At the elementary level, we are shaping how students feel about themselves which can affect them the rest of their lives. At the high school level, we have the opportunity to truly inspire and make a child feel as if someone believes in them. While teachers can do so many positive things with this power, they can also do much harm (as Dr. Wayson spoke on). I really enjoyed this section of his talk, however, my one critique is that I felt Dr. Wayson didn’t practice what he was preaching here. Perhaps he was leading by an alternate example or giving examples of what not to do, but I felt that Dr. Wayson picked on many of the members of the class.
Gatto compares school to a factory or prison which, generally speaking, are not fun places to be. This style of diction, with Gatto consistently projecting new words of the same connotation suggests his point of view on rejection of this prison-like system. The author appeals to anyone who has or has not questioned the usefulness of education. He appeals to our common sense by asking a simple question: why do we need this? Almost every student has thought the same thing at some point, but lacks the confidence needed to express these feelings to the public.
Those parents have to stay vigorously involved in schooling their kids. Surely the obligation to ensure our nation’s future must be shared also by those who don’t have children in the public schools. Those people who should take an interest in the students that will eventually be stepping into the workforce. They should be developing work-study groups, internships and job placement banks that they can recruit and develop to be successful. Evidently, the tasks of educating our children nowadays are a lot more difficult than simple examinations and easy solutions.
Gatto is saying that schooling is made for kids to adapt to; it has adaptive qualities, therefore there is a chance for everyone to succeed if they really want to, but it takes away from any individual thinking. Conforming is another evil of school because it makes us forced to learn things we really have no interest in and as Gatto states “its intention is to make children as alike as possible”(153). A lot of students use this excuse while they are in high school “when am I ever going to use this again in life” ill be honest I have said it before but I don't necessarily agree with these students because you need to build a base education before you figure out what you want your schooling to focus on. Kids change their minds everyday, I realized that I’m not quite sure I want to be an art major anymore, even being in the first couple of classes I knew it wasn’t for me
Payne stated that students should learn the “hidden rules” of the middle class from their educators so that they have another set of rules to use if they choose to do so. Impoverished students, compared to students of middle or upper class, often have a lack of proper funding, thus, a lack of appropriate resources to use in their education. Due to this, they are often unprepared for school, not having the money to purchase books and other educational tools. Both authors realize this, but argue that the responsibility lies on different shoulders. Payne states that impoverished students face inequality at school, insinuating that the school should be responsible for helping to provide for these students so that they can have a better education.
Myah Clark Professor Collier English112.SMRT 2 21 November 2014 Essay #2 Public Schooling: Draining Students of their Freedom and Creativity In John Taylor Gatto’s “Against School”, he explains how he thinks public education cripples our kids and why. He starts his article out by making a point that both the students and teachers are suffering from boredom. The students also pointed out the fact that the teachers didn’t seem to know much more about what was being taught then the students themselves. On the other side of the spectrum the teachers are just as bored because they feel the students are rude and only interested in the grades. He then continues on to say that we shouldn’t blame the teachers or the students; in this case, we should blame ourselves.
Schools cannot beat the entertainment industry at its own game. What they have to offer students is the chance for intellectual freedom, the power to think for themselves…(Ravitch 163). In school, students are always taught to have an open-mind, how can they have an open-mind when they are being censored? Schools only offer boring, bland topics and cause students to lose interest. Students are so highly influenced by the media that if they aren’t hearing about violence, death, sex or lies, then they have the “don’t care” mentality.
Many teachers do not like “catching plagiarists and bringing them to academic justice.” As she states, it is not hard to just cite the author that originally had the information you are using (Bojar). Plagiarism is becoming a big problem in the school system. Many students do not understand what needs to be cited and what does not. The school system should teach students the proper way to cite, and they should teach them that copy and pasting is not writing a paper. According Bojar to students at the community college have a hard time juggling classes along with his or her family and a job.
While there are several “rags to riches” stories that serve to encourage the members of the lower class to work hard and achieve their dreams, much truth lies in the fact that the government does not provide enough opportunities for them to do so. I would recommend revising the school choice provision of the No Child Left Behind Act in order to enable the mobility of students to schools located outside of their district. By doing so, many of the children within the working class would have the option to attend a school where they could receive the same opportunities as those of their high-born
This can have a negative effect on the children and cause them to ‘hate’ school and as soon as they are able to they will ‘drop out’. According to Deborah White who wrote the guide in about.com, she stated, “These supporters also believes that NCLB initiative will further democratize U.S. education, by setting standards and providing resources to schools, regardless of wealth, ethnicity, disabilities or language spoken” (2011). Since the NCLB’s 2002 inception, the act hasn’t been effective in improving education in public education; this is evident in the high schools mixed results in the standardized tests. In January 2007, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings published "Building on Results: A Blue print for Strengthening the No Child Left Behind Act," in which the Bush Administration: • Asserts that the Act "is challenging our students to succeed and our schools to improve." • Claims that "90% of teachers have met NCLB's highly qualified teacher requirements... At-risk students are getting help earlier... children with disabilities are receiving more classroom time and attention...