Should A Teacher Ever Get Fired?

Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers, a novel depicting success, provides different examples of how an individual can achieve success in every chapter of his book to show his audience that success, despite a variety of barriers, is in fact in our control. A very important chapter titled, “Marita's Bargain”, explains the flaws in today’s public school systems. He shows the problems with the solutions to fix them while showing the alternatives to the regular system such as the KIPP Program in New York. The KIPP Program (Knowledge is Power Program) is a new kind of middle school that selects students from less fortunate locations and uses unique teaching strategies to turn them around into fantastic learners. In the chapter, Gladwell is extremely descriptive by using visual words to paint the picture of the South Bronx in New York City. He describes the buildings that were built in the 1960’s as squat and bleak looking. Gladwell had an interest in this subject as it involves success, however he had no prior experiences to produce the piece. Gladwell establishes personal credibility through the use of knowledge, reason, and facts and figures. He comes across very knowledgeable on the subject presenting great data with excellent vocabulary. He is able to do this with no obvious bias as well. Gladwell shows authority because he is well known for writing novels that involve success. His intention is to teach and explain how schools need to change the length of vacation breaks

In the article “Fremont high school”, Jonathan Kozol describes how the inability to provide the needed funding and address the necessities of minority children is preventing students from functioning properly at school. He talks to Meriya, a student who expresses her disgust on the unequal consideration given to urban and suburban schools. She and her classmates undergo physical and personal embarrassments. Kozol states that the average ninth grade student reads at fourth or fifth grade level while a third read at third grade level or below. Although academic problems are the main factor for low grades, students deal with other factors every day. For example, School bathrooms are unsanitary, air condition does not work, classrooms have limited

Students were given the basic necessities in the intercity schools and the environment in the classes were in horrible conditions for students to be able to pay attention in a classroom. In the podcast “The Problem We All Live with” a reporter named Elisa Crouch followed a Normandy High School honor student and as she went into his AP English class she noticed the horrible environment where the class was being taught, Crouch informs “We went into AP English, and it’s held in a science lab. The classroom across the hall, where it should be held, smells like mildew and the ventilation system doesn’t work” (Podcast 2). The school facility in the Normandy School district was not in good conditions for students to be able to concentrate and learn while being in school. This harms the students because they aren’t given a healthy school facility where they spend most of their day. Marginalized students’ education is harmed in several communities and is not given the opportunity to have a well environment like the students in a rich community have. The intercity students were harmed by the way the school did not provide a well-being environment for them to be able to study and

In chapter 19 the author mentions Anne Fox Elementary School, a school in Chicago that goes from having a very poor academic performance in the entire school district of 21 other schools to becoming the second highest academically performing school in just a matter of few years. Anne Fox Elementary School is a great example of the magic that can take place when adults really see the full potential in children and take responsibility in making sure that the children's needs are met in terms of academics. Anne Fox Elementary School shows what can really take place when adults truly believe the idea that every child can succeed. By looking at where they were going wrong and targeting those problem areas Anne Fox Elementary School, created a timely, and organized way to make sure the meet their goals. From changing the false belief of I can’t to I can the elementary school really turned

In the writing Fremont High School by Jonathan Kozol he discusses the reality of urban schools and how they are unable to obtain the proper education. At Fremont High School children are not always able to eat during their lunch period, the proper education needed for college is not obtained, the school reflects institutional discrimination, and the building is overcrowded limiting course offerings for children.

Regardless of the mental attitude of individuals, poverty does affect the relation one has with his/her education. For example, low-income families often struggle obtaining materials

At Hazelwood High School, they do things differently than at my school. At Hazelwood, most of the people worry about themselves and nobody else. Most of the school doesn’t get good grades and the school does not do anything about it. One day in English class Andy walked out when they were reading Macbeth because it was too emotional for Andy to handle. His friends were concerned and told the school counselor. They said, “But… but… it seems like… like… he needs help or somethin’.” Then the counselor said, “Well, I probably shouldn’t tell you boys this, but he is getting some outside counseling… So you boys can relax and be assured that he is getting whatever help he needs”(100). At Harrisburg High School, if someone had an issue like that, the counselors and teachers would be concerned, even if the person was getting outside help. Another thing about education that is different than mine is the school. In Ronda’s English homework, she wrote, “Our school building must have been built about a million years ago, because it was brown and tall and raggedy-looking, but it fit right in with the rest of the day”(16). At my high school, we are very fortunate to have a very new building to learn inside of. At Hazelwood High, they were not fortunate enough to have a new high school be built. Culture and education are very important pieces of people’s

