Name: Sayyed Hamzah
Instructor: Professor . M. Walters
Course: WRT 110 T/Th 3:30 - 4:45
Date: December/7/2017
Name of the assignment: Idiot Nation
Idiot Nation
A nation's level of literacy is determined by how effectively its leaders and people concentrate on useful things rationally. Leaders who are literate does not always mean that they possess all the qualities needed to take a nation forward. The actual literate level, in spite of being highly educated, along with the factual illiterates, altogether shapes the nation’s growth. A nation which focuses on trivial things instead of giving adequate attention to important problems that the nation is facing is an idiot nation. Through this perspective, the United States of America is a nation of idiots.
Forty-four million people in the United States of America are unable to speak and write proficiently (Moore 1). Notably, even though the majority of the people are illiterate, they have adequate skills in sports and music (Lynskey). This shows that, though the people of U.S. have amazing skills, they aren’t being utilized for the things that really matter.
For instance, 40 percent of the U.S students are unaware of when the Cold War took place
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For example, in the year 1956, U.S. President Dwight D.Einsenhower’s nominee for the position of the ambassador of Sri Lanka, Maxwell Gluck, was confirmed, though he was not able to identify Sri Lanka’s capital or its Prime Minister.(Moore 2). Likewise, in 1981, during the confirmation hearing of William Clark, the deputy secretary for President Ronald Reagan, he admitted that he lacked adequate knowledge in foreign affairs (Moore 2). Besides, William was unable to identify the Prime Ministers of Zimbabwe and South Africa. Similarly, even though Bush schooled in Harvard and Yale, he was not able to identify the leaders of India and Pakistan who were one among the seven countries which have atomic
In the Essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” by Johnathan Kozol. Mr. Kozol uses quotes, key points, experiences and his knowledge companied by effective forms of rhetoric throughout the essay to speak to highly educated and intelligent individuals who have to power to make a difference. He explains in detail how an illiterate society is affecting not only the illiterate’s life, but also the country’s democracy, and endangering the lives around them as well. He interviews individuals who share their experiences of fear, hopelessness, confusion and frustration when dealing with everyday life situations that most people could figure out on their own.
After the end of WW2, two major governmental institutions, the USA and the USSR, with conflicting political ideologies and agendas, set forth to dominate each other in international politics. This period of time, also known as the Cold War, initiated an era of crazed hysteria in the United States as these two governments frequently clashed and bitterly fought. As a result, the frightened public grew delirious as the world grew dangerously close to a calamitous nuclear war, which ultimately prompted the Eisenhower administration to hinder the spread of communism and encourage the U.S. population to rapidly pursue higher education for the future welfare of this nation.
People learn to read and write to satisfy basic needs but as it applies to communicating ideas the most convenient way is the preferred way the simplest ways are more convenient. The lack of interest in literacy makes simpler means of communication more convenient and useful than articulately conveying thoughts. 42% of Canadian adults between the ages of 16 and 65 have low literacy skills according to the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network, thus pre-established language formulas and systems of thought allow for individuals with lower literacy skills to use base forms of communication. However, this has a dramatic impact on the individual who finds themselves having to articulate, as they are stuck using these basic language formulas.
In Rereading America Michael Moore entitled “Idiot Nation” focuses on the failing educational system in the United States of America. The American nation has decreased in their studies and have lowered their standards, yet America still claims they have their priorities in order, which is education. Moore attempts to persuade his readers that the people who are to blame are lack of education in politics and the budget cuts they are making, however, politics blame teachers for making America decrease in their schooling test scores. Americas have many opportunities and useful tools to be successful; however,
My mom is Panamanian and a very bright woman and loves school, while my dad is African American and didn’t care for school at all and isn't very educated. My mom first came to America to study at Vanderbilt University and my dad never went to college. When I was four my parents got a divorce and my mother maintained custody of me. In this day in time people would say that my odds are against me when it comes to becoming literate. Why? Well, I didn’t grow up in the best neighborhood. The area I was raised in was nicknamed "Little Mexico" because many illegal immigrants lived there. I quickly learned that most of the people around me didn’t know how to read or write and they only spoke Spanish. Imagine them living in an English speaking country. If they couldn’t read or write in their own language living in America must be pretty complicated. It would clearly seem like I wouldn't have much access to literacy sponsors at all. Literacy sponsors can be people, places, or even events that shape how a person reads and writes. Those same people, places, and events can play a big factor in a person's opinion about reading and writing as well. However, it was almost impossible for me not to have any literacy sponsors with my mom being in my
Gaddis, John Lewis. “We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views On Controversial Issues in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle. 14th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 302-308.
Political philosopher and social theorist Thomas Sowell has once said, “It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” It is inevitable to meet an ignorant person around each corner that one turns. It is up to the victim to either let the ignorant person corrupt him or to let the victim become smarter. One of America’s greatest activists, Martin Luther King, believed that “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” With this in mind, “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all” (Kennedy).
