So society is said to be meritocratic, as everybody can achieve if they want to. Durkheim (2002) Believes that there are fixed rules for all and by transmitting the norms and values across society, it is then fair and meritocratic. Marxists on the other hand believe that meritocracy is a myth and that it hides the truth of the inequality in society. Sociologists argue that the processes in school such as the hidden curriculum helps to keep society unequal. The hidden curriculum has a big influence on pupils, its one thing to teach the child educationally but if the child is treated unjustly (no voice) by the school system then a much more negative message is given to those pupils about the nature of society.
According to John Taylor Gatto and Michael Moore in “Against School” and “Idiot Nation” the American Schooling system deceives the public into believing that it is being educated when in fact both men agree the system is conforming Americans into childish consumers bereft of truly significant learning. Both of the authors discuss consumerism in their stories; John Taylor Gatto does not discuss it as indepthly as Michael Moor, but he does mention it on page 154, basically saying that school trained children to almost not think at all… (Gatto 154). Michael Moore speaks on consumerism for about a length of 22 paragraphs at a minimum. “The schools aren’t just looking for ways to advertise, they are also concerned with the students perceptions on various products… Companies conduct market research in classrooms during school hours. “ (Moore 141).
That parents stress to children the importance of education all their school lives, but they continue to give money things that are less important, instead they should put money towards the teachers who wants to help make a difference in every child's life. Barber believes that parents should actually display their actions that they care and value their education. He explains who are to blame for the lack of quality education in America. The generations before the young and the government have a partial blame in why the school system is failing. Barber's argument is more superior, because he takes the sociopolitical context of education in to account, where as Henry does not.
The ideal was to establish a set of basic academic standards that all students should achieve, hold the schools accountable for meeting these standards for all students, ←and→ then give educators the choice of how to meet the standards. The way NCLB is currently being administered must be fixed, otherwise we will have both new ←and→ seasoned talented teachers leaving the profession in droves. Although reading ←and→ math tests would remain in the administration's proposal, schools could also include student performance in other subjects as part of overall measurements of progress. Critics say that the current education law has narrowed the curriculum for students:→ Many teachers zero in on math ←and→ reading at the expense of other subjects to help students prepare for the required tests. (Douglas) Students need a well-rounded education," the blueprint declares, and it cites disciplines including history, civics, foreign languages, and the arts.
Within in the article, “No Child Left Behind: Test-Obsessed Education Won’t Move Us Ahead” the author, David Marshak, slashes the No Child Left Behind Act. He supports his claim with various political views, opinions, and studies. He clearly states that NCLB will not change anything for better or worse in the United States. Although he has plenty of support for his claim, many people disagree. According to Marshak, relationships and personalization are far more important in a child’s life than academics.
Mr. Fridman is correct that America does need its nerds. Intellectual humans began this country and they still run it today. America is not run by a bunch of New York Yankees or Pittsburg Steelers, but its run by Yale or Harvard graduates. The men and women that do more for this country than anything are college graduates who took their studies and education far past the point of any expectations. Some people are just not blessed with athleticism, but those who are blessed with the desire and will to learn and create are the ones of really make a difference in our society.
John Taylor Gatto in his article “Against School” addresses his belief that schools are laboratories, turning young, fresh-minded students into stationary consumers who are all alike. The students are bored as well as the teachers, so “who, then, is to blame?” “We all are.” (300-301) It is our duty to push and challenge ourselves instead of waiting on someone else to make that happen. The government will continue to use the few students they believe are capable to continue on their tradition, while letting the majority fall into meaningless stereotypes and groups. We have the ability to change the prospect and goals of public education, and we can bring out the genius in every single student. 1.
Common Core is an educational program that was enacted recently in the United States, but it is not used by every state. Common Core is said to challenge the students to think independently instead of basing their intelligence on standardized tests. Common Core is claimed to be more rigorous than the previous criteria, but in reality it only prevents teachers from expressing individuality and diminishes the autonomy of state and local education officials. I think Common Core should be eradicated completely because of its vague uniformity that limits any student from exceeding the level Common Core sets, and its limit on individuality, which discourages teachers whose students are not prepared enough for the tests or the real world. Common Core hurts students because of the vague,
One of the arguments of co-education is the idea that it provides too many distractions for students. Several scholars have argued that these distractions have led to less attention on school work and class participation, due to girls and boys trying to impress each other. Furthermore, it has also been argued that students who are intimidated by the opposite sex may also be affected by low performance and low grades. Many educators believe that single-sex education does not enforce any type of gender-based stereotypes or adolescent subculture. Due to this, single-sex schools have been established to combat these issues.
The problem must solely lie in the schooling environment itself; more specifically, the structure of the educational system. Our current educational system for public schools is run by a government-operated system of firms. These firms are protected from competition because of the “free” education that results from subsides that the local district public schools receive. Economists frown on this because, from an economic aspect, the consumers are given very little choice in the market because of the lack of competition. To increase consumer choice in this market, people have devised several alternate