Jerome Stern Moralism

843 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Roles of media in education

It seems everyone has a piece to say on the way we educate children in America. Stand in any busy public space and you’re likely to be within a stone’s throw of some mouthpiece with a few choice thoughts on education. This is convenient, because a large portion of these people could really benefit from having a stone hucked at them. Enter Jerome Stern, our very own discount Shel Silverstein. Jerome’s platform is inundated with Orwellian fearmongering as he hopes to convince anyone who will listen of the terrors of public schooling. To be fair, Jerome’s writing is clearly dated. References to AIDS and the Japanese show plainly the patina forming on this relic of a paper. And, to Jerome’s credit, some of his grievances have proven accurate. The opening stanzas lay bare the ignorance of the war on drugs and the lack of competent sexual education for students. In the 1980s, Teachers and advertisements fed young minds …show more content…

Stern raves about some nebulous “they” who wishes to control the thoughts and minds of the populace. Where the first entries had clear ‘villains’, whether they be the church or concerned parents, the following stanzas direct their bilious contempt toward some sort of shadowy globalist conglomerate. It’s easy to state that the reason that teachers don’t assign Mark Twain to school children is because Twain was rebellious and provocative and ‘The Man’ wants to keep people submissive. But in actuality, it’s far more likely that they find the racial undertones of Twain’s works to be objectionable. I myself believe that political correctness is almost universally a sham, and while it 's true that schools do shy away from certain authors because of their content, any reasonable person must concede that, in the midst of the era of outrage culture, it would be easier for the school to assign a book that won’t cause

Show More
Related

  • Of John Taylor Gatto's Idiot Nation And Against School By Michael Moore

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    When analyzing the arguments of both Michael Moore’s “Idiot Nation” and John Taylor Gatto’s “Against School”, their most distinct aspect is the tone in which their arguments are presented. Moore’s informal writing invokes a reaction within the reader. He capitalizes entire sentences to make them appear louder and draw attention. How can referring to a president as an “Idiot-in-Chief” not elicit a certain emotion within the reader? Moore is a well-known activist who is quite aware of popularity and infamy. His words are not an attempt to persuade dissenters to his side, but rather to appeal to the emotions of his supporters and drive them to action. Whereas Gatto writes in a formal but understandable language that appeals to the intelligence of parents and children alike regardless of their view of public education. It is notably free of exclamation marks as well as the jargon associated with educators. The voice used plays a key role in the techniques and tools each arguer uses to convince their intended audience to take action.

    Read More

  • Should Huckleberry Finn Be Taught In Schools

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Who gets to decide what I get to read in schools?” This question was brought up by Dr. Paul Olsen in a recent lecture. This question inspires many other questions revolving around the controversy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It makes one wonder if books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be included in high school curriculum even with all the controversy about them or are they better left alone. Should The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn be taken off of school reading lists because of a single word when it has so much more to offer students? The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be included in high school English curriculums because it is relevant to current issues, it starts important conversations about race

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Against School By John Taylor Gatto Against School

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    As American’s we place a high level of importance on attending school and receiving a certain level of education. Across the world, the recommendations for attending school vastly differ based on the culture of the society. In America, we require our children to attend school until they are almost of legal age, push high school graduates to attend college and we constantly emphasize structured learning. Many children in today’s world lack many skills that would allow them to “teach” themselves outside of school leading to an increased interest in televisions, computers, and phones. Technology has taken away society’s attention away from independent learning such as reading, writing, and outside experiences. John Taylor Gatto’s emotional voice in his writing “Against School” has allowed me reveal my psychological voice regarding the educational system.

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn in High Schools

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every one hundred years dialects change and what is considered “politically correct”, or socially acceptable, changes. “David Bradley argues that ‘if we'd eradicated the problem of racism in our society, Huckleberry Finn would be the easiest book in the world to teach’” (Zwick, Jim. “Should Huckleberry Finn Be Banned?”). If we, as a nation, make it a point to rule out all books that could possibly offend students, then every hundred years or so our library of American Literature will be completely different. Even today, modern day authors use vulgar language, lurid sexual content, and racial slurs to get their point across. If The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is taken off of required reading lists across the country, then that could create a never-ending cycle of books being taken off of school shelves every time words and ideas become unacceptable. If this is the way that American society is turning then something must be done, and the Superintendents, Deans, and Principals of every High School around the country must take it upon themselves to do it because the students will not.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Against School By John Taylor Gatto

