Kids Need Structure In Colin Powell's Kids Need Structure

“If you want a good education, you need to have good teachers,” states William Deresiewicz, author of Spirit Guides (1). His article, published in Slate Magazine, was written with the purpose of redefining what college teaching is and the elements that constitute a good teacher. In order to promote his ideas and fulfill his purpose, Deresiewicz supports an enthymeme founded on the claim that teachers should challenge and care about their students, because that is what their students truly want and need (2,3).

We spend about seven hours at school every day for five days every week for nine months out of the year. It becomes our second home, and it is supposed to teach us they ways of the world and how to survive in it. However, just like everything valuable, it comes at a price, which often is in the form of a student’s health, sanity, and originality. Given that Thoreau, Emerson, and other transcendentalists value individualism and freedom of thought as essential aspects of a human being’s life, they would despise the education system of today, as it forces students to conform and restrain their minds in order to be successful.

Although the ted talk that Colin Powell presents "kids need structure," some kids do not get it till later in life. During the ted talk he explains how it's still needed to succeed in life. Powell effectively creates an argument while using emotion as well as bias and credibility to persuade his audience that kids need structure to amount to anything in life.

On the other hand, Paulo Friere argues about the authority educators exerts over the students, how educators believe they have more power and knowledge than their students. “His task is to "fill" the students with the contents of his narration” (Frierre 1, paragraph 2). We memorize other people’s information and we think we are doing a great job, but what would happen if one of us unfolds and break the boundaries between authority and communication. What will be the consequences for us; are we going to fail the class for thinking outside of the box. We are not empty receptacles to be filled with recited words; we have the right to express our point of view and listen to our way of thinking. When are going to get the benefit of the doubt, what educational system do we have to follow, we are lost between consumerism and the lack of

When discussing education, one usually mentions the grand opportunities it rewards. But a factor that is usually overlooked is the strain it can have on relationships and identity. Rodriguez, the author of The Hunger of Memory, Alvord, the author of “Walking the Path Between Worlds, and Kincaid, writer of “On Seeing England for the First Time” all shared experiences with education that have caused them to question their identity, the value of their education, and caused a strain in their relationships.

Colin Luther Powell an American statesman and a retired four-star general once uttered this quote "Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard." It was in 10th grade when I first came across this quote and at that time it completely changed my life. Throughout the first two years of high school, I was not concerned on my education to say the least. I am ashamed to admit this, but I was more focused on fitting in with a particular group of individuals then go to class and learn. This all changed when I read Colin Powell's wise words; it struck me that the only reason on why I was not taking school seriously was because of my so called friends. All throughout my scholastic year's teachers have always

After a long search for teachers with the ability to help Keller, her parents found Anna Sullivan:“Sullivan went to Keller's home in Alabama...She began by teaching six year-old Helen finger spelling, starting with the word "doll,"...When Keller did cooperate, Sullivan could tell that she wasn't making the connection between the objects and the letters spelled”(“Helen”). When Sullivan first arrived she tried to teach Keller her first method of fluent communication, but not understanding what Sullivan tried teaching to her made the situation frustrating for both of them. Sullivan created a revolutionary new path in education, because no teacher had ever tried to educate a blind and deaf individual. Sullivan and Keller moved to a cottage on the plantation, so Keller could concentrate on learning: “Sullivan moved the lever to flush cool water over Keller's hand, she spelled out the word w-a-t-e-r on Helen's other hand”(“Helen”). Learning the word water through Sullivan’s exquisite guidance was the start to Keller’s extraordinary life, and the incredible relationship between teacher and student. Sullivan’s brilliant teaching methods allowed Keller to grow and become an incredible epic hero.

In Playing School Or Telling The Truth, Margaret Metzger explains the critics with routined schooling, whereby students do not get the chance to challenge intellectual work; she uses an example of an exceptional student teacher named Jeff Finley, who had to alter his way of teaching to achieve an education environment filled with intellectual challenge rather than routine, passive teaching; Margaret expands on the idea that teachers should go beyond their own enthusiasm for a subject to convenience their students that deeper comprehensive learning has an essential value that strengthens what it means to have real education.

