School Systems and Future Generations

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School Systems and the Future Generations Schools and education play a vital role in our society, they directly affect the outcome of an entire generation and perhaps beyond that. Our education is the key to the future but, within our education system are inconsistencies and flaws that we easily overlook. Some of these inconsistencies are pointed and brought out in some stories by different authors. Some former teachers and others were just products of the 12 year school system that children are forced through today. Stories such as “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto, “I Just Want to Average” by Mike Rose define and highlight what these inconsistencies are. After reading them one would come to realize the true nature of the modern day education system and become suspicious of the most vital thing in our society: School. To begin, our education system like any other is supposed to empower, bring out the best in students, and teach them critical thinking amongst other skills that they will need out in society. Unfortunately, the roots of it come from an opposite thought. The modern day education system was implemented to the United States in the late 1800’s from the Prussian (modern day Germany) school system by a man named Horace Mann. This system was introduced in Massachusetts in 1837 and soon the rest of the northern and southern states followed. The foundation of the Prussian education system was created after their defeat by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806, “it was decided that reason why the battle was lost was because the soldiers were thinking for themselves and not following orders” (youtube). This set the foundation for a new school system that would prepare the children for the early industrialized world; it would emphasize skills in reading, writing, arithmetic and most importantly and education that would heavily emphasize “duty, discipline, respect

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