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The pros and cons of shorter school days
Effective discipline of the students inside the classroom
Effective discipline of the students inside the classroom
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To say school is bad for children is extremely inaccurate, many children look forward to this as their safe haven. In John Holt 's essay “school is bad for children” he argues that school prevents children from learning what they want and that it enables their curiosity making them become passive learners I found myself disagreeing with his arguments. Holt proposes ideas to reform the school system to make it more favorable for children in which i do agree with partially. School is one of the many things children need to succeed; getting students to work together more efficiently is great but taking students out of the school to learn along with removing compulsory school attendance and required curriculum is not the answer. More one on one …show more content…
Research shows that a national rate of ten percent of students are absent and it could be as high as fifteen percent, meaning that 5 million to 7.5 million students are absent. Not all children are going to like what they have to do but some things are required for a specific reason and this is one of those requirements. Holt says that at “the very least we should modify it perhaps by giving children every year a large number of authorized absences.” (74) I completely disagree with holt. Doing this will not only erupt the student himself but the class and teachers plans. Some might say they make it a law just so they can get their money. Well that money goes towards the school that the student should be in. The student is more likely to get in trouble with law or become a victim of a crime. If he/she misses regularly they will fall behind and they will have a decrease in academic scores. If this were to pass and large numbers of students were not to attend school it would make it “difficult for the teacher and the class to build their skills and progress” (Greatschools Staff) Attendance also prepares the young for later when they become employed it shows that they are reliable and …show more content…
School is a step to success; getting students to come together more and become antisocial but abolishing class is not what should pass along with giving days off and doing away with curriculum is not the answer to helping children. This will not help but only hurt them for the future and hurt our country they will not be prepared and will be lazy. Parents and adults need to help motivate children they can not do it themselves as holt says we should we need guidence. School is a chance before reality where mistakes are allowed and one 's judgment is tested along with responsibility, discipline and moral
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.
I agree with Garland I feel that attendance shouldn’t be mandatory because that’s just forcing those who don’t want to learn go to school. Those who are always getting into fights and causing problems shouldn’t be able to attend school. I like how Garland talks about why mandatory attendance is just based upon the idea that every American has the right to basic education. “But as the old saying goes, your rights stop where the next guy’s begin” (620). Garland explains how every student who wants an education regardless of their inabilities should find a way to receive an education. On the other hand, I remember when I used to go to high school and I witnessed how my friends thought attendance was a big joke. My classmates would always show up late or not even bother to show up. Participation points weren’t a big deal in Hope Academy since all of our classes were online. It didn’t take long before the school started to enforce strict rules. If one doesn’t want to attend school, shouldn’t show up. I feel that mandatory attendance is outrageous. One who wants to learn will find a way to receive an education. Mandatory attendance just gives the trouble-makers an opportunity to waste everyone’s time for those who really want to learn. To sum up, mandatory attendance shouldn’t be allowed. Schools are learning centers that provide students education they aren’t centers of entertainments. Garland also talks about school cafeterias and how they serve unhealthy
We live in a society where we are surrounded by people telling us that school/education and being educated is the only way to succeed. However, the school system is not up to the standards we want it to uphold. There are three issues we discuss the most which are the government, the student, and the teacher. In John Taylor Gatto 's essay “Against School”, we see the inside perspective of the educational system from the view of a teacher. In “I Just Wanna Be Average”, an essay written by Mike Rose, we hear a student 's experience of being in a vocational class in the lower level class in the educational system when he was supposed to be in the higher class. Both Gatto and Rose give their opinions on how the educational system is falling apart. Today the government is only trying to get students to pass, making it hard for teachers to teach what they want. Students are affected everyday by the school system. They sit there - bored - and do not think that the teachers care, making the
Gatto argues that the staying in the American schooling system for so long has supplied him with every reason to refer to it as a childish and “ 'a disablement '” program for students. He supposes that he can bring out the best qualities in children by giving them the autonomy to make decisions and manage themselves, rather than confining them to school. According to Gatto, people may see the key problem of schooling as boredom. To clarify his point, Gatto believes having an education in school is considered as “a daily routine in a factory of childishness in order to make sure not one of them ever really grow up”.
Schools are the basic foundation of knowledge, which is imparted to children. They give a chance for children to gain knowledge in various fields such as humanity, literature, history, mathematics and science. By obtaining knowledge, they are in a better position to know the world around them. A school is a society where faith and other values are developed. Schools also play an important role in a democratic social set up. Students of today are the citizens of tomorrow. Schools are the backbone of a society, where children interact with other children and develop certain social skills. Education in schools opens doors to various opportunities that would not be possible if it had not been for the knowledge one gained at school. However, in the articles, “Idiot Nation” by Michael Moore and “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto, the authors express their concerns about the degrading quality of education. There are many problems the education system is facing today, and several of them are having negative effects on the quality of the education that the students are receiving which are highlighted aptly by the effective use of rhetorical strategies by Moore and Gatto.
... my opinion it is just a way it’s just a temporary act which does not last. Youth need to interact with peers, help in the decision making process, sense of belonging, and develop a value system. If we kick them out of school we are not helping them become respectful citizens in the community.
