“We are going to do in the future what Americans are doing today. Your job is to invent the future” says Jaithirth Rao of the Indian company MphasiS to Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat (389). America has always been abreast of the latest and greatest ideas and designs. However, America’s position in the world is becoming increasingly difficult to guarantee due the decreasing number of college graduates. Tamar Lewin reports in a New York Times article how a recent study by Complete College America discovered that “despite decades of steadily climbing enrollment rates, the percentage of students making it to the finish line is barely budging” (College Graduation Rates). Why? A simple answer is that a large number of American high schools aren’t adequately preparing their students for college. To reset this trend, good work ethic, innovative courses, and early vocational and technical training should be introduced and encouraged in high schools. Thomas Friedman and his book The World is Flat describe the effects of globalization on the world. Foreign schools are quickly rising to and even surpassing the levels of education in America, putting our place in the world in jeopardy. In America, good work ethic has become a trait that is becoming more and more difficult to find. High schools teachers expect their students to practice it, but where would they learn it from? Good work ethic is a trait that is built over time, not one that is simply learnt in an afternoon. Too often, students find that they can make it through high school without ever having to use good work ethic, and as a result, don’t bother to learn how to build it up. A simple solution to this would be to make students take a mand... ... middle of paper ... ...r.” Wsj.com. Wall Street Journal, 8 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. Fouts, Susan, and Roger Hill. “Work Ethic and Employment Status: A Study of Jobseekers.” Journal of Industrial Teacher Education 42.3 (2005): n. pag. Web. 29 Jan. 2012. Friedman, Thomas. The World is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. Print. Lewin, Tamar. “College Graduation Rates Are Stagnant Even as Enrollment Rises, a Study Finds.” Nytimes.com. New York Times, 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 29 Jan. 2012. Obama, Barak. “2012 State of the Union Speech.” The White House. Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. 24 Jan. 2012. Address. Reuteman, Rob. “Vocational School Enrollment Booms Amongst White Collar Bust.” Cnbc.com. CNBC, 3 Dec. 2009. Web. 29 Jan. 2012. Welsh, Peter. “For Once, Blame The Student.” Editorial. Usatoday.com. USA Today, 7 Mar. 2008. Web. 29 Jan. 2012.
Jonathan Klemens’ definition of the Protestant work ethic found in his essay, “The Protestant Work Ethic: Just Another 'Urban Legend?'" pulls inspiration from Max Weber. Klemens’ takes the religious aspect out of Weber’s definition and transforms it from a three part definition to a four part definition. The first part of his definition is passion which is closely followed by commitment and hard work. The fourth and final aspect is innovation. According to Klemens these four parts are essential to a successful and efficient work ethic.
In the essay, “The Work Ethic, In A Modern Guise”, author Joanne B. Ciulla talks about how the modern style of working is different from the traditional and old work ethic, and how the young and coming generation does not want to work hard but instead wants instant results. The long lasting formula of working hard and performing seems to be fading away. Instead of mastering the subject, students care about the final results and brownie points. Moreover, Ciulla asserts that students engage in activities that pay-off well in the end rather than the excellence of the work. In the article, Ciulla describes the situation of today’s students being more centred about the idea of getting a higher grade. According to Ciulla, students do not show determination but they want second-chances so that they can have a better grade than before. Students want that better grade simply because they have put a lot of time. Sometimes, professors unreasonably give students a higher grade which leads to a false confidence among students which is the root of other causes. In the end o...
The human mind is perhaps the greatest object on the earth, animate or inanimate, but without the proper training, the mind is a relatively useless tool. Through the development of formal education systems, humans as a whole have tried to ensure the training of all minds so as to continue prosperity for the world. Most of the time, though, education systems do not realize the harm they are doing to developing minds and the subsequent negative consequences. Among the largest of these inadequate education systems is the American primary schooling system. The American education system is in fact failing; it continues to deplete children of their natural creativity and thirst for knowledge while preaching conformity, which in turn creates an ill-prepared and incompetent public.
McArdle, Megan. "Is College A Lousy Investment?". The Daily Beast, 2012. Web. 16 November 2013.
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
The most powerful aspect of this essay is not the essay itself (as you will see) but, rather, the fact that it was written by an American college student.
Dostis, Melanie. “Degree Alone Not Enough To Prepare Grads For Workforce.” USA Today. USA Today, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 16 April 2014
Vance, J.D. "The college trap: our higher-education system hurts the poor." National Review 27 Jan. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
According to Mortenson (2007), graduation rates for students from low-income families increased doubled from 1970 to 2005. However, during the same time period students from a high-income background saw rates of graduation increase from 40 percent to 73 percent. So, even though graduation rates increased for low-income students, graduation rates had a significantly higher rate among high-income
Anyon, Jean. "From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work." In Rereading America. 8th ed.
I never was just given something, I had to work for it and earn my keep. This has transferred into my work ethic as well. As a major in Business Management, I wouldn’t want to walk out and see my employees sitting around goofing off when work needs to get done. I would also be bitter if I saw one person working harder than the other, especially when their pay is the same. When I was on the clock, I’d always feel pressure to get things done. I could never sit still. The thought of not doing work when there is so much that needs to be done, makes me feel
The quite crisis is described in The World is Flat, as the idea that the United States is not ready for a flat world. The US has a mix of institutions, laws and cultural norms that produce a level of trust , innovation and collaboration that enable the country to constantly renew the economy and raise the standard of living (Friedman, 2006). The author goes on to explain a set of six dirty little secrets that contribute to the quite crisis. Dirty secret number 1; The decline of the number of students completing degrees in math and science. This is based on a lack of interest and possible a decline in work ethic from Americans (Friedman, 2006). The students receiving advanced degrees in the US are not American students. The issue this causes
The United States has proven to be a world leader with their powerful military, democratic government, and stringent foreign policies. There is one category however, the United States struggles to be number one in, education. As shocking as this may sound, the public school system in America is not superior to other developing countries. I have witnessed this scandalous phenomena firsthand, engrossed in the public school system from kindergarten to freshman year of high school. The student body and the school administration is morphing into a nonproductive system with a zombie-like attitude. American students lack academic drive and curiosity compared to European and Asian countries because the standard for academic success is constantly lowered. Americans must reform the school system and change their perspective on how important an education is to the rest of the world.
There are many important things children gain while growing up; the most important thing children gain growing up is their education. The educational skills children learn in school teach them the skills they need to perform outside of the classroom and in the workforce. With education being one of the most important gains in the lives of children, it has come to light how in recent years the United States has fallen further and further behind their peers in international rankings. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2009 educational scores the United States ranks “33” (1), which is lower than the 2002 ranking of “18” (CNN). With such a decrease in the United States ranking, parents wonder why American students are falling behind. The No Child Left Behind Act, standardized testing, and the large use of technology are some of reasons why the United States is falling behind in educational rankings.
While having the right skills for employment is imperative to obtaining a decent job. Displaying your job skills in America’s competitive job market can be challenging. One stigma can be perceived that long-term jobless people have been sitting around and not really wanting to work. (Daly, Hobijn, and Kwok 2015) Or the perception that they would not take a lower paying job, and if they do, they will leave as soon as they find a higher paying one. Some companies have clearly barred the underemployed or long-term unemployed from certa...