Stop Stealing Dreams: On The Future Of Education

Getting an education is an important part of every child and teenager’s life, but not all get the same type of education. In Jean Anyon’s essay “From Social Class And The Hidden Curriculum Of Work”, she explains and talks about the four levels of education. According to Jean Anyon, the four levels of education are the Working-Class School, Middle-Class School, Affluent Professional School, and Executive Elite School. From my experience, I attended a working-class school named Santa Ana High School located in a low income and high crime neighborhood of the city of Santa Ana, CA. In the author’s words, a working-class school is, “A school for students with parents with low income jobs, and with an income at or below $12,000”(Anyon 138). I believe got a working-class education because we rarely used the textbooks in class, learned through common core, and taught an education from average standard courses. Also, I believe I attended a working-class school because my high school education just taught me the basic skills of attaining a minimum wage job, whereas in professional school, or elite school students are taught knowledge and skills that lead to higher wage jobs. My experience relates to author Jean Anyon’s essay because I felt the working-class school category matched my high school education. For example, in the essay she states, “In working-class schools, work is following the steps of a procedure. The procedure is usually mechanical, involving rote behavior and very little decision making or choice”(Anyon 140). Author Jean Anyon also states, “Available textbooks are not always used, and the teachers often prepare their own dittos or put work examples on the board”(Anyon 140). Both of these examples from the essay relate to my high school education because we would often do assignments created by the teacher rather than do assignments provided by the school textbooks. From my high school education, I received a working-class education because although we did have new buildings, new technology, and a clean school campus, the high school was located in a low income, and dangerous neighborhood, and students received an education from average standard courses. In my opinion, I received a working-class

All Students, Regardless of Social Status, Race, Gender, or Minority, Have Equal Opportunity to Pursue a High Quality Education

By the beginning of the second Millennium, many countries realized the need and necessity to cope up with the rest of the rapidly developing world. As they realized this necessity, they also realized that the key to growth and development is, indeed, education. As a result, many countries around the world entered the heated race of reforming their education systems hoping that this would ensure them a foothold in the modern world.

The American Education System is not meeting the needs of current students. If anything, the system is not building a sturdy foundation for the future working class. Schools have existed for many years and every period they have worked differently. However, every school’s main purpose was to educate students to be efficacious later in life. Modern day schools are corrupting students with added pressure, standardized tests, making less accommodations for special education students, not following laws, and take away individualism from the students’. The students of modern times are the people of our future and the future does not look too bright with the current American Education System.

Over the last 25 years many policies have been introduced in education. Some critic’s say that an education market has been created but others disagree and say that the policies have helped create equality of opportunity.

The public school system of America is the driving force of the nation’s job market. There is a direct correlation between the nation’s job market and the nation’s economic opulence. Despite education being at an all-time high for tax dollars spent, the heightened accessibility of schools across the country, and continuation of schooling after high school more than ever, the public school system of the United States continues to pump out insufficient workers to the work force. For almost two hundred years, the citizens of America have held a belief that going through the school system will be the necessary element to the life one wants to live in America. Over the years, schooling emitted a false hope that made job assurance possible. Fifty

“The antiquated educational model our schools stubbornly cling to was designed well over a century ago to meet the demands of an emerging industrial economy”(Mercogliano, 2005, p.2). In his article,

The idea of education has advanced throughout history, constantly shifting by societal ideals and human evolvement. This change is especially prominent during the 1800s and continues to alter to this very day with education policies. Public education first began during the Industrial Revolution. During this crucial time in history, many children were required to get an education in order to learn the trades of the growing economy and business as opposed to getting hurt in from hazardous machinery. These skills were limited reading, writing, and math. Ultimately, from this concept, public education was founded and from then, our society has grown into a well-educated community in which every individual has a role into making an impressive,

The education system has been the cornerstone of freedom and equity for economic success in The United States. However, the history of education has never been so crucial to the collective future of our nation and to the young people. The public schools must struggle to provide equality in educational system as never before. The demand for education has become necessary and growing to provide education for all students to comply with the rigorous academic standards on a global scale (Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., Farrie, D. (2010, p. 1).

Preparing America for Middle-Skill Work is a short interview with Anthony Carnevale. Anthony Carnevale is the Executive Director of Georgetown 's Center on Education and is considered a "workforce guru". The article delves into the perceived shortage of middle skill workers, both now and in the future. Carnevale discusses the need for a new "paradigm" of education and what the United States can do to fill this ever-increasing need.

Education, “is a prerequisite not only for individual educational success but for upward mobility both socially and economically.” (Reardon 18) Reardon demonstrates the importance of national education, “much of the growth in the economy in recent decades has been in areas requiring moderate to high-level literacy skills, economic growth in the United States relies increasingly on the literacy skills of the labor force.” With the increasing demand for workers with college degrees, American companies may have to look elsewhere for capable workers. In Flannery’s article Ann Shadwick, a NEA delegate, explains that “American employers should not need to import qualified, college-educated employees from other countries. Students here should get what they need to be employable, and their teachers—from K12 onward—should have needed resources and training, especially in technology.” Shadwick brings up a good point, teachers need to be qualified to teach and prepare their students for the

Mantsios’ article explores the idea that there is a hidden curriculum in lower class schools that causes the working class to remain in the working class due to their education. He provides a great statistical chart that shows students who were from wealthier families scored significantly higher than students who were from lower class families. Anyon’s “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” directly relates to this. Anyon’s goal was to discover that hidden curriculum that Mantsios talks about. Anyon studied schools and found that the working class schools focused on explanations as

The author starts by introducing the context of his work as the goal of most secondary schooling students: a job after college in a shaky economy. He goes on to note that when parents guide their children through

Bowles and Gintis felt it was important to write this article, because they believe that the politics of education are better understood in terms of the need for social control in an unequal and rapidly changing economic order. This point is illustrated on page 396 when the authors say, “The unequal

The education sector plays a pivotal role in supplying trained and credentialed candidates to the global labour market. This role will amplify in importance as the demand for medium to high skill workers rises.