Graduation Speech : School As A Source Of Learning

These students “reported that high school was ‘boring, nothing I was interested in,’ or ‘it was boring… the teacher just stood in front of the room and just talked and didn’t really like involve you’” (Rumberger, 2011, p. 157). Mike Rose recognized this in his story when he said that the vocational track was “most often a place for those who are not just making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected” (1989, p. 3). The teachers had no clue “how to engage the imaginations of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond” (1989, p. 3) and lacked inventiveness. In the 1980’s and even in 2005, students were bored with the teachers because the teachers were uncreative in their lessons. The students, in turn, stopped liking school and felt no need to

At the start of 2016’s new school year, approximately 60.4 million children will attend public elementary and secondary schools in America (National Centre for Education Statistics, 26 July 2007. Web). With so many children going through compulsory education every year, it is important to ask questions about the purpose, structure and success of the education system, so people can be made aware of areas that may need improvement. John Gatto is a teacher and author in America who argues that the education system here is not designed to educate its students like most people assume, but instead, to keep them in line and maintain the current social hierarchy. He begins his article, ‘Against School’, by recounting his time as a school teacher in Manhattan, explaining that the students and teachers always seem to be bored. He asserts that boredom is a symptom of childishness and that the reason students act this way is because schools are designed to prevent children from maturing and growing up. Schools do this to make sure students grow into predictable and easy to manipulate adults. It is clear from the amount of supporting evidence John Gatto is correct; the school system exists to create a conformist obedient population and it does so by reducing creativity, over medicating children, and dividing students in order to maintain class hierarchy.

Today, a school education is no longer an option or privilege, but rather a need in the United States of America. The author of “Against School,” John Taylor Gatto says, “Do we really need school?” (143). What if children will not go to school, then how will they learn to read and write? Education is the demonstration of learning things around us and helps us to comprehend an objective in life. Most people who believe that children need higher education in order to succeed in life. We often don’t understand why we have to go to school every day, but when we grow up we realize that children need to attend the school for a wide range of reasons, for instance; for new experiences, increased knowledge or career preparation. School

Education should not only be looked at as attending college and passing exams to succeed in school. It should be seen more as the complete development of one's personality, intellectual development, and moral evolution. The system tells everyone to learn the same material, even if the students are bored and even if they’re sleeping during class. In the article “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto states, “teachers didn’t seem to know much about their subject and clearly weren’t interested in learning” (Gatto). This shows the teachers and the students disconnect from the context because either it’s irrelevant or not being taught in inspiring ways.

                For many students, going to school is more than just a part of the daily routine. A lot of students see their role in school as an importance to their life, but as well to their future success. Many of us have gotten told by parents or teacher that school is an important

I still maintain to this day that school is a place to learn languages, learn maths, learn history, and, most importantly, learn how to learn. It is not a place to learn conformity or regulations that have no bearing on society, or becoming a drone who automatically accepts everything an authority figure tells them.

This is because over the years the academic success found in the recent generations has dropped. The root of the problem that Richard Rothstein the author of, “The Myth of Public School Failure” has found is the lack of funding for public schools. Unlike the private schools briefly mentioned earlier the access to certain benefits are limited because the public education is catering the idea of “free” education for all. As most citizens know taxes are implemented to keep the education program going but it is not a direct fund like a private institution. Local government has control over implementing the curriculum being taught and how money is being divided. In the article, “The Myth of Public School Failure,” Rothstein argues that funding is being stretched thinly between special education, nutrition, and other various aspects of the system High school plays a significant role on the lives of an individual because there they gain knowledge on how to understand issues going on in the real world. Having educated citizens means having a well-rounded society. Having said that, it can only be accomplished if teachers are paid their worth, funding opportunities for students to receive real world experience, and qualizing school

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), American students ranked 25th in math, 17th in science and 14th in reading when compared to students in only 27 other industrialized countries in 2012 (Broad Foundation). In addition, the United States, who used to have the highest graduation rate among these countries, has now dropped to number twenty-two out of twenty-seven (Broad Foundation). These statistics are staggering and should be alarming to Americans. What has happened within the education system to cause such a decline in the education being received by students? Perhaps, the education is not the real problem though; the problem is that students are struggling to find interest and relativity in what is being taught. One of the greatest reasons for this occurrence is the simple fact that teachers are disconnected

Education use to be a privilege for a select few. Gradually, more schools appeared and schooling became mandatory. Whereas education past primary schooling previously had focused mostly on finding a passion or job, mandatory schooling became more focused on achieveing. Both in sports and in academics, competition among youth increased. Due to this increasing competitiveness in schools, the love of learning is diminishing.

As a high school student in 2016, school is a very stressful and important thing. I love education and learning, but school seems to be pushing students away from that. I personally am passionate about American history and politics and I want to study and interpret important pieces of American history such as the Constitution and help the world somehow with that, but I have to instead spend hours on quadratic equations and memorizing every step as to how the cell divides. School is extremely important. If it weren’t for school, then I wouldn’t have found this passion of mine. I was in 8th grade US History class when I did, and it has changed the path I am taking in life. But I think

The students’ brains are still growing, and they are absorbing everything around them. What are they absorbing? In the present day classroom, children have been absorbing how dull school has become. This has created apathy earlier than ever before in the classrooms. Teachers have been complaining about how the excitement of learning has been taken out of the classroom with the students’ interest and creativity. In an article that was authored by Valerie Strauss, she stated, “We became elementary school teachers because we wanted to help foster a love of learning. We teach our students that reading can bring joy and that math is magical. However, that message is nullified when we start to prepare our students for standardized tests. We tell our students that they can no longer talk with their friends to puzzle out a math solution, or consult the word wall to help them understand unfamiliar words. We tell our students that they need to read quickly because on testing days they will have a mere 75 minutes to read two or three stories, answer multiple choice questions and write an essay. As we completely undermine what we have spent so much time building, our students begin to lose their passion for reading and math. If we extinguish the passion to learn at such a young age, how are we preparing them for “college and careers?” With this downfall of education, our country will fall due to the lack of interest

Forthrightly, I must say that I take no issue with my particular school, but with the primary curriculum. That said, I love to learn, but I couldn’t stand school. The most valuable knowledge I have, I’ve gained outside of school. It appeared to me, late in my high school career, as if there was minimal effort to engage students. The complaints by my classmates that they had no idea how to handle student loans or even save for their futures became almost pedestrian—in reality, these are huge concerns. Moreover, I found we were educating zombies. Too much attention to curriculum "staples" like English, math, and science coupled with relentless standardization driven by the need to meet incessant testing standards to deprive students of personal and useful education experiences.

Students may not like going to school but, it is for the best. By going to school students can get an education and get a job or go to college and

There is a lack of student motivation, and lack of attendance in schools. How can we spice up the school curriculum? How can struggling students do better? There are options for students who have not responded well to traditional methods.

Getting an education from a school for some reason is considered the ‘key’ to success. The key to our life goals and dream jobs, but why? We are letting a letter grade determine if we are smart or unintelligent regardless of any other acquired talent. Ralph Emerson states in “The Education” text, “the power of performance is worth more than knowledge.” This quote is extremely powerful because it can relate to a child. From day one, children are taught what to think and what they ‘need’ to learn. They are being brainwashed by these schools that should be called factories. Schools kill any sense of creativity and reasoning because kids and teenagers are so overpowered with a fear of failing and letting a letter grade decide what kind of student they are. Failing throws a label on our forehead and lowers self confidence all because test scores are so highly looked upon and all that people care about. Sooner or later, we are going to all be considered robots if we continue sitting on the conveyor belt in a factory. This path is leading us in an opposite way of