Michael Moore Idiot Nation Summary

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“Idiot Nation,” is an excerpt written by Michael Moore, a famous author and filmmaker known for his bluntness and extreme liberalism. In this excerpt, Moore criticizes corporate America for devaluing youth education and highlights the flaws of the American education system. He notes that despite the fact that the United States is known as the most powerful country in the world, Americans are extremely ignorant in comparison to other people around the world; that even includes high-profile public figures who have attended prestigious colleges. The American government assumes teachers are to blame for American ignorance, as their job is to teach. However, the government does not realize that a vast majority of these teachers are heavily devoted the development of our children despite being underpaid for their services. Moore also points out that public schools nationwide are exceedingly impacted and underfunded. Because of this lack of funding, schools are forced to resort to …show more content…

It’s shocking that so many Americans do not know important historical facts. I think a lot of our ignorance has much to do with the things we are taught in school, and by no means am I saying teachers are to blame. I know they are giving standards of what to teacher and must work within those parameters. For example, a kindergarten is forced to teach basic reading and writing skills, not slavery, the Great Depression, or make their students memorize the Constitution. Obviously you learn about those things, or at least most of those things later on in life, but it’s just an idea. I don’t think teachers are to blame for American ignorance, and I don’t think you can hold one person responsible for that. This problem has existed for so long, it’s just kind of a deep hole that seems difficult to get out

