It's Time for Education Reform
My sentence is still being carried out and, as such, I am still gathering much damning evidence on the topic. Hopefully I will be able to compose a meaningful -- perhaps even persuasive -- critique of the system. There is quite a bit of bureaucracy and conformity to overcome.
The education system is profoundly skewed and this is the second time I have experienced its most significant problem: placement and grading. Most educators place too much value on inflexible systems for identifying proper places for students and estimate their comprehension of the material; there are many factors that may aid or hinder a student's performance on such tests. Yet, even excusing poor test score(s) is not my main intention.
Throughout most of my education I felt extreme boredom and "excelled" at all "academic studies" (as ill-defined as they were), which made me rather excited about the prospect of going to college early. I thought the MASMC, focusing on (personal) and academic challenges, should provide the extra stimulation and opportunity to let me "soar." I have come to understand the harsher conformity of lower level courses.
In highschool I had precalculus (which actually ended with limits!) and chemistry, and I considered my entrance to calculus and (advanced/secondary) chemistry in college almost guaranteed. I found out about placement tests the night before actually taking them (the best I can remember) but still felt confident after having completed them. I found out little before actually going to the academy that I would be placed back in precalculus and chemistry one. After talking with a few "authorities" I discovered there was one other test I could take. Without even looking at the C I received on the first precalculus (mostly algebra and some trig) test, I took another one. Again, I received a C and felt rather bad.
I talked with Dr. Malm to figure out what I did wrong. After looking over the test, I felt somewhat worse: the errors I made were not due to a real lack of understanding, rather they were "stupid errors" from lack of attention, sleepiness, and some misinterpretation. I was assured that the college precalculus course would "fill the holes" of my precalculus education. I doubted it, and was correct: I learned, effectively, nothing in precalculus while spending hours (and taxpayers' money) listening to the same material and doing homework (unnecessary -- I didn't last year and by not doing homework I did not hurt my placement test score).
In the end, I find that Robert Scholes is correct in his conclusion that commercials hold a certain power, with which they can alter our decisions whether or not to buy a product. Through visual fascination, we are offered images we could never have on our own; through narrativity, we are told what to think and how to think it; and finally through cultural relativity we connect with the rest of the world. When these three forces are combined by advertising, our brains cannot help themselves, we allow ourselves to become brainwashed by corporate America. This is why Robert Scholes feels that Reading a Video Text should be taught in school.
1. Summarize the main point of this episode on The Story of American Public Education
...rtuosity in Clara Schumann's Piano Compositions." Musicological Explorations 11 (Spring 2010): 45-90. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
A child’s first day of school is often viewed as a rite of passage; the first step on the road to a happy and successful life. This is true for most children from affluent families who live in the best school districts or can afford expensive private schools. But what if a child’s first day of school is nothing more than the first step on the road to poverty and possibly even illiteracy? The documentary Waiting for “Superman” addresses many issues in a failing school system and the innocent children that system leaves behind. Although the documentary spends little time suggesting parents’ roles in their children’s education, it clearly shows that we must make changes to help children from low-income families and improve the teacher’s unions.
Many individuals have been affected negatively by trouble makers in school. Troublemakers have either disrupted classes or bullied other students. Yes, trouble makers may harm one’s learning environment, but should they be kicked out of school? Though many individuals argue that troublemakers will not change and hold the class down, they should not be kicked out because they need help. Most of these kids that are disobedient do not know the distinction between right and wrong. We should not withdraw trouble makers from school, rather, we should help these troublemakers and teach them right from wrong. In the article “Let’s Really Reform Our Schools” by Anita Garland, she states that American high schools are disasters because there are troublemakers (694). She asserts that the withdrawal of troublemakers in schools would make the learning environment peaceful for students who want to learn
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.
Pollick, Amy. “Dispelling Myths about queen.” Dectur Daily, The (AL) 20 July 2008: Newspaper Source. Web. 15 Nov. 3013.
The controversial topic about the function of school is discussed at many school board and PTA meetings throughout America. In Anita Garland’s opinion, schools are not functioning properly. Garland states her reasons as to why the purpose of school has to change in her article, “Lets Really Reform Our Schools”, where she starts off by saying, “Desperate illnesses require desperate remedies. And our schools are desperately ill.” She proceeds to list the remedies in order to transform our schools into a more healthy, successful environment. First, Garland claims that the students who are not interested in studying should not be allowed, better yet, never forced to attend school with kids who want to receive
I was taking AP World History, my first AP class. Keeping up my grades in the class was one of my biggest concerns, but surprisingly, it turned out to be a relatively laid-back class without much homework. Throughout the year, the class was mainly notes and document analysis. The only difficult part of the class was the tests. They were long and arduous with several vague questions based on specific parts of the curriculum that we had only gone over lightly. The course became more vigorous as the exam date drew closer; we began writing more essays, the tests we took grew longer, there were after school study sessions, and even a mock
Unknowingly they came to an isolated mountain setting, known as Los Alamos, New Mexico, to design and build the bomb that would end World War 2, but begin serious controversies concerning its sheer power and destruction. I became interested in this topic because of my interest in science and history. It seemed an appropriate topic because I am presently studying World War 2 in my Social Studies Class. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings were always taught to me with some opinion, and I always wanted to know the bomb itself and the unbiased effects! that it had. This I-search was a great opportunity for me to actually fulfill my interest.
I have always had a strong belief that I could pass college like I did in high school. Always relying on those quick study sessions before a test or having the teacher going over the material right before a test. But boy was I wrong. In my first test I learned the hard way that studying is essential in college.
As noted by the graph our standings in education is below average, especially with African Americans and Hispanic children compared to other states. If this is the outcome in elementary school what should we expect by grade 8. With all of the various reforms enacted throughout the 30 years the curriculum in public schools did not improve nor did our standing compared to the rest of the world. Even though in each presidency monitoring tool was developed to ascertain the level of learning based on the test. In states where students passing their test equated to more funding of the school as well as the school remains open, jobs for the educators. So oppose to teaching students the information needed educators taught to the test. This is due to politicians not addressing the core issues that prevent children in low social economic status of of color due to cultural biases. Then there is the political climate of education including ignorance towards the benefit of vocational schools and real world learning.
Throughout my experience in the public school system, I have heard the line, “What do I need to know this for anyway?” about 1,057 times. It is not uncommon to hear students complain about the worth of their education. Regardless, there seems to be a unanimous agreement that the youth needs education to succeed in life. What is education anyway and what does schooling accomplish? In his book, “A Time to Learn” George Wood provides a definition of education as “making wise citizens and good neighbors who can think deeply and intelligently about issues of self and society, take care for and respect others, take care of their family needs, and contribute to the welfare of others” (Glickman 48). Is school necessary for developing this type of educated citizen? If not, how is it we measure success and how is school important in attaining that?
Carswell, John. The Descent on England; a Study of the English Revolution of 1688 and Its European Background. New York: John Day, 1969. Print.
Steele, P., & MacDonald, F. (2007). The Miles Kelly book of British history. Essex, Great Britian: Miles Kelly.