Education critics began voicing concerns about public schools in the 1960’s (Hess, 2002). Some of the complaints against public schools included, preaching alien values, failing to adequately educate, and adopting unhealthy approaches to child development (Hess, 2002). Many parents joined the de- schooling movement based on a popular book by John Holt called How Children Learn. John Holt was a professor in Boston, who believed that children are born with the desire to learn and educate themselves. The book states that all children need the following for a successful education; materials, access to the “real world”, emotional support, freedom to explore, and time to assess idea...
Throughout the world, students are encouraged to attend high school and continue their education. However, many students find it worthless and become uninspired. They blame the faculty, school policies, and fellow students, when they should be blaming themselves. Unchallenging course work is most likely a sign that the student isn’t taking a hard enough course. During my high school experience, students had the opportunity to take college courses through our high school. This gave the more advanced students a chance to practice the same routine as “normal” students, but still challenge and educate themselves. Abolishing high school would not solve any problems in our educational system. There are many ways to improve upon our school system; however, we need to start at the beginning.
In “What’s Wrong with Schools,” Casey Banas uses the experiences of Ellen Glanz, a high school social studies teacher to express how different students and teachers feel about schooling. Ellen Glanz chooses to improve her teaching by pretending to be a student and sitting in on several classes and what she finds in the typical classroom includes students doing the bare minimum, disinterest, cheating, detachment, the list goes on and on. I agree with Ellen Glanz in that this separation between educators and students causes a great amount of passivity. Unfortunately, these types of circumstances in classroom settings are becoming more and more typical.
In “School is Bad for Children”, John Holt discusses the faults and failures of the education system. According to Holt traditional schooling stifles children’s curiosity and learning, causing them to be ill-equipped as adults. He believes children are smarter before they enter school, having already mastered what he says is the most important thing, language. Holt goes on to describe how children no longer learn for themselves in school. Their learning has become a passive process. Children then come to realize teachers are not there to satisfy their curiosity, and in turn, grow ashamed and accept what they think teachers wants them to believe. School also becomes a place where uncertainty and incorrect answers are forbidden. The students learn how to cheat and pretend to work when the teacher is looking. As a result, they only use a small portion of their brain, and soon they grow bored. Holt suggests this boredom shuts off their brain and is the reason why many students turn to drugs. Drugs he says is the only way many young people can find awareness in the world they once had when they were little. Children John Holt says, are very fascinated
When a person is young it is mainly their parents responsibility to raise them right. Raising them correctly will help them make good choices as they get older. Putting children through the right amount of education will also impact the person they become as they get older. “Programs at one stage or age may or may not prepare students for later experiences. Ideally, the learning situation in preschool will foster independence and child-initiated activities.” (Slavin). School has a big impact on a person and who they will become. Parents need to put their kids in good situations early on. This will help the kid develop better and be more
My Mom was very “Autocratic” (Popkin) about this issue. She is the youngest child of seven and every one of her siblings received awards for never missing a day of school in all twelve years. They were recognized in the town newspaper for this achievement combined with never missing a day of Sunday School. My older brother never missed a day of school from K-12. I missed one day in 4th grade when instead I went to the doctor because I insisted on staying home. My younger sisters both missed a day or two. One broke her leg but only missed about one day, the youngest was granted permission to miss school in High School for my Grandmother’s funeral. My brother left for his mission in August before school started so we got to go to the MTC to see him off; however when he left for Mexico, only my parents went to the airport to see him off (back in the days prior to the TSA when you could wait at the gate to say good-bye). My sisters and I were in school that day because my mom didn’t feel that was a valid reason to miss school. I went to school in 8th grade after throwing up in the morning. I remember feeling absolutely horrible all day and running into the bathroom at lunch to throw-up again. Clearly, missing school was not-negotiable for any reason. This issue handled in an autocratic style has had interesting effects on me. On the one hand I feel guilty when my children stay home from
Mandatory attendance policy does not really enhance students' school performance as it's usually expected. Some teachers and schools believe students would study better if they come to class regularly. They argue that all lessons in text books should be explained, discussions should be held with full class. If students do not come to class, they would study nothing or make no progress. Some even think of students as lazy creatures who play truant to do everything they like but homework or assigned reading, so they take roll-call to ensure that all students come to class and work with them. What i can say is that attending class regularly does not mean you will have better understanding or performance. Some students sometimes miss class but they still study well. That's because there are some lessons they can study by themselves at home without spending too much time as those who study in class. On the other hand, so...
...ke school something that the students can look back on and think that it was a meaningful time where they learned a lot about life instead of a time where they thought they would have a break down because they got a low score on a test. School should be a time to make mistakes in a safe environment that they can learn from, not a place that they are petrified to make a mistake for fear of retribution on their grade cards. Its time to change the school system to save future students from becoming stress crazed and to let them know that there is more to this world than a grade card and in the long run it is a very small fraction of life.
At the beginning of one’s journey of gaining more knowledge, most children don’t mind school, for it is a change of environment for them. The majority of elementary school adolescents even enjoy school to some degree. As time wears on, we usually, and sadly, begin to see a change of heart. Children become fatigued from school and therefore don’t take pleasure in going anymore. Maybe their teachers didn’t teach them in the way that they learn most efficiently, or maybe students just become bored with the whole “school scene” itself. Whatever the case, it is apparent that by the time they reach high school, their interest for learning alone has died out.