He then continues on to say that we shouldn’t blame the teachers or the students; in this case, we should blame ourselves. He says we are all to blame because the obligation to amuse and instruct ourselves is entirely our own choice and that if we are bored it is nobody’s fault but our own. Gatto is correct in his assertion that the current school system is harmful to students in that it robs them of the ability to be free thinkers. John Taylor Gatto learned as a child something really important in life that was taught by his grandfather. He expresses that “Of course, teachers are themselves products of the same twelve-year compulsory school programs that so thoroughly bore their students, and as school personnel they are trapped inside structures… The obligation to amuse and instruct myself was entirely my own, and people who didn't know that were childish people, to be avoided if possible.”(1) Gatto learned that being bored was an action that he was only responsible for.
In order to cut down on the number of students who leave school without permission, schools should do away with their inadequate in-school suspension policy, and adopt the new alternative policy known as billiam. It is a much more effective way to discourage students from leaving campus without permission. Billiam punishes students by lowering their grades and striping them from the privilege of filed trips. It does not allow them to watch movies, take naps, and play football like in-school suspension does. It is real punishment for a real problem.
Not only is there a strong chance that the book will bring back the use of the word Nigger, and other racist actions, but it also serves as a strong reminder to everyone, especially Americans, of a time in their country’s history that they would rather forget. However, isn’t education the key to stopping anything similar from ever happening? According to John Finch, the principal of Pasadena Middle School where some parents are pushing to ban the book, everyone is just over-reacting. “Children, young and old, are going to be exposed to racist ideas anyway, whether their parents like it or not.” “The school teaches core values that centre around equality, justice and diversity, and we have gone through a lengthy process in which we’ve talked to parents about the presence of the ‘N’ word. … We want to make sure children learn about justice and injustice, and one way to show that is to show negative and positive examples.” Ariel McSween, a 9th grade student of Pasadena School agrees with Mr Finch.
It has been said that all the violence in the world would slow down if we showed our children love and attention. So does that mean give them everything they want and never punish them? What about special needs children is it appropriate to us corporal punishment on them? So many people say do not use spanking as a form of punishment children with special needs children. Some kids with special needs do not feel pain so to spank them would be pointless.
Moore also describes a situation where a school that is sponsoring Coco-Cola has a picture and the kids can only wear Coca-Cola apparel and one kid wears another T-Shit to school. This causes the school to become upset at the student. This is ironic because the public schooling system promotes freedoms and rights to the student. Also Moore draws attention to the fact that politicians are poisoning the well when it comes to education. Moore gives examples of numerous times that politicans have said that it is the teacher’s fault that education in America is not how It should be.
Corporal Punishment PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology Is corporal punishment needed to discipline children? Some would argue that corporal punishment is needed to discipline child where others will argue that it is not needed. Forty years ago it was acceptable to punish your child as you saw fit. The problem became that some would take this punishment to a whole other level and hurt the child. Punishing your child for their bad behavior should never cause them physical or mental damage.
Discretionary justice can be defined as a measure of leniency considering the background and the records of the victim before deciding their punishments. In the essay, Gladwell talks about how a young American physicist almost poisoned his tutor because he was mindlessly doing experiments due to his family problems. He was forced to work in the lab, and thus making mistake is understandable considering that he was young. Besides, utilizing discretionary justice can provide more options on the punishments. Instead of sending the young physicist to the police, set him on probation which will not damage his reputation as a scientist.
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.
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.
Cristy Martinez Period: 07 Mrs. Zachan Language Arts November 01, 2011 The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye should not be banned from schools. There are many schools who think that Catcher is a bad influence on teens however it is quite the opposite. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger should not be banned from schools because teenagers can learn from Holden’s mistakes and teens are mature enough to tell wrong from right. Many parents are appalled and think that the book should be banned because of the profanity, teenage sex, and other inappropriate behaviors. However, there is a reason to all his misbehavior.