Project Classroom Makeover By Cathy Davidson Essay

The American educational system is based on the traditional, nine-month school calendar, which has been in place for over a century. Originally, the United States was an agrarian society. The majority of Americans lived on farms. People made most of the items that they needed, and with little trade necessary, there was no need for schooling (McLain, 1973). However, as people branched out into neighboring areas, they needed to learn new skills, such as basic arithmetic to price items, measure land, and more (McLain, 1973). As a result, it became the responsibility of those who were less needed on the farm or in the factory to acquire knowledge for the family (McLain, 1973).

There was a time when America’s education system was top-notch according to the culture and society. With time, a myriad of things has changed, but unfortunately what has not evolved is the American education system. The country is still following a system which was not designed for the current global economic climate. Equality, as positive as it sounds is not as sufficient when it comes to education. The system treats students equally yet expect a similar culmination and outcome. Every child has his individuality and distinct abilities; one cannot judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Conversely, a few of the prominent reasons why the education system is failing are overcrowded schools, the rise of technology, and following the same old school hours.

America used to thrive on its education system and that is why it became one of the greatest nations in the world. Education is the backbone of our country, and we must give high priority to improve its current condition. Unfortunately, in the past couple of decades, the education system has been regressing. It has been on the decline and not as effective. The quality of education in a country has an influence on GDP growth, social cohesion and social well being in general. In order to improve the quality of education in the U.S., the following must be taken into consideration: the structure of our education system must be reanalyzed, we must compare and contrast our education system to systems of other countries with higher rankings, and finally, there must be a solution.

The author proves how our present school system is based on an old-fashioned model designed for students who would finally work in factories. Provided that simple abilities to young pupils might have been enough by the turn of the 21st century, but it is absolutely not satisfactory in the 21st. The several and cumulative things of a broader base of knowledge and rapidly proceeding technologies need extension of access to education and overhaul of curricula, teaching styles, and learning assessments. Darling-Hammond discovers imaginative changes in Finland, South Korea, Singapore, and other places that have kept up with the rising needs for educating school children. She poignantly shows how California pales in comparison to these places.

The United States of America used to be known as one of the greatest countries to be apart of. From the jobs to the economy to education people loved to be apart of the American culture. The problem many Americans are facing today is poor education. Since America is viewed as a high profile country many people have prominent expectations on what they are receiving, specifically the education. The fact is that there are major problems with all levels of the education system today. Starting with early education, teachers are quick to say children needs to be medicated or put into special education. Proceeding to the general or high school education where kids are graduating but not prepared for what’s after. Lastly how higher education or college can hardly be afforded in today’s society. As a result of the failing education system, many parents blame the child or society when in actuality the failing system is corrupted by some teachers, lack of preparation, and lack of affordability in higher education.

Advanced technology and forms of communication have changed the way we look at our nation. The current political climate and the cultural movement that is happening in our nation is going to go down in history as a revolution. A revolution where news headlines are instantaneously on our phone screens, and thanks to our advanced technology, a whole world of information is a few clicks away. However, despite these advancements in technology, the cultural change in America is often slowed down because there is a general lack of education. In America, education is the one, if not the biggest barriers that economically and institutionally suppress an overwhelming amount of the nation’s adults. Majority of adults in America do not have basic reading and writing skills yet education is still not a priority in America. There is a crucial need for education in America, now more than ever. In my opinion, the only reason for the current political climate in America is the lack of education that brings basic awareness. The solution to what we are witnessing as a nation is an education that makes individuals aware of the reality of our circumstances and allows them to see a perspective from multiple points of views. In this paper, I will present my argument on why education should be made a priority in America.

In all three texts, “Project Classroom Makeover,” “Biographies of Hegemony,” and “An Army of One: Me,” the authors, Cathy Davidson, Karen Ho, Jean Twenge, respectively, explore different ideas of “the Self.” They defined and expanded what it meant to be an individual through curiosity. How was the “Self” developed? What were the main factors of a more “self-celebrated” society? Why are aspects of narcissism seen more and more today? These answers were discovered when the idea of “self-focus” was introduced into society. As self-focus became prevalent in everyday normalities the individual expanded into something more than the simple dichotomy of “you” and “I,” it became a purpose for life. The evolution of humanity created a world where

In the farming society of the early 1800’s, education was not possible for many children. Horace Mann, a farm boy himself and an early advocate for educational reform, saw the deficiencies in the educational system. He pushed for “common schools” that would retain local control, be co-educational and revolve around the agricultural year. Mann’s ideas began to be adopted around the country in the second half of the nineteenth century. By the start of the twentieth century, mandatory public schooling was the norm. This was the height of the industrial revolution. As Davidson notes in “Project Classroom Makeover”, “Public Education was seen as the most efficient way to train potential workers for labor in the newly urbanized factories (197).” Schools began to work like an assembly line with a focus on efficiency, attention to detail, memorization of facts and staying on task. Curriculum became standardized and states began to replace the local management of education. Critically thinking outside the box was less valued. Regardless of ability, children started school at the same age and were moved through their education in a regulated process.

