Summary: Rhetorical Analysis Of Michael Moore's Idiot Nation

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.

In Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, he focuses on the harm global warming does to our planet. He wants to persuade people that global warming is real, and that they should contribute to the effort of slowing, even completely stopping, global warming.

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.

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.

The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.

In a progressively more globalized world that necessitates more effective educational practices, the U.S., once the biggest global force in education, has seen its dominance slowly slip out, and its educational status fall even lower than that of several third-world countries. The decline experienced in American school system academic achievement is not as a result of lack of funding, but as a consequence of the overall educational system watering down. According to Gatto, educating children through the existing public school system of America is crippling rather than helping them. From his essay, ‘Against School,’ it is established that the goal of the whole public school system is to limit people’s intelligence in an attempt to create a society that is manageable. Gatto continues to state that action is needed to change this situation. He supports his assertions using current and historical information about the American school system and his personal experience. After reading his article, one realizes that most of Gatto’s arguments are true. It is true that the American education system is making the students comfort to the government and society norms, which is why they are easily bored. This essay’s goal will, therefore, be to support John Gatto’s beliefs.

Bageant illustrates with statistics on American’s illiteracy. In Bageant view he believes that a majority of white working-class and poor Americans voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004 because they were stupid. Many books such as Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, and Jim Goad’s The Redneck Manifesto all clarify the position of an overlooked cultural group. If someone reads the book and they or their family belongs to the social class or cultural group described by Bagenal, they will recognize the values and experiences that he describes. They will understand his explanation of the sources of values and his defense of the people who live these lives. If someone reads this book and they don’t belong in the group that Bageant describes, they will learn about the people they know little to nothing about. Bageant explains the stereotypes and their basis in reality, he also explains why people behave and think this way, what in their history na present experiences lead them to these beliefs and behaviors, and what they gain from continuing in these habits. Bageant has a way with words and with humor. Although he states the struggles of many Americans he doesn't provide everyone practical suggestion for improving the lives of working men and women. Since he is from Winchester, VA and this book is about the

Moreover, Baldwin implements a paradox where he addresses the contradiction of American education as one having to think for oneself and create your own ideals while still having to conform to the ideals being taught at school in order to demonstrate that the educational system is faulty and it must be changed; so all people can establish their own interpretation of the world to change the identity of society. In his article, James addresses the paradox of education by stating, “Now the crucial paradox which confronts us here is that the whole process of education occurs within a social framework and is designed to perpetuate the aims of society.” Baldwin acknowledges the structure of which education is correlated to meet the fixed setup of society in order to show the readers that the educational system is faulty. Baldwin then outlines the contradictory side of the paradox when he states, “The paradox of education is precisely this- that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.” He demonstrates that the educational system revolves around the establishment of a fixed society in order to

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

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.

I personally support Jonathan Jacobs’ stand on the failing education system although it is not entirely the education system’s responsibility that the students are not ready for the world as there are several other factors that impact the readiness of individuals for the real world. Parents are also responsible of teaching their children about these non-esoteric and general skills that they need to be successful. This failure starts early in high school; students are valuing more their grades than learning; they are neglecting the fact that the knowledge being taught by instructors is necessary to understand. Students should be enforced to analyze information, connect it to the real world and apply the knowledge learned; otherwise the unpreparedness

In “Idiot Nation,” Michael Moore discourses on the collapse of American education system and the three main reasons behind it: politicians’ ignorance, shortage of teachers, and the rise of Corporate America. Moore first points out how ignorant the President and politicians are by stating that the President cannot simply identify whether Africa is a nation or a continent. Next, Moore attributes the lack of funding in education to the fact that politicians prefer to build bomber than to improve our education system; this leads to shortage of resources, overpopulated classrooms, and decrease of books available for students. He then notes that the low salaries of teachers, which are caused by the insufficient funding of education, result in

While Moore makes all of these topics entertaining to read, nothing overshadows or gets in the way of his central topic on how the government and America as a whole treats and regards the plundering education system. He lists numerous studies and statistics that show why the current educational system is failing and gives many examples of how government officials disregard the needs of teachers and school districts. He also notes how society itself seems like it is against educators of all levels. Moore really tries to use all of the firepower he can in order to make his points heard and well-known among all those who read the essay.

In political debates, mainstream news reporting, and traveling political speaking events, politicians speak of a variety of hot topic agenda items; unfortunately, education is typically not one of the focal points. No matter the importance of education for children and no matter the political candidates’ point of view, it seems to be shadowed by a variety of other political agenda items. Nonetheless, each candidate has a point of view and some history of education policy impact.