Education Is A National Movement And Students ' Reading Level Fluency, And Academic Achievement As A Whole

Education can be considered the process of discovering something new that a person did not previously know. It is an essential part of life because it empowers people with knowledge, enables them to contribute to society, earn money, and become independent. Education is a process that starts when you are born.

Everybody has many experiences when growing up. We absorb an amazing amount of information and learn many skills in that time. During this time, our skills develop, and we may succeed in some areas or be unsuccessful in others. This idea could be applied to myself, which includes the ability to properly speak, a struggle with writing, and a surprising success in reading.

Education in America is one of the most important issues that face our nation. If the education in America is not thought of one of most serious issues we face, our nation as a whole will fall. There are many debates and they seemly extend to all walks of life. The debates range from the decline in education, school vouchers, and the no child left behind law. As a nation, the United States is ranked above others. We must search for that solution to all of the pro’s and con’s in education. The solution should allow all walks of life to excel in the education realm. After all, the children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said in “The Purpose of Education,” that “Intelligence plus character – that is a goal of true education.” Good character is defined as a particular feature or quality that is ingrained in a person throughout their lifetime. Character represents many qualities, which separates one person from another. Many parents wish that when their child would grow up, as a caring, and an honest person. Many people argue whether schools should provide character education besides academics. Character education programs are beyond the bounds of what happens in school. Parents are required to participate in order to contribute the same good values the schools are trying to contribute. I agree that schools should teach character in addition to academics, but they should also make an effort in involving the parents. Both the school and parents should uphold the responsibility together. The schools and parents should work together to inspire character strengths in a child.

The Government of Ontario introduced the Character Development Initiative in 2006. This policy mandates formal character education in Ontario's public schools. Ontario's school leaders are expected to play a large role in the implementation of the Character Development Initiative.

Many students come to school without a solid moral and ethical foundation because it has not been a priority at home. The lack thereof must not be used as an excuse. Educators must assume the responsibility to be effective caregivers, moral models, and ethical mentors. Successful character education is an integral part of a school’s culture, most effective when the virtues are integrated into the academic curriculum (Dean, 2014).

“Can We Teach Character? An Aristotelian Answer” by Edwin M. Hartman is an incredibly well written article on whether, as the title states, character can be taught. I will attempt to critique this article and illustrate points that may have been excluded, but the article is extremely well rounded. The purpose of the article is to determine whether teaching ethics is worth the time taken, whether students will actually act better as a result. Hartman translates Aristotle’s thoughts well, and overall it is a beautiful piece of writing.

America has an ever so slowly changing literacy rate; 32 million people in the US cannot read. High poverty countries have lower literacy rates and stricter countries have a proficient gender difference in literacy rate. The United States is a booming country, surrounded by new technology and communication. The impact this new generation has on illiterate people is so devastating, it comes to the point where you can’t fully live because verbal communication is not always available. Some people are unable to read drug labels, or have access to healthcare. It is also costing taxpayers 20 billion dollars a year. Parents who are illiterate are having a huge impact on their children; without having being exposed to books outside of school their

Public education has historically attempted to educate more people and make higher education more accessible to all students. Thus local school districts, higher education institutions, states, and the U.S. federal government are increasingly dealing with funding issues. Faced with decreases in additional funding, our focus must be on channeling existing resources toward practices that increase the probability of student success. This includes best educational practices and viewing schools and higher education institutions that affect student performance as part of an inter-related system, not as separate institutions. Today, educators acknowledge that there is no straight line to earning college

“What If the Secret to Success is Failure?” by Paul Tough presents how Dominic Randolph, the headmaster of Riverdale Country School, wants his students to succeed, but he believes that in order to succeed, you have to learn how to fail. It is believed that character is the most important part for success. Dominic Randolph, and David Levin, superintendent of the Knowledge in Power Program (KIPP) schools, work together in order to to reach a conclusion, that is character traits is needed in order to succeed in academic and in life. Though a student could be smart in academics, but he has to have character in order to succeed. “The Inverse Power of Praise” by Po Bronson and Ashley Merriman cite how praising a child too much could affect their

I think that the strength of Boston Prep’s character education program lies in the sequencing of ethics - the building upon the understanding of the five virtues every year along “with the students’ capacity for reasoning and reflection” (Seider, 2012, p.64). This strategy puts virtue always at the forefront. It is not a lesson to be learned and then forgotten at the end of the course. In this way, virtuousness is understood, by the students, as that which should always be aimed at.

The quality of education given in today's schools has declined since the idea of schools began. Currently students are graduating without being able to read or write. The blame lies on the teachers, government and every American citizen for not speaking up to bring change sooner. Only in the most recent years has there been any will to change the system.(Sharma)

Literacy is the cornerstone to all learning; it is imperative to future academic success. (Tracey and Morrow, 2012). Due to the significance of literacy instruction, there are a myriad of ways to teach literacy. Literacy is a complex subject, honing in on balancing reading, writing, speaking, and listening. As a result of the complexity of literacy instruction, we arrive at the age-old debate of what is the best literacy instruction. My philosophy of literacy instruction centralizes around the Whole Language Theory and Balanced Literacy; however, I also blend in additional theories/approaches to teach effective literacy.

Although many critics within the academic world will oppose by saying that character and self-esteem are taught through academia, I firmly reject that stance as a child’s first point of contact in terms of socialization is at home, with one’s family and community. This means that a child is first taught, at home, the character traits that will help him excel regardless of the impact school has on him.

I read five articles on character education. These articles helped me to better understand the importance of character education and useful techniques and methods to teach children values and morals.