An upright and virtuous society must be built upon a framework of virtuous and upright citizens and politicians. In order for the citizens and politicians to be virtuous and upright we must make sure that they are well educated. However, becoming well educated is not as artless as it might sound. The society must decide in which of the arts to instruct the schooling systems to teach. Plato states within the Republic that the schooling systems have an “ancient quarrel between philosophy and poetry” [607b]. The politicians have shown that within the United States we would like children to receive the same schooling within their grade school years. Congress has passed the No Child Left Behind Act as well as acts limiting the books that are …show more content…
allowed within libraries. I believe that Plato would have found the censorship within these acts and all acts that are analogous as having a good amount of censorship due to the fact that we must inform our youth of virtuous arts and censure the unvirtuous art forms. Plato within the Republic was incredibly concerned with the fact that we must instruct our children and the young with more of the arts. However, the arts are not solely based off of paintings and poetry. Nonetheless, these art forms are incredibly important, but we must also look at the alternative art forms.
These art forms include but are not limited to a powerful integration of philosophy, religion, education, and politics. In order for a society to be upright and virtuous so must the citizens within the society. We must also teach the students to think like and become politicians. The rhetoricians and politicians are the highest educated and should be administering the society. Politicians should have an extremely high moral standing within themselves and also the community. However, Plato states “politicians (and only politicians) ought to be allowed to lie to their citizens” [389b-c]. Some individuals may ask why this may be, but the answer is quite simple. Politicians are supposed to be the highest educated and individuals with the highest moral standing. However, within politicians within the United States government we can see flaws with our own politicians. Recently, we see a sex scandal with our own president of the United States. President Clinton was claimed to be having a sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky. However, President Clinton denied have “sexual relations with that woman”. We must decide if we believe …show more content…
if there was a relationship between these two individuals. Then subsequently President Clinton is a politician. Would Plato have agreed with this theory of President Clinton lying to the citizens of the country he was supposed to be governing? Most children would look up to the president of the United States as if he/she was the biggest real life hero that they may know. However, Plato states “A good portrait of the gods and heroes will show them as worthy and exalted beings — but poets such as Homer and Hesiod often tell tales of the gods and heroes fighting and bickering and acting immorally” [390b-391e]. So I believe that Plato would have found President to be more of a Homeric Hero due to the fact of his acting immorally on having an affair on his wife. We must begin to ask ourselves if these individuals were indeed the highest educated individuals. We understand that they went to college and graduate school. However, were they learning the arts that Plato has claimed to be the most important forms of intelligence building? Plato believes that the artwork of painting is the most deceitful form of art.
Within my grade school the only form of art we had was art class where we painted and built sculptures. Conversely, Plato states “Good people and gods do not deceive — but painters constantly deceive us by trying to make their fake imitations look real [598c, 602d]. If in fact these artists are not good people are we ultimately teaching our youth to inherently be bad and deceive everyone that they cross? To be well educated, children must be well educated and to be well educated we must shield they youth’s minds from the unjust and bad material. If the youth are not shielded from the bad material then our future politicians and leaders will have been raised on immoral and bad material. It is the duties of the state to censor the bad material from polluting the minds of the youth. We have recently seen this censorship within the graduate schools in the forms of eliminating some of the books that have previously (50 shades of grey) allowed within the libraries of the state of Florida. Usa Today online states that, “this is absolutely censorship. Just because it is on the shelves does not mean that you must read it”. However, to fight this claim we must think back and wonder what justice is. Is it giving to others what they deserve, because that was proved false by Plato by the example of the man not within his own state of right mind wanting his knife back. Must we censor this form of
“art” so the man not in his right state of mind does not harm anyone or anything? Plato believes that it is the duties of the state to not only allow only good material but also to remove any of the bad material in order to keep our youth from being corrupted and sacrificing our rights as humans. This would allow the state’s censorship to go to the forms of 50 shades of grey and that “art” form. Plato states, “A proper moral of the story will teach that good people meet good ends and bad men meet bad ends” [613d-614a] — “but tragic poets have will often have bad men profit and protagonists fail and suffer despite their virtues” [392b]. Must we begin to look even deeper into the forms of “art” that we are teaching these students? Maybe that it is not the fault of the politician that gets caught within a scandal. Maybe it is the fault of the society that is raising the child. If we do not do our part in raising the child with an upright and virtuous upbringing and education then how can we begin to hope for the individual to be upright and virtuous? An upright and virtuous society must focus upon the education of the children. The highest educated individuals should be the politicians and leaders of the society. We must teach these leaders different forms of art in order in ensure that these individuals become virtuous and upright within the society themselves. Politicians are the only individual that should be able to tell a “noble lie”. This is justified by the fact that they are also the highest educated and understand what is best for the rest of society. The society must then begin to censor the information that we are teaching these children. Without censorship we see that the individuals will become unvirtuous and in return not run the society in a just and virtuous way.
Labaree discusses how the United State’s education is in a school syndrome, as people in America want schools to teach society’s ideals as well as let people express their individuality. These two demands are polar opposites that cannot be achieved. As the focus goes towards balancing these in hopes of improving society as a whole, the bettering of actual student learning is put on pause. Labaree talks about the beginning of education reform, in the 19th century, being the most successful in developing society; however, as education reform continued throughout time, its effectiveness wore off. He then addresses how the desire for education reform is more about improving society than it is about learning. He finishes his argument by providing possible solutions to fixing this problem, but states that fixing this problem will never happen because no one is willing to give up both demands. Overall, Labaree goes in wonderful detail explaining the problems of education reform. What made me choose this article was that he addressed the desire that people have on school systems in promoting both society normality and individuality. This correlates well with my topic in whether public school systems promote conformist ideals or individuality.
