Tannen’s “The Roots of Debate in Education and the Hope of Dialogue”, the corrupt relationship between power and educational institutions is discussed by expressing their personal views on who holds the power, how they maintain power, and how this power affects the students. All of the authors provide different viewpoints on who holds the power in education by exploring specific parts of the educational system. Knoblauch focuses on the topic of literacy, and reveals the amount power given to those who can read. In his article he quotes I.J. Gelb who says “As language distinguishes man form animal, so writing distinguishes civilized man from barbarian“, (Knoblauch 452). Knoblauch admits that literacy is a necessary aspect to modern society, but warns the reader how educators and other citizens must be aware of the power literacy holds and not to be “blinded by the the light of their own benevolence”, (Knoblauch 452). Tannen also believes that power lies in the educational system itself, but focuses on the style of learning being taught to the students. Tannen discusses the style of education that teaches students that power lies in debate and arguments. For example, “”students are taught that they must disprove others’ arguments in order to be original, make a contribution, and demonstrate their intellectual ability”, (Tannen 546). Unlike Knoblauch and Tannen, Barber believes that the power of education does not lie inside the educational system itself, but by the society
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