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The evolution of the American political system
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Discussing the topic of education Thomas Jefferson asserted “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1976) . Educating future American generations was a discussion topic during the nation’s founding. President Jefferson, like many founders, politicians and scholars stressed the importance of educating the people. Knowledge was an important factor in a healthy Republic. Recent politicians have taken a stance against the Department of Education. Considering the importance of education, why would anyone take a stance against education? The current stance is not against education but instead it is against the Department of Education. The founders did not envision education controlled by the federal government; instead they proclaimed support for state governed education with federal assistance. More than two hundred years passed without a U.S. Department of Education, because people feared government meddling in education. Those fears are coming to fruition. Today the U.S. Department of Education is a Bureaucratic nightmare. The department continues to grow in both size and expense with little progress shown. The American people fear that their children will not receive a proper education without the department. This fear is propagated by the department itself. After all they have to make a living. At least two different federal education plans developed since the department started operations. Therefore, The Department of Education should be abolished because the American people did no... ... middle of paper ... ...as tasked in 1981 to collect information and survey the status of education. The commission was to prepare a report for the Secretary of Education and the President within 18 months. Studies had shown that American students were scoring lower on tests than their counterparts in other nations including, Japan, South Korea and Germany (The National Commission of Excellence in Education, 1983). This fear was the driving force behind the commissioning. The commission produced A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform in April 1983 meeting the prescribed deadline. The commission declared that American education had been backsliding since the Soviets launched Sputnik. Illiteracy had risen and average test scores declined during that time period. American industry was losing ground to Japan in Automobiles, South Korea in Steel and Germany in machine tools.
Chris Hedges, the author of the article “Why the United States is Destroying Its Education System” attempts to persuade his audience to agree with his argument through the use of rhetoric. In this text critique, I will thoroughly analyze the effectiveness of his article by highlighting important premises, tropes, ideographs, and narratives. He claims that the United States’ education system is on a downward spiral due to education reform and the influence of corporate power.
--Noah webster also known as the "School Master of America", published the blue back speller to teach students about the U.S becoming America's textbook. Thomas Jefferson believed the survival of the democracy depended on the education of U.S citizens, no education for slaves, only three years for women, and only focused on finding smart white men. His ideas were considered radical. His bill for the education was defeated every time and he created the University of Virginia. His biggest belief was that public education was essential to a democracy. Horace Mann 1830-1840s, in Massuchusetts state senate, first secretary of education, and visited over 1000 schools reporting on their conditions resulting in him wanting to change public schools. He said governments have to make the changes. Through lectures and conventions he created the common schools which included everyone and was supported through taxes. He standardized al...
The American school system is no stranger to criticism, but everybody seems to have a distinct idea of what should be done to improve it. It was not too long ago that we had no public schooling system at all. A man would change that forever, immortalizing himself as the “father” of American education. It was surprising to me that I had never heard of this man, especially considering I had finished my journey through free and compulsory education two years ago. The man who went on to change American education, was Horace Mann, the first Secretary of the Board of Education in Massachusetts. Horace Mann tirelessly campaigned for the public to be educated, heralding it as a “great equalizer.” So why is the gap between social classes rising exponentially? There are fundamental issues holding us back from fulfilling Horace Mann’s dream of an education system which empowers citizens by leveling the playing field for everyone, including pedantic policies, a limited curriculum, and standardized testing.
President Ronald Reagan once described America as, “A Nation at Risk,” He was addressing this statement to the education department thirty years ago and meant it as a wake-up call. He was aware that the United States was falling behind in education and needed to take action in order to prevent the demise of the country. Reagan correctly predicted the grim fate of America if education did not see improvement. Today, research finds that American education is failing to provide the necessary skills to succeed in college and various careers. The quality of education in America is a growing issue and every year graduate students are finding it more difficult to obtain high paying jobs and start his or her career. According to studies conducted globally, the curriculum in America is not as advanced and years behind international schools in countries such as China and Japan. There is much controversy in government over what can be done to reverse the situation in public schools but possible solutions that have been suggested are hiring more qualified teachers, more classroom time, and investing more money into education.
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.
The report that was produced was titled A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. A Nation at Risk’s findings were extremely disheartening to the American people. America’s school system was failing. The statistics indicated that American children were not meeting global standards, the curriculum was outdated and lacked rigor and relevance.
Back in 2001, before the No Child Left Behind Act was proposed, the United State’s rank in educational performance was 16th. After the act was put into action, that rank moved up to where we now stand at 17th in the nation. Statistics also showed that because of America’s dropping education level, many teachers began to get discouraged in their professions. Although, America has not ever been able to hold the title ...