This demonstrates that if Sam’s school had got more funding then Sam may have received a proper education, and would have learned the intellectual skills that could help him to obtain a high paying job. Unlike many other people in richer parts of America who are able to achieve a lot in life due to their education, Sam’s lack of wealth ruins his future. Another example is one that hits closer to home- in terms of educational funding, the Illinois system is corrupt, and one of the districts that suffers most is that of Chicago Public Schools. In an interview with Ryan Young from CNN and an anonymous Chicago Public School teacher over the recent strike over budget cuts and the overall lack in school funding, the teacher states, “We care about the students. We want funding for our schools so our children can have supplies… gym, art, and PE., just like the kids in the suburbs do.” This is a direct representation of what is occurring in the Chicago Public School system today as a consequence of budget cuts and unequal funding. In general, the lack of school funding gives poorer children disadvantages when it comes to supplies that can help them to thrive. Also, budget cuts weaken the capacity of schools’ to develop the intelligence and creativity of the next generation of workers. In fact,, funding cuts lessen the ability of the schools to help prepare children better for their future, such as improving teacher

This schooling occurs close to three quarters of the course of the year, for twelve years and maybe even more. He calls this routine “deadly,” and the schools in which this is occurring are “forced confinement” and “virtual factories of childishness.” Children are told when they are going to do something, they receive a schedule made for them and must go to them at the assigned time, usually at the sound of the bell. The schools themselves “all too often resemble prisons.” This abrupt truth makes people realize that getting an education would be difficult to do, considering the teachers closely resemble the boring and controlled environment, the students must learn in. These factories where children are “shaped and fashioned” into a product of society’s “specifications.” This negative tone and views really allows the reader to see that school environments are not beneficial to everyone and can be quite negative.

Schools frequently cite a variety of social problems like poverty, broken homes, and bad parenting as excuses for their own poor performance (Greene, 289). In the article of The Myth of Helplessness it touches on a few reasons why it is believed that some schools have great reviews and others don’t. Greene talks about what others believe helps the school systems and what is believed that causes students to fail in school. I agree with author Jay P. Greene that, yes poverty, broken homes and other social problems pose a significant challenge but the evidence simply does not leave room for the conclusion that these challenges are insurmountable (290).

(Wagstaff 2002, p.97). Students may be socio-economically disadvantaged and the teachers must remember that poverty is in no way a deficit; merely that they may not have the same level of resources or exposure to educational experiences as more advantaged students (Groundwater-Smith,S., Le Cornu, R. & Ewing, R

I am aware that there are better and worse high schools out there than Fremont High School. And yet, reading Kozol's account of the terrible conditions that are endured by these students made me feel more aware of the severity of improper or inadequate education that poorly funded schools provide. All of these problems, alongside my awareness of my fortunate years of education, make me wonder, just as Mireya did, as to why, "...[students] who need it so much more get so much less?" (Kozol 648). Interestingly, I have little to comment on Kozol's actual writing style, even though he wrote this account of his. I was just so attached to the characters within that school that I wanted to be able to reach out somehow; Kozol definitely achieved something very touching here.

The experiment started when Karen Lott, the principal of Brennan-Rogers, chose to extend the school day by an hour and 25 minutes. Her reason, she wanted to close the gap between her low performing school and the neighboring high performing schools. The result, Brennan-Rogers School had exhausted teachers and students and the same test results. The question that begged for an answer was why would a principal extend a school day to bring up test scores? In 2010 the Katherine Brennan School merged with other neighboring schools due to federal funding. This merge brought together a low income school with high income schools. The result was devastating for the children. Student behavior was out of control, a student set another student’s hair on fire (Bailey, 2014). Behavior was determined as the cause of low test scores. Only 12 percent of third graders met state reading goals compared to the 57 percent met by the district.

“Rearden was the opposite of the rez”(56). This evidence shows how all schools educate students differently. Rearden had a great education which is why Mr. P wanted Junior to go to Rearden so he could be more successful with is education because he is so intelligent. Mr. P saw potential in Junior and thinks he can go far. In comparison, the reservation school was not as nice nor as good of an education. They did not have a lot of funding for the school because it is in an area of poverty for example, the books at the reservation were so old that they were same books that Junior’s mother

access had not led to equal achievement. Imagine an elementary school where all teachers are able to differentiate their students’ lessons daily in order to meet their individual learning needs; that would be a school where all students would be making academic gains in all subject areas. However, the truth of the matter is there is not enough time for one teacher to make individual lesson plans for each child in her classroom. As a result, students in the same classroom receive the same lesson even if they are three grade levels behind. The reality is, not all students are at the same level and although teachers do their best to close the achievement gaps, by the time some of these students get to the third grade, the gaps are often much wider. The gap seems to be continuously growing. Students entering the third grade have gaps that range from kindergarten skills, where they are unable to pronounce letters, to second grade skills where they cannot comprehend what they are reading. The ideal state would be having all students ready to enter kindergarten.