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • John Gatto Against School Summary

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Summary of Jonathan Kozol's, On Being a Teacher, and Botstein's Interview, Why High School Must Go

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of John Taylor Gatto's 'Against School'

    1754 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Analysis Of John Taylor Gatto Against School

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Michael Moore's Idiot Nation

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his piece titled Idiot Nation, Michael Moore depicts many faults of the American education system. One quote that caught my attention was “teachers are politician’s favorite punching bags” (pg. 160). Teachers in the public school system are grouped together as the number one predicament when it comes to America’s lack of worldly knowledge. He goes on to discuss the much more egregious and omnipresent issues. I enjoyed Moore’s counter arguments, because I have always disagreed with this myth without knowing the actual problems in our schools.

    Read More

  • Should Huck Finn Be Banned Essay

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    The act of banning something is an aggressive measure. However, this being said whether to ban Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has long been debated. While some say that the book is offensive and disrespectful, others claim it to be a valuable learning lesson. Because of its beneficial lessons, its way of shocking the reader, its reputation as being one of the best novels in american history along with other controversial books being allowed in high schools, The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn should be read by every High School across the country.

    Read More

  • Against Schools

    2166 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Quality of a child’s education often either limits or opens up a world of opportunities. Those who study the purpose of public education and the way it is distributed throughout society can often identify clear correlations between social class and the type of education a student receives. It is generally known by society that wealthy families obtain the best opportunities money can buy. Education is a tool of intellectual and economical empowerment and since the quality of education is strongly influenced by social class, a smaller portion of the American population obtains the opportunities acquired from a top notch education. Many people believe that educational inequalities are perpetuated from the interests of specific classes, but some researchers like John Gatto believe that there are even stronger social forces in play. In the essay “Against Schools” the author John Gatto presents three arguments: (1) that are educational system is flawed, (2) that the American educational system is purposely designed to create a massive working class that is easy to manipulate, and (3) alternative teaching methods should be applied to teach children to think for themselves. In this essay I will be summarizing and relating each of these arguments to other educational essays. Also, I will be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument.

    Read More

  • Why Huckleberry Finn Should Be Banned

    1661 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some opponents have accused Mark Twain as being a racist writer who used derogatory and offensive language and deserves no place on a book shelf. An example of this is in the scene when Aunt Sally learns of a steamboat explosion. “Good gracious! Anybody hurt?” she asks. “No’m,” comes the answer. “Killed a nigger.” (p. 76) Rather, Twain is using this dialogue to emphasis the truth about the old South. In the old south people did not put value on a black person’s life. The “nigger” is not a human being. So what is this book really about? This book is about freedom and the quest for freedom, it’s about a slave who risks his life to win his freedom, and a white boy becomes his friend and helps him

    Read More

  • Prejudice and Racism in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite all the criticism, of racism and other questionable material for young readers, Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a superbly written novel, which in the opinion of this reviewer should not be remove the literary cannon. Twain’s novel is a coming of age story that teaches young people many valuable lessons and to some extend makes students reexamine their own lives and morals. The most common argument for its removal from the literary canon is that the novel is too racist; it offends black readers, perpetuates cheap slave-era stereotypes, and deserves no place on today’s bookshelves.  However one must ask if Twain is encouraging traditional southern racism or is Twain disputing these idea.

    Read More

  • Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    2100 Words  | 5 Pages

    The first point of the novel from which most controversy stems is the inclusion of the word “nigger”. The inclusion of the word in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is unnecessary and offensive. Initially, critics of the novel disliked Twain’s use of vernacular because it was “vulgar and unpleasant”, disturbing genteel white Americans, not because the word “nigger” was found to be offensive (Kaye 3). Fostering an uncomfortable atmosphere for black students, critics believe that primarily white educators allow the novel because they prefer Twain’s depiction of subservient blacks (Kaye 4). Due to the prolific use of the “n-word” throughout the novel, the NAACP believes the story causes damage to black students’ self-esteem (Powell 3). Critics argue Twain’s use of a...

    Read More

More about Jerome Stern Moralism

Open Document