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.
The United States has proven to be a world leader with their powerful military, democratic government, and stringent foreign policies. There is one category however, the United States struggles to be number one in, education. As shocking as this may sound, the public school system in America is not superior to other developing countries. I have witnessed this scandalous phenomena firsthand, engrossed in the public school system from kindergarten to freshman year of high school. The student body and the school administration is morphing into a nonproductive system with a zombie-like attitude. American students lack academic drive and curiosity compared to European and Asian countries because the standard for academic success is constantly lowered. Americans must reform the school system and change their perspective on how important an education is to the rest of the world.
In the United States, education plays a vital role for the government. It was a major interest of our Founding Fathers in writing the Constitution because our democracy relies on an educated society. John Adams once stated, “Education for every class and rank of people down to the lowest and poorest.” Our Founding Fathers did not want education only for the upper class, but also for the lower class as well. Education is essential for the development and prosperity of our country. It has enhanced American financial and administrative leadership. In acknowledging the importance of education, the federal government took upon a grander role of financing public schools with the passage of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965, which along the years was subjected to various reauthorizations. In 2001, the reauthorizations included No Child Left behind Act (NCLB), which required the states to set the standards for student performance as well as teacher quality. This act helps the educational advancement in schools because it improves the comprehensiveness and fairness of the American education.
Even in this time of struggle, with billions of dollars going towards various war efforts overseas, America still has managed to keep taxpayer investments in education higher than that of funds for national defense (U.S Department of Education). In the 2004-05 school year, there was an estimated amount of 536 billion dollars set aside from taxpayer investment for education purposes. Without a doubt, education is a priority for the American government, and if these funds are used in the correct way, there is no reason why each and every kid in the United States shouldn’t be getting a quality education. However, the organization of the financial system is flawed, funds are not handled proportionately at the state level; rather, this system favors the wealthier districts and hands more funds to them while the less wealthier districts are handed a smaller pool of funds. This really affects America’s quality of education, which also reflects upon how America fairs on the world stage when it comes to competition in education with other countries. The disorganization of funds in the United States can be seen in the Hoover City School district, which has bought every student in that district an iPad for use in school. The first problem with this is that this school district does not even have a viable bus system that can transport students to and from school. Secondly, not even 20 miles from this district lies the Birmingham City School district where a little more than half the students are graduating, compared to Hoover City Schools where a bit more than 90 percent of the students are graduating. If anything, the state should be working towards improving educational standards in lower-income communities rather than debating on the log...
Education was believed to have also been a key to self-advancement in this society. Education then became important for political means, the social good, and the individual good of citizens, states, and the United States as a whole. With the creation of a new education bill and the building of new schools, Thomas Jefferson strongly believed that providing education was “the most certain, and the most legitimate engine of government” as the people are “the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty” (Urban, 2009, p. 83). While many theories of educational systems were proposed during this time, schools were ultimately created at the local level by small groups of individuals.
There are many important things children gain while growing up; the most important thing children gain growing up is their education. The educational skills children learn in school teach them the skills they need to perform outside of the classroom and in the workforce. With education being one of the most important gains in the lives of children, it has come to light how in recent years the United States has fallen further and further behind their peers in international rankings. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2009 educational scores the United States ranks “33” (1), which is lower than the 2002 ranking of “18” (CNN). With such a decrease in the United States ranking, parents wonder why American students are falling behind. The No Child Left Behind Act, standardized testing, and the large use of technology are some of reasons why the United States is falling behind in educational rankings.
All throughout the United States for the past several years, states are “hurting because of falling state revenues,” (Emeagwali), and schools are trying to cope with tremendous budget cuts that are resulting in less funds provided for educational services. These cuts are putting pressure on everyone invested in the education system, including students, teachers and any other administration within them (qtd. in Johnson 2), and the reduced budget is not solely affecting any particular level of schooling either. All levels of education, ranging from primary learning to advanced, have been affected (Emeagwali). Additionally, it is not just one or two states having to adjust their budgets; by 2002, “at least 40 states [had] been forced to consider budget cuts,” and these cuts have taken their toll on the amount of funding designated towards educational opportunities (Feldman). As pressures hit hard on state governments, a rise in educational budget cuts has resulted in deleterious effects on the level of education provided to students. As a result, researchers and infuriated teachers and parents have begun supporting education as it is ignored by government administration.