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.
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Rhetorical Analysis of the Film, Waiting for Superman
1238 Words | 3 Pages
Educational systems in America are impaired, and the very educators that are meant to teach are the one’s pulling it down. That is the apparent message that Davis Guggenheim attempts to convey in his documentary “Waiting for Superman”. He uses many strategies to get his message across. Some of these include cartoons, children, and those reformers that are attempting to pull the system out of the ditch that it has found its way into. He makes his point very well, and uses facts and figures correctly. He does leave out some of the opinions of the opposing views, but it does not take away from his point that the educational system in America is in need of repair.
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Dr. James W. Loewen Summary
1013 Words | 3 Pages
Loewen’s idea that history textbooks are to blame is true. “Moreover, the processes have changed over time, for the class structure in America today is not the same as it was in 1890, let alone in colonial America. Yet in Land of Promise, for example, social class goes unmentioned after 1670” (Loewen 205). It is not possible to teach someone to be passionate about the issues that affect them, if they do not learn all of the facts. Kozol’s idea of “cutting class size and constructing new school buildings or providing universal preschool” (Kozol 414) are great ideas. However, Kozol’s ideas only address a part of the
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Michael Moore Idiot Nation Summary
579 Words | 2 Pages
For example, “as Americans, we have quite a proud tradition of being represented by ignorant high-ranking officials.” Moore states students no longer have the information nor the skills needed in their libraries because of the budget cuts, despite that, “the ultimate irony in all of this is that the very politicians who refuse to fund education in America adequately are the same ones who go ballistic over how our kids have fallen behind the Germans, the Japanese, and just about every other country with running water and an economy not based on the sale of Chiclets.” Moore explains instead of helping the future of the United States and making school first, Americans are gaining knowledge that is useless to this society, such as facts about sports, he states, “Why on Earth am I retaining that useless fact? I don’t know, but after watching scores of guys waiting for the ESPN show, I think I do know something about intelligence and the American mind” nevertheless, they lack the information such as facts about own country. In addition, he mentions this nation has an obsession with testing, for example, resorting to testing and believe their problem would suddenly be fixed because of the test results improved. Although he claims Americans are obsessed with testing, he wants the, “so-called political leaders” to be tested the same way they test others in this
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Rhetorical Analysis Of Idiot Nation By Michael Moore
667 Words | 2 Pages
Many Americans believe that children are the future and deserve a high quality education. According to Michael Moore’s “Idiot Nation", they are oblivious to the lack of education that actually takes place in schools. Moore begins to build his credibility by using personal anecdotes and humor, citing statistics and facts, and using emotional appeals.
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Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen
1436 Words | 3 Pages
...ime of the author rather then accurate historical facts. (Lies?293) Textbooks are being written this way and history is being taught this way to show people how they should act and strive to be. This relays to the student what is deemed acceptable to everyone and what is not. When it comes to a student remembering historical lessons they normally do not remember what is being taught to them unless they are moved by it. (Lies?301) So what is the result to a society where our students are being taught this way? The number one result is that students do not know the true history of their country nor do they remember what they were taught in class. This is a sad conclusion but Mr. Loewen feels it is an accurate one given responses to questions he has asked his students throughout the years. What can we do to change this and reeducate the people out there? Sadly I feel nothing can be done for those of us out there who are not truly aware of this misinformed way of teaching. But, our children need not be sheltered from our true history, rather they should learn all that has happened so we can prevent the atrocities from reoccurring again.
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Critical Evaluation: Michael Moore’s “Idiot Nation”
1051 Words | 3 Pages
If it was not apparent enough that America’s education system is failing, Michael Moore’s “Idiot Nation” openly explains to us about the truth. America, for being the richest country, is behind in the educational standpoint. America needs to rethink their standards when it comes to education. America is more focused on corporate earning than educating our youth. The author of “Idiot Nation” makes the reader think about how America is viewed in the world. The purpose of Michael Moore’s essay is to point out what is wrong with this nation and also give the reader the motivation to actually do something about the situation at hand. Moore is trying to make readers aware of where we send our children. The author is trying to shock readers with the facts to do something to improve the American education system.
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Education in America: Separate and Unequal
1064 Words | 3 Pages
Doctor Benjamin Barber’s article The Educated Student: Global Citizen or Global Consumer? discusses how the schools are being attacked by advertising campaigns. Barber talks about the poor school districts being targeted by a company called Channel One. Channel One provides these less fortunate schools with computers, televisions, and other technology. In return the schools have to show the students a twelve minute video that contains three minutes of advertising. In my opinion, this means were trading out our textbooks for fashion and material things. I do not believe the upper class schools have to deal with the same inequalities as the lower class schools. Doctor Barber’s intentions in his writings are about educating people about empowering themselves through culture and education. Doctor Barber assumes that 9/11 would empower more people and help produce a better education system. Doctor Barber stated ‘’in the aftermath of 9/11, it was particularly those public-official-citizens. All citizens because in what they do, they are committed to the welfare of their neighbors, their children, to future generations.” (Barber 420). I believe that 9/11 has had more negative effects than positive, and education has not profited from the tragedy that occurred more than ten y...
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Rhetorical Analysis: America Skis School By Benjamin Barber
887 Words | 2 Pages
If a person saw a hole in the roof of their house and then went away saying “ I hope that gets fixed” others would ridicule and call them a fool. Barber argues the people of America have done this in the case of education. In his essay “America Skips School” Benjamin Barber discusses the problem of how education has steadily declined and determines something must change. He discusses some solutions he thinks could fix them. Yet, some appear illogical. Barber’s argument uses the phrase “If we were serious” followed by an illogical solution as a call to action.
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Analysis Of Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome
2304 Words | 5 Pages
Many people try to think “back to the good old days,” when really they were not that good for most people who had no rights. With the advancement in technology, we were forced to open our eyes to what is going on in the world around us and the disadvantaged people face throughout the world. As a society once we start to working on damage control to clean up the mess we got into we can finally have true change. The damage control will take time and effort from all people involved on either end of the situation. One major move I feel we can make is by giving honest history lessons that cover every part of our history in schools. I feel that American History and World History should be more emphasized on in our school systems and curriculum. If the students get the full education of our history and how we got to where we are, then moving on will become easier. We expect for children to lead us into a bigger and better future, but how can we expect that without the truth coming to light for our diverse culture. We cannot expect to make this country better without knowing their full history and the mistakes we have made in our past. Looking for another way to move forward, Essence asked Dr. Joy DeGruy on what we could do moving forward, her answer was, “…more research, support, and assistance are needed to produce vital healing…that exceeds the injury
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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
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Dumbing Down America: The Decline of Education in the US
1979 Words | 4 Pages
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.
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Idiot Nation
871 Words | 2 Pages
In “Idiot Nation,” Michael Moore discourses on the collapse of American education system and the three main reasons behind it: politicians’ ignorance, shortage of teachers, and the rise of Corporate America. Moore first points out how ignorant the President and politicians are by stating that the President cannot simply identify whether Africa is a nation or a continent. Next, Moore attributes the lack of funding in education to the fact that politicians prefer to build bomber than to improve our education system; this leads to shortage of resources, overpopulated classrooms, and decrease of books available for students. He then notes that the low salaries of teachers, which are caused by the insufficient funding of education, result in shortage of qualified teachers, leading to the failure of the education system. In addition, Moore discusses about the rise of Corporate America, which is another factor corrupting the education system. To get funding from Corporate America, schools diminish the time students have in class, by making students watch advertisements from businesses and help businesses conduct research during class time. Throughout his excerpt, Moore uses exemplification, surprising statistics, rhetorical questions, and simple but clear reasoning to effectively express his ideas and convince readers of his arguments.
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The American and Finnish Education Systems
3133 Words | 7 Pages
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 ...
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The Negetive Aspects of American Education System
667 Words | 2 Pages
The American Education System has been a core component to the development of generations since it became a public system in the 1870s. Since then more rules, higher expectations for some, and even lower expectations for others have been added to the original structure. In recent years, many debates have surfaced over whether the American education system is failing. Too few they believe the American Education System is on the right track. Most researchers however have shown statistics that it is in fact slowly declining as new acts and regimens are added. It has been on a downward spiral for years and citizens have been watching it happen, the lack of government funding, acts like the No Child Left behind Act, focus in the wrong places, and the curriculum set up is acting as a deterrent for success.
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Michael Moore Idiot Nation Summary

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

Rhetorical Analysis of the Film, Waiting for Superman

Dr. James W. Loewen Summary