The teacher holds the perspective that his or her controlling role in the education that students receive is justified because the student’s knowledge is minimal compared to his or hers. The teacher maintains the control over the education that their students receive by promoting “obedience to the dictates of the world of school” (Rodriguez 218). The students who adapt best

General Powell said in the TED Talks that, giving a speech on the necessity of structure in young peoples’ lives. Powell asserts that 1) structure begins before the child is born with proper pre-natal care, and 2) stressing the importance of reading to children prior to their entering pre-school. He believes that it is incumbent on parents, loved ones, teachers, and our community as a whole to provide structure, support, and opportunity to our young people, for they will be leading this country one day. In addition, he discusses the structure and sense of responsibility he was taught by his immigrant parents, and family, and how educators extended opportunities to him to learn what it was he did best and had a passion for. Powell explains that

I learned quickly that being an effective teacher is an art that takes time and devotion. Many times, teachers are not provided with the necessary materials in order to maintain the various learning styles in a classroom. It is up to the teacher to create an environment where students can succeed. This is a full time job, meaning that a teacher’s work is not done once they leave the school. A teacher must contribute a significant amount of time and effort in order to see positive results in the school and in his or her own classroom. After observing my cooperating teacher’s strategies and learning more about the profession, I knew that I was going in the right direction with my life. I took a significant amount of knowledge away from this experience and have continued to strive to be the type of educator that I was blessed to work with during this experience. .

Nell Noddings is an American philosopher who believes that the ethics of care must be present in a teacher’s classroom. For that reason, while watching the documentary TEACH, I got the opportunity to learn about four determined and courageous teachers whose ultimate goal is to help his or her students become successful and active members of society. The documentary reveals four unique first year teaching stories, specifically what it takes to educate students in tough schools. Nevertheless, the four teachers depicted in the documentary foster the ethics of care in his or her classroom. To conclude, after watching TEACH, I was able to envision my future English classroom—where compassion and care for students is fostered.

Who additionally believes success should not be limited or selective, but is otherwise meaningful to civilization. Freire says, “Those truly committed to liberation must reject the banking concept in its entirety, adopting instead a concept of women and men as conscious beings” (p79). In other words, Freire says, those who have been bestowed the title of educators are required to be innovative in their instructing, instead of succumbing to a lesson plan that is derivative and creates a disservice to the students regarded as dubious beings in the system of education. Furthermore, Kozol claims, “I think all teachers ought to feel the right and have the courage to speak out as witnesses to the injustices they see their children undergo” (614). The importance of the educator emphasizes the value and influence to their students, as they must be the ones to expose inconsistencies as it pertains to the education. The role of the educator is essential in breaking the chains of monotonous lesson plans and provide with the opportunity to enlighten against these fallacies. Overall, the educator is the conduit through, which thrusts the achievement of the student. Only when the educator decides to be inventive and recognizes learners as individuals who deserve accurate information, at this point, does the educator serve its true

Teachers have adapted to what the student wants or needs, not what the teacher thinks they should have. It is possible that the student-teacher relationship has evolved so far that it is now imperative that educators find a way that allows students to be curious, creative, and inquiring, in order to be, as Freire puts it “…truly human” (para 5), and still allow the teacher to command the classroom.

School begins at age five, or for some even before that, and so begins the excruciating routine of waking up at an early hour to be ready to be at a place where you didn’t ask to be, and have an older stranger teach you about something you don’t understand. However, in the life of a human being this routine that goes on for years is essential to our lives, as well as those older strangers who teach about subjects that you don’t understand. Those older strangers have the responsibility to pass on knowledge to their students and the given knowledge, whether taken or not, will determine their future. Is everyone comfortable or willingly to accept the teachings of a total stranger? Of course not, therefore this total stranger has to have an identification to the students, but not necessarily just a name. Teachers must develop a relationship with their students because teacher-student relationships affect a student 's academic excellence.