Many Americans do not question the credibility of the education system within the country because they believe it forms good citizens and creates a stepping-stone to success. John Taylor Gatto is an American teacher who has experience in the classroom for thirty years and has now devoted his life to critiquing American schools exploiting his own experiences. In his essay “Against School”, he argues that the 12-year system of school may not be necessary, due to its curriculum, and that it may be a tactic of manipulation from the government to promote obedience. I agree with his argument because there are many paths to individual success outside of public education, such as homeschooling or vocational school.
In the article “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto urges Americans to see the school system as it really is: testing facilities for young minds, with teachers who are pounding into student 's brains what society wants. Gatto first explains that he taught for 30 years at the best and worst schools in Manhattan. He claims to have firsthand experience of the boredom that students and teachers struggle with. Gatto believes that schooling is not necessary, and there are many successful people that were self-educated. He then explains the history and importance of mandatory schooling.
Botstein once argued in his book Jefferson’s Children that “the American high school are obsolete”. In detail, the dissemination that the current method of education has entirely strangled the scheme is an important issue which has to be scrutinized critically.
John Taylor Gatto, who was a teacher at the public school for twenty-six years, and the writer of the essay “Against School” that first appeared in Harper’s magazine in 2001, censures and blames the American public school’s educational system in his argumentative essay with various convincible supporting ideas. Gatto argues that the demands of public education system’s schooling are essential problems in “Against School”. Gatto shows some positive examples of the educating without forced schooling and shows models of the ‘success without forced modern schooling’. Indeed, the writer insists that historically forced schooling is not related to intellectual and financial success in American history. James Bryant Conant, who was the twenty-third
Politics can be a stressful topic all over the world for a variety of reasons. The most obvious is whether the people elected will actually fulfill their promises and show that they are being honest and trustworthy. Unfortunately, it is more likely than ever that they will deceive the people instead. Artifice can be essential in political theater as well as consumer culture so I agree with Chris Hedges’ statement. A myriad of people have used it to gain fame, money, or power, and eventually abuse it. This can lead to disastrous situations because they might not be qualified for the job. They just need to capture the audience’s attention and woo them into believing their facade. The audience looks for that story in political leaders, waiting for the promises of a better future in their country.
It’s no surprise that there are faults within our schools in today’s society. As both authors’ point out if our educational system is
In his essay “Against School,” John Taylor Gatto illustrates his view point that the American population would be better off by managing their own education. He compares the school system to the concept of boredom; that students as well as teachers are victims of the long ago adopted Prussian educational system: “We suppress our genius only because we haven’t yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simply and glorious. Let them manage themselves.” In other words, Gatto believes that the main reason for the existence of schooling consists in that it trains our children to be obedient citizens who can’t think on their own. His point is that as a society we cut off the intelligence and creativity
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 ...
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the American educational system has undergone much transition in response to our changing society. Though there have been many problems raised throughout the years in regard to what our school systems should be teaching our children, there have also been many developments.
In Book one of the Republic of Plato, several definitions of justice versus injustice are explored. Cephalus, Polemarchus, Glaucon and Thracymicus all share their opinions and ideas on what actions they believe to be just, while Socrates questions various aspects of the definitions. In book one, Socrates is challenged by Thracymicus, who believes that injustice is advantageous, but eventually convinces him that his definition is invalid. Cephalus speaks about honesty and issues of legality, Polemarchus explores ideas regarding giving to one what is owed, Glaucon views justice as actions committed for their consequences, and Socrates argues that justice does not involve harming anybody. Through the interrogations and arguments he has with four other men, and the similarity of his ideas of justice to the word God, Socrates proves that a just man commits acts for the benefits of others, and inflicts harm on nobody.
The scores rose six percent among nine year olds, and three percent in the thirteen year olds in the subject of reading. The scores rose eleven percent among nine year olds, and seven percent among thirteen year olds in the subject of mathematics. Sadly among seventeen year olds there was no difference, the progress has stayed in the same position in both mathematics and reading. In the past forty years after different curriculum, testing, teacher training, teacher’s salaries, and performance standards, and despite all the billions of dollars invested in school, there has been no improvement, none in the academic output of American high school students. This previous fact provides ethos because after spending billions, most reader knows how hard money is to earn and they realize its going to waste. Many experiments like the. no child left behind and the race to the top have failed, along with a large list of many different
The most debatable and controversial form of censorship today is the banning of books in school libraries. Banning books that educate students is wrong and selfish. Censorship of books in school libraries is neither uncommon nor an issue of the past. Books with artistic and cultural worth are still challenged constantly by those who want to control what others read. The roots of bigotry and illiteracy that fuel efforts to censor books and free expression are unacceptable and unconditional. Censoring school books in libraries can often lead to censorship of our basic freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. In some cases, a minority ends up dictating the majority in censorship cases. To be told what is permissible reading material and what is not is a direct violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Kieran, M. (2008, January 28). Art, censorship and morality. Open Learn, the Open University. Retrieved January 5, 2014 from http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/philosophy/art-censorship-and-morality
Over time, the passing of knowledge became more organized and societies developed what is known today as the school. In the school, people of all ages are able to learn from the experiences of others. Today, America’s system has been neglected to a point that students of other nations are testing higher academically than that of American students (Duncan, 2010). Because of this, many government officials, school reformers, and concerned citizens are faced with the challenge of finding a solution. However daunting and intimidating this may be, we must remember that this is not the first time that America has faced a need for change in the school. History is full of such events calling for changes to be made; unfortunately many of these changes were never fully implemented into the school system. Therefore, by studying the past we can build upon and complete the changes started. Unleashing the full potential of the American public school, giving each student a chance to be their greatest, regardless of who they are, and/or where they came from.