Opposing Viewpoints In Schools

Postman, N. (1995). The end of education: Redefining the value of school. New York, NY:

Reading chapter six of America’s Teachers: An Introduction to Education (Newman, 2006) reminded me of the Barenaked Ladies song It’s All Been Done (Page, 1998). As I read the conflicting sides of each argument regarding education as far back of the Civil War, I kept thinking how none of this sounded new. It’s all been done before, and we are still debating many of the same issues. Newman (2006) put it another way, “Despite promoters’ claims to the contrary, few educational wheels are brand new. Most have been reinvented. Sold to the public as innovations, they are more like retreaded and recycled tires” (p.180). The purpose of education, the way in which education is managed by state and federal governments, and whom we educate (and how) will always be, in my opinion, a hot debate.

Educational policies researcher Joel Spring (1996) discussed many arguments and historical background about various education topics found in the United States. For example, Spring tells us about the historical development of the Common Schools movement and the underlying groups—such as workingmen and political parties—that influenced the movement. In addition, Spring points out some of the implications the movement had on religious, ethnic, and multicultural groups. One particular idea that caught my attention was from the chapter entitled, “The Ideology and Politics of the Common School.” Indeed, my entire conceptual understanding of K-12 education had been predicated on the idea that high schools were part of the original conception of public

An educational philosophy is a personal statement of a teacher’s goals or belief. A teacher comes to the classroom with a distinctive set of principles and ideals that affect how a student learns and expand the child’s potential in his or her venture into knowledge. I believe that education should be active, and focus on the whole child, rather than just the content or the teacher. The three (3) principles I believe that work harmoniously with my educational philosophy are the teacher acting as a facilitator to foster critical thinking, allowing the child’s natural curiosity to steer his or her learning for personal development, and

In his article “Against School”, John Taylor Gatto satirically poses several questions concerning the purpose, structure, function, and need of the current educational system in the United States. Utilizing anecdotes from his thirty years of teaching experience and extensive research on the historical origins of many modern school customs to justify his tantalizing arguments, Gatto rhetorically inquires about the true motives and rationale behind an outdated institution system which continually steals more than a dozen years of precious life from millions of Americans in the pursuit of furthering a prejudicial class-separation bound together by conformity.

Japan noticed that American citizens were very different than their own; no appointed social class meant that Americans had more spirits of freedom, independence, and self-reliance.6 In comparison to the Americans, those Japanese citizens who were in the upper classes received special treatments and at times were almost untouchable. In America, however, the president and the bourgeoisie could walk around with freedom and happiness, as there was no threat to them. Kume Kunitake notes that, “It is a place where those Europeans most endowed with the spirit of independence and self-government have gathered and are in control.”7 This free spirited attitude without the pressure from the elite showed the happiness and comfort of the citizens. This notion created a happy society within classes. Americans truly understood the notion that they were a self-made country and did not have a set of social beliefs that they were required to follow.

Public Education reform has emotional, political, and economic ties due to the impact America endures from the public school system. New American Academy writer Yehudi Meshchaninov writes,

Andrew R. Deras Dr. Jide Osikomaiya English 100 8 September 2016 The Most Compelling Problems In American Schools As we delve back into a new year for students and teachers alike returning to school to continue with the daily life of academics and learning, we all must be understanding of what exactly we are sending our peers and children back to. It should be no surprise to most of us that throughout the years we have seen countless upon countless examples from the news and through others, that our school system is flawed in some way, shape or form. It is no longer a coincidence that our students are only achieving 36th from the top in all total curriculum (Arnett). This is also evident to anyone who may happen to own a T.V. and has been a viewer to these numerous articles describing these horrible issues we have within schools firsthand (ABC News). Not only that, but schooling can also be further compromised by politics and law related issues (Ravitch). What my goal for the essay I am submitting to you is; to give my opinions on the current situation of public schooling in America, discuss the issues, and back my points I will be presenting, with concrete evidence I have uncovered in my research. I would like to make it clear that my stance on the current situation is that there is not only a singular problem with public education, but a number of issues that inhibit students to learn properly and function as productive members of society. An excellent place to start would

In 1983, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform was released. Regarded as a landmark event in American educational history, the report was scathing in its critique of America’s public education system. For many, it was proof of an already growing sentiment – America’s public education system was failing its people. In the aftermath of the report, a movement emerged. The concept of school choice, of returning the decision as to how and where a child was to be educated to the parent, burst onto the national scene. While school choice had a number of vocal supporters, a sizeable contingent arose in opposition. Over time, the topic became contentious and the battle moved to the courtroom. As lawyer Clint Bolick, a veteran of school

In Rereading America an excerpt by Michael Moore entitled “Idiot Nation” focuses on the collapsing educational system in the United States of America. Moore brings to light his view on the failures of the educational system and the lack of financing that has been caused from the top of the food chain. Politicians as well as American corporations contribute to the decline in education according to Moore. He attempts to give the reader a clear picture of where America places the importance of educational funding. He follows-up with detailed examples on what districts and schools resort to in order to gain financial support for their programs. Moore is quick to point out the irony of politics and education in America

1. How does the author describe racism in America towards Japan in the Second World War?

Takaki’s word choice allows him manipulate statistics for his purpose of disproving the myth of model minority. The words Takaki choses to use in his article both strengthen his ethos as an educated Japanese American writer and weaken his argument against the model minority in terms of both logos and pathos.

The Chinese government set up a wide system of primary schools. For the first time in all of China’s history the majority of the population received a complete basic education. Even though the government’s “Great Leap Forward” program didn’t put

In many ways, Japan has been looked upon as a strangely homogeneous society for much of its modern history. And for some, it stands as one of the most homogeneous nation in the world. However, when looking at Japan as a whole, and considering whether or not it homogeneity is a problem, or just another cultural phenomenon, one must look towards the root cause of homogeneism in Japan. In Japan’s past, it has has been questioned, as well as assumed, that the growth of Japans homogeneous viewpoint was put forward by the government of Japan, and was done so by circulating false accusations of its lineage. Which these false stories of lineage, Japan has grown in its ethnocentric views and ways. Ethnocentrism, or

The culture of a place is an integral part of its society whether that place is a remote Indian village in Brazil or a highly industrialized city in Western Europe. The culture of Japan fascinates people in the United States because, at first glance, it seems so different. Everything that characterizes the United States--newness, racial heterogeneity, vast territory, informality, and an ethic of individualism-- is absent in Japan. There, one finds an ancient and homogeneous society, an ethic that emphasizes the importance of groups, and a tradition of formal behavior governing every aspect of daily living, from drinking tea to saying hello. On the surface at least, U.S. and Japanese