Over the past (almost) hundred years, society and education have both changed drastically. Typically, the things that have happened in history, such as wars, technological advances, and changes in culture, changed education as a result. Some of these changes include popular culture in the 1920s, economic factors in the 1930s, military intervention in the 1940s, Sputnik in the 1950s, and racial issues in the 1960s. One theme of education is that it has gradually become more important over the years. Before high school diplomas could be rare, and today most high school graduates go to college in the United States.

The United States is shaped by its cultural myths. Cultural myths are widespread views or notions that are held and propagated by a nation to enforce its values. Among the great American cultural myths is the cultural myth of “educational empowerment” (Mann 110). It is the idea that the quantity of schooling is the yardstick of intelligence and the singular predictor of success. The notion that children fed into the machinery of education at an early age will be extruded further along the process equally and efficiently educated. However, like all cultural myths it is misleading, if not outright false. Problems in education throughout American history have made access to a good education difficult, if not

Ever since its inception, human civilization has been run by a pecking order; a small group of elitists on the top of the chain of command dictate the social norms for the remaining individuals on the antithetical end of the spectrum. Individuals with traits outside these norms are ostracized and looked down upon by the hierarchy. Cathy Davidson’s, Project Classroom Makeover, promotes the use of customization in the education system to accommodate every students’ learning habits over the current use of standardization and curriculum based teachings. On the other hand, Karen Ho’s, Biographies of Hegemony, is about how one’s environment is engineered by institutions, which in turn establish hierarchies who set standards for society. However, Son by Andrew Solomon describes how horizontal identities, traits influenced by peer groups that separate individuals from their families, are seen as abnormalities and those with such identities are on the bottom of the said hierarchy. Based on Davidson’s, Solomon’s, and Ho’s works, individualism does into question because society forces individuals to conform to the standardized norm in which they are not allowed to have unique identities.

Education has been the subject of some of the most heated discussions in American history. It is a key point in political platforms. It has been subject to countless attempts at reform, most recently No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Ardent supporters of institutional schools say that schools provide access to quality education that will allow the youth of our country to gain necessary skills to succeed in life. Critics take a far more cynical view. The book Rereading America poses the question, “Does education empower us? Or does it stifle personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds?” The authors of this question miss a key distinction between education and schooling that leaves the answer far from clear-cut. While education empowers, the one-size-fits-all compulsory delivery system is stifling personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds.

As society advances and the boundary between people becomes seemingly less apparent, many individuals attempt to promote various plans based on the concept of equality. Anyhow, many so-called egalitarian plans would inevitably result in failure because their proponents blindly believe in the efficiency of equality. They neglect how people are motivated to improve and to test their limits by their instinct to compete. In her writing “Project Classroom Makeover”, Cathy Davidson proposes egalitarian plans consist of a “democratization of knowledge” (54) which depends on crowdsourcing and “working together collectively” (51). In Davidson’s perspective, problems will be solved by allowing everyone the equal opportunity to express themselves. However, Karen Ho’s research directly shows the impracticality of her plans by explicitly revealing the existence of hierarchy in her writing, “Biographies of Hegemony”. As shown by Ho’s research, no matter how alluring Davidson’s plans seem, they will not come about. Because Davidson’s idealistic plans disregard human beings’ instinct to strive and fight for what they valued. Such egalitarian plans will not be executed with hierarchy deeply rooted in our society, results precisely from human’s desire to compete with each other.

According to Ken Robinson, the current education system has yet to adapt to the modern world and it’s different modes of thinking, creating a stand still in curriculum success that is in desperate need of reform. After explaining how countries around the world want to reform education and carry on legacies, Robinson makes the case that our current education system is out dated. The current system was established during the 18th century during the Industrial Revolution, which was based largely on agricultural and urban advancements. As Robinson mentions, every community wants their children to be prepared for the current economic opportunities and carry a cultural legacy, but that’s hard to do when our current system isn’t cohesive to today’s circumstances. “People are trying to work out how we educate our children to their place in the economies of the 21st century.” (Robinson, RSAnimate)

In colonial America, the majority of teachers were men. In the 1830s, Common School started. This is considered the precursor for today’s public school. This method was proposed by education reformer Horace Mann. Instead of being funded by the church, schools using this method were funded by taxes. They instilled a common and social philosophy of