Education is a crucial aspect of people's lives. In the United States and numerous other countries, we are reminded throughout our twelve years of mandatory schooling that we must do well so that we can get into a good college, achieve a degree, and then lead an accomplished and fulfilling career. Despite the fact that this idea is drilled into our heads from a very young age, our system of education does not provide each child with the same amount of support and encouragement. A vast number of black children are penalized for simply wearing their hair in its natural state. There have been numerous instances in which black children are threatened with detention, suspension, and even expulsion if they refused to change their hairstyle into …show more content…
Deanna and Mya Cook are two adopted twin sisters from Massachusetts who faced similar discrimination for their hairstyles. The twin girls went to school with freshly done box braids and were told that their new style did not coincide with their school’s dress code. These girls faced several harsh punishments like being unable to attend prom, being unable to attend their graduation, and the twins were even told that they would be thrown out of school if they did not change their hair. When an eight-year-old third-grader wore her hair styled in a “frohawk”, a popular style that combines an afro and a mohawk, for school at Tarver Elementary in Belton, Texas she was pulled out of class. The school’s justification for this decision was by alleging that the eight-year-old girl’s hairstyle was not in accordance with the school’s dress code policy, however, mohawks, the exact same style sans the afro-textured hair, is allowed.
The testimonies of these girls and their parents are obvious acts of resistance. Their stories made headlines and people across the country know who they are and how they were wronged. Rather than enduring the unjust punishments and accepting their circumstances they spoke up. They used their voices and projected them loudly through social media. They were able to utilize their platforms so that they oppose the prejudice.
The function of the education system is to improve students education and prepare them for the real world. Students within that system should receive an “A” when they have mastered the information they are being taught. However, grades no longer accurately reflect how much students have learned. Since 1998 teachers have handed out more A-grades while the average SAT scores have actually fallen. In fact, as Greg Toppo states, an author for USA Today, the amount of A’s handed out actually went up close to ten percent (4). Students can manipulate their courses so that they can get good grades without actually learning much of anything. With grades not accurately representing what students have learned and charter schools failing to solve problehms, teachers need to change how they structure their class or grade assignments.
At the age of thirteen, Motley was discriminated against for the first time, when she was turned away from a public beach due to her skin color (Constance Baker Motley Biography- Experienced Racism, Philanthropist Paid for College, Set Her Sights on a Law Career). From then, she grew an interest in equality and racism and became the president of the N.A.A.C.P. youth council. She started dreaming big but her family didn’t have the money to fulfill her dreams so started working to fulfill them
Having escaped rule from a tyrannical British government, the United States was founded on ideals of freedom and equality for all people. These fantasies of universal egalitarianism turned out to be merely that: fantasies. American history is full of stories of the oppressed struggling to get the rights they deserve and of the controversy over these issues that consequently ensues. “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” by Frederick Douglass and “We Shall Overcome” by Lyndon B. Johnson are two speeches made confronting two of these issues. Douglass’s speech, delivered in 1852, condemns the institution of slavery and maintains that slaves are men and are therefore entitled to freedom. Johnson’s speech, on the other hand, was written in 1965 and discussed the civil rights movement. In it, he implored local governments to allow all American citizens, regardless of race, to vote. Despite the significant gap in time between these two addresses, both speakers use similar persuasive techniques, including ethos, pathos, and parallelism, to convince their audience that change needs to be implemented in America.
What is one of the things that most people are accustomed to? Something that has been a part of their daily life. There are many things but what I am referring to is school. School has been around for hundreds of years. Whether it was to learn about religion or the mandatory classes we take now in the 21st century, many of us have been advised to go to school. It has changed a lot over the years and the system is still trying to improve how they could better educate their students in the future. Now, after going through many levels of school, people question themselves: why did I learn all of this? They question why they couldn’t learn more about taxes, buying a house or the important aspects when you get a car. School has become a
There is enough discrimination against us, and feeling alienated leads to recidivism. I served my sentence. I paid my debt to society. Why am I still doing time?" - Perry Hopkins, convicted felon and current community organizer for Communities United, talking about voting rights in Maryland.
Over 7,500 animals are killed in zoos because they are deemed surplus, as stated by Liz Tyson an animals rights activist. This giraffe in particular sparked a huge controversy. HIs name was Marius, he was homed at the Copenhagen Zoo and was 2 years old when the staff killed him with a bolt gun. Marius was then dissected and fed to lions in front of ongoing zoo goers. What got people fuming is that he was a healthy, young giraffe. Therefore I believe the killing of Marius should not be justified.
The cost of college tuition is continually on the rise and has placed many burdens on high school students as well as their families. Some of the burdens that are placed are a result of parents putting pressure on their children to earn scholarships. Some of the burden is a result of students putting pressure on themselves to earn scholarships. Then, there is the burden of high college debt once the student graduates. Is this pressure really helping our students or is it hurting them? The bottom line is college tuition is skyrocketing out of control and something must be done before it destroys our families and our children.