In his essay “The Human fee of an Illiterate Society,” Jonathan Kozol addresses the challenges that people who 're functionally illiterate face on an everyday basis, and posits the argument that society at significant suffers from this concern as good. For illustration, Kozol mentions the fact that many of these people vote blindly or do not vote at all in elections, concluding that their uninformed votes could have influenced the elected officials who took place of business. He offers sobering facts, corresponding to the truth that 60 million men and women that were functionally illiterate in 1980, and provides first-hand quotes from a few of those affected. His article
Education is one of the cornerstones and pillars to the establishment and preservation of democracy. In history, countless scores of philosophers and political thinkers believed that only an educated citizenry can take on the quintessential task of upholding democracy. Thomas Jefferson, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, stated that “an informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will.” A renowned defender of public education, Jefferson proposed plans for an education system that included grammar schools in his presidency. As a result of these relentless policies for education, the United States expanded on the concept of public instruction through the establishment and upkeep of a practical education system. The United States continued this tradition and established a reputation as one of the best education in the world. Currently, this is no longer valid as other countries such as Finland, China, and South Korea are competing for the dominant position through rigorous reforms that aim to boost student performances (“Best Education”). Meanwhile, the American system is inefficient, inhibited by political obstacles and gridlock while Finland, the top ranked country in terms of schooling, is continuing to improve. According to the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) examinations that tested pupils across a variety of subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science of 2009, Finland’s students were ranked among the top (“PISA 2009”). The American students were ranked below average for industrialized countries in the world, revealing the reality of the educational crisis in the country. Finland’s education system, compared to the Americans, offers major differences that greatly ...
The United States generally looks at education as a path to success but the people with the longest road towards success are not getting enough education. In the years before kindergarten, children form their basic thinking skills and children who don't learn these at home fall behind everyone else. In most cases children in poverty do not achieve these skills to the extent of middle-class children from their environment at home. When poor children enter school they are generally a year and a half behind the language abilities of their middle-class peers. Already children of poverty are behind in their ...
In an impecunious third world country, a penny can procure a pencil. The penny is 1% of a U.S. dollar. This parallels the 1% Gross Domestic Profit goal set by the United Nations. This goal enlists the help of developed countries to give 1% of their gross domestic profit to an underdeveloped third world country. By giving 1% of a dollar to an impoverished country, one can buy a student a pencil; therefore allowing them to become literate. For a single dollar, one can promote literacy for an entire village. If an adolescent or young adult becomes literate, he or she can help the whole family by reading newspapers and keeping up with current events (Mortenson and Relin 283). In Pakistani bazaars, food comes wrapped in newspaper. If a family has even one literate member, that person can read about the daily news when the food is unwrapped (Morten...
America is slowly “dumbing down”, according to Psychology Today, due to a rising and devastating movement of anti- intellectualism in the American culture. It rejects matters of science, art, and humanities because of superiority, ignorance, and just from being naïve to situations. Anti –intellectualism is when a person disregards intellect and reason in solving viable situations and understanding the reality of the situation; but, instead uses action and emotions to solve them. Now, this is not saying that those who are uneducated and unintelligent are classified as anti-intellectualist; even those who are educated and judicious are subjective. It is said best by David Niose, “Social dysfunction can be traced to the abandonment of reason.”
The need for basic literacy skills is vital in order for our nation to continue to operate successfully. With approximately 5 million students, graduating below the National Standard for Literacy and unable to read, we must take a look at the curriculum and teaching techniques to assess whether the current systems need to be revised to better assure ALL students are successful. (Adolescent Literacy: A Policy Research Belief p. 1) The issue begins first with the definition of “Literacy”, and the fact that there are several aspects of literacy which are not currently included in the curriculum. Another issue is the “old” standards which are in place do not support the level of diversity which is now seen in many school systems. Then comes the issue of funding for schools and many schools in better neighborhoods obtain the highest level of private, and public funding and therefore are able to provide the higher level of education. However, in “The Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act”, Senator Patty Murray states, “Research also shows that low income children are less likely to have access to high quality, literacy rich environments. These same children perform 40% lower on assessments of literacy achievement even before they start kindergarten.” (Murray) So, whose responsibility is it to ensure the success of the upcoming generations? Will the Federal Government step in to create a better system for the generations to come? There are quite a few solutions which have been used by Teachers, but with such an “old” system in place the issues of diversity, financial demand, inflexibility of the curriculum to assist individual students, classroom sizes increasing on a yearly basis, pressure to achieve sp...
It continues to be a big problem with the ranks swelling each year. Although safety nets are everywhere, illiteracy is still abundant. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, in 1998, ten million children between seven and eleven years of age performed below the most basic level of reading achievement.
Attending public schools as a child, I remember learning the basic skills on how to add and subtract, read, and write. These basic skills are necessary in order to function in our society and work force in the United States. As we all know each child learns differently, some learn faster than others and some slower than others. Our public schools have become overcrowded and we do not have enough teachers to fit the needs of each student. Some students get left behind and are not learning the skills needed to move on to the next level. What these students are not learning they can learn in higher education such as a college or university. In this report, I would like to express the importance of a higher education. I will use the works of John Henry Newman, Jon Spayde and Mike Rose, all three writers believe in having an educated society. Our students’ needs are changing, there are a growing number of immigrants with children coming to the United States from all over the world. They bring with them the language and culture of their country. The age in which they arrive to the United States determines how well they learn English and what skills they will need to acquire to become productive in our society. The task of teaching our children the basic skills is becoming harder and harder each day, making it harder for our education system to achieve their goals. There are a high number of students graduating from high school who does not have the skills needed to meet the needs of the work force in our society. A higher level of learning is needed to make our society literate.