The United States education system presents proposed education reforms with the intention of strengthening the education system for all American students. The United States seeks to teach children with a focus on quality education, creativity and critical thinking, and self-development and empowerment; preparing students to be active and engaged citizens. The United States has built a foundation of universal education; unlike many other countries, all American children are entitled to a free and public education. Children are ensured an education in the United States regardless of disability, socioeconomic status, academic achievement, or immigrant status. Despite intentions to provide high quality education for all students there are areas in which the United States falls short compared to our neighbors nationally. As Andreas Schleicher, a scientist with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development states, it is in our benefit to look “outside for ways to improve, questioning the established wisdom” (Ripley, 2016).
Constant controversy, immaturity at its finest, an American flag, a little blue birdy logo, a verified checkmark, more than 44 million followers, little elementary school arguments with Kim-Jong-un; the list goes on. If you are still unaware of what I am referring to, it is the twitter account of the current President of the United States (POTUS), Donald J. Trump. This man is one of the largest and most active gatekeepers in the realm of social media. Generally, one would assume information posted in a tweet from the POTUS would undoubtedly be accurate. How could that ever not be a reputable source? Why even bother to do some of your own research? Unfortunately, this is not the reality we live in; not everything presented to us through news, government or media is true and thus, everything you hear today requires a conduction of your own research prior to accepting anything as true. To be completely honest, if you did not know I was referring to the POTUS, you are probably in a much better position than his 44 million followers, as you have successfully managed to avoid one of the many gatekeepers/media outlets whose employed methods entail the plaguing that come with the concept post-truth politics. Though, you must keep in mind that is just one of the many outlets, as this concept is currently taking place all over the world. You, along with the rest of the population are essentially forcibly subjected to fake news every single day of your waking life whether you choose to believe it or not. On September 10, 2016, The Economist published an article titled “The Post Truth World: Yes, I’d lie to you.” The article claims the reality of the current political world; a reality The Economist suggests the general population is ignorant of. The article is severely opinionated and due to the multitude of reasons provided in support of their argument, many of which substantiated with an abundance of factual evidence, the authors were very convincing in their contention that post-truth politics are to be with us for many years to come unless changes are made immediately.
With landmark Supreme Court decisions in regards to education such as Brown v Board of Education, which made segregation within schools illegal, one would be inclined to believe that modern schools are void of any inequality. However, at a deeper glance, it is apparent that there is a glaring inequality within public school systems at the national, statewide, and even district-wide level. Such an inequality has drastic results as the education one receives has a high correlation to the college they will attend, and the job they will work. It is in society's best interest that public school systems be improved to equally supplement students with the tools necessary to succeed. While the public school system aims to reduce the inequality within it, they have proven ineffective in guaranteeing children of all races and economic classes an equal education.
Teachers shape the minds of students to realize what their purpose is in life. Lately, because of certain educational reforms, it has been hard for teachers to say what they need to say. “In 40-plus states, the math and English guidelines determine the knowledge students have to master by the end of each grade, what they’ll be tested on this year, and in many cases, how teachers and principals will be rated at their jobs once those test scores are released” (Strauss). Most educational reforms are adopting standardized testing and should be reconsidered. Statistics even show that since we have taken part in reforms like No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards math and reading are declining. These standards tell teachers what to teach and what the students should know by the end of the school year. The reforms also evaluate teacher performance by how well the students learn the information. Some people believe educational reforms should not be telling teachers how to teach their students, and others believe that the reforms are absolutely fine the way they are. However the truth is educational reforms are yet to be perfected.
Can you imagine a world in which parents were free to send their children to only the best schools, no matter which neighborhood they lived in? What if cost wasn’t a factor? Imagine if even a student in the poorest section of town had access to the best education. What could that child achieve? What would they become? How would their life change? Those questions that I asked lead now to the focus of the essay. The world we live in is ever so changing, with that the need for education also needs to be changing. No longer do classic public schools fit the job in all certain situations. That is why with school choice being a controversial issue in education reform, school choice public funds should be used to support school choice programs that offer parents alternatives to traditional public schools.
Education in the United States has always been a debatable topic, an issue that is constantly being discussed asking how can we improve the education system? A system that many believe is broken, a system that impacts students and teachers all around the country, however, it is a system that does not affect those who were fortunate enough to cause a drastic call for change. Overall, there are many issues and programs involving education, and if there were three that I would advocate for to improve teaching as a profession, it would be, improving the cultural diversity training, increasing teacher’s salaries, and adjusting the curriculum.
The other major headache that developed for me working at Griswold was the never-ending set of regulations from the state and Federal government which directly affected our curriculum and more importantly, the way in which we presented our lessons.
Children deserve to have a great education because they are the ones who are going to build our tomorrow. There are great schools in the United States that provide students with every resource and support system a student could possibly need available to them. However, those schools generally come at a great cost to tax payers and the federal government. Contrastingly, there are schools that do not provide students with the resources they need in order to be successful, and students are not meeting grade level expectations generally due to the lack of support. Failing schools are failing students and failing our future. Once a school is failing, it becomes difficult, almost impossible for the school to pull itself out of that hole. Without a solid education to provide a foundation, a child’s potential will most likely never come to fruition.