The Benefits Of Hotchkiss And Saint Paul's School

When people hear the term “Ivy League school”, they oftentimes think of a prestigious, high ranked college where extremely intelligent, well-rounded individuals go to shape themselves into an efficient member of society. However, a piece published by William Deresiewicz called “Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy League” does exactly the opposite, as Deresiewicz, a former 8 year Yale professor, criticizes Ivy League schools for being too constricting and not allowing their students to be themselves and come out to be a well-rounded efficient member of society. Deresiewicz is an award winning essayist and critic, as well as a frequent college speaker, and the best selling author of the 2014 novel “Excellent Sheep,” which also criticizes the roles of major Ivy League schools relating to American society. The main theme of “Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy League” is to convey the message to parents that contrary to popular belief, Ivy League schools do not always create perfect, well rounded individuals, and Deresiewicz uses his years of experience at Yale and the years he attended Columbia to back up his claims that sending away your kids to the Ivy League is not always the best choice.

The inequality of education in the United States is a pressing societal issue that has been the main catalyst for the division between the social classes. Education is a public good, and thus if it used by one consumer then it will not reduce the availability to another consumer. Education can also be considered the largest single factor in determining a person’s success and quality of life in society today.

Imagine a world where parents freely send their children to only the best schools, no matter which neighborhood they lived in? Imagine a world where cost affected nothing? Imagine if even a student in the poorest section of town got allowed access to the best education. What could that child achieve? What would they become? How would their life change? Those questions that I asked now lead to the focus of the essay. The world we live in is ever so changing, with that the need for education also needs a changing. No longer classic public schools fit the job in all specific situations. This leads to 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.

“It seems to me that education has a two-fold function in the life of man and in society: the one is utility and the other is culture” (King, 1947).

Almost all the family incomes are over $100,000...The incomes in this school represent less than 1 percent of the families in the United States,” (256) compared to working-class families who earn incomes “at or below $12,000” (256). Anyon presents these examples to compare the backgrounds of each school and uses this as logos to persuasively reason her claim that quality of education is offered to people who can afford it. Public schools that working-class and middle-class families can afford do not offer the same education private schools that upper-class and capitalist families can afford. Wealthy children who are privileged get an advantage early on in their education career because they are able to afford better quality teachers and lessons. This varied quality of education found in curriculums is what creates the unequal divide between educated individuals in different social classes. An audience of scholars and teachers would be persuaded by this claim because Anyon’s data transparently shows the uneven distribution of resources and opportunity found in the social class schools.

Education…beyond all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer of the conditions of men—the balance wheel of the social machinery. I do not here mean that it so elevates the moral nature as to make men disdain and abhor the oppression of their fellow men…But I mean that it gives each man the independence and the means by which he can resist the selfishness of other men. It does better than to disarm the poor of their hostility toward the rich: it prevents being poor. –Horace Mann, 1848

These singular pieces must match and intertwine to create a scenic picture. Individuals must realize that they are part of something bigger than themselves, for the wellbeing of society. Education, along with a diploma, is physical proof that you can succeed in your profession as a functional being, fitting perfectly in an operative society. Moreover, with education, the idea of a good society will be further enforced. A good society as defined by Draper and Ramsay (6), is a society that can prosper by giving its citizens basic physical rights such as security and health. Furthermore, a good society should lend its citizens a political voice and give its people access to education that will help they make their own conclusions. To emphasize the last point, the essay states, “People who are illiterate are said to be ‘blind’”, which is an interesting allusion to Plato’s allegory. By stressing individualism through

In general, the article is about the link between the inheritable privilege and education in the United States. The privilege is heritable from parents to their kids not only in wealth but also in intellect. Children who were born in the conditional family with higher parental income are more likely to succeed in school and get better jobs. In addition, the author talks more about the meritocracy and what parents do and how to spend money for their children to help them succeed in school. Furthermore, genes are not the main factor that decides the intelligence of people, but money plays an important role. In the article, the author also gives the solutions and suggests the ideas in order to solve the problems.

Throughout the world, social classes tend to separate people into groups. Everything depends on a person’s experience with wealth and power. Therefore, the levels of education determine the value of a person. In the articles, “Blue-Collar Brilliance” and “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s” by Rose and Staples, they go in depth about how education and wealth plays a significant role in today’s society.

Knowing human nature, there is likely to be a case in which one would look for ways to benefit themselves when they provide help to another. It might seem farfetched, but education has a direct connection to the wealth in society because access to education is one way of eradication poverty. In a newspaper article regarding a funding debate, it asks,”imagine a world without innovation/ The best ideas emanate from thoughtful research, discipline and teamwork. They are built on successes and failures of the past (“Without access to education … WEALTH Disappears”). One cannot indulge through his or her property without a strong cibil system. Wealth and cil systems will always be passed down through generations. It is important to educate children about such systems to not only increase civic engagement but prevent poor events of the past from reoccurring. In a sense, the world will always be advancing technologically and other ways. Education will end up bringing people together to come up with resolutions to problems. Prioritizing in an education system will determine the outcome on students. In an editorial news service, “studies show that although the concept of quality of education is still contentious, it is clear that good quality education facilitates the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes that have intrinsic value and

People are told that getting an education will make them successful in life. That is not the case. Jean Anyon conducted a study on the four different schools in different social-class. In the article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” Jean Anyon states, “In the two working-class schools, work is following the steps of a procedure. The teacher rarely explains why the work is being assigned and how it might connect to other assignments” (2). Students are not taught to think for themselves. They are taught to follow their parent’s footsteps into the work force as very low skilled workers. Compared to the students in the capitalist class where they are taught to use their own knowledge and reason to solve problems. The students in the executive elite schools are given a better chance in succeeding in life.

As a society, we mainly focus on short term benefits and don’t acknowledge all the benefits which higher education will bring over the course of one’s life. In conclusion, education brings about positive changes among individuals, society, nations and the world as a whole. Benefits of education cannot be justified until one goes through it. The world without education would be a world in a state of turmoil. Hence, to be successful in this life, one must enhance their skills and knowledge through the virtue of

The rich people have the money to splurge and they can still maintain a luxurious lifestyle. In the text titled Who Rules America?, Domhoff outlines the opportunities and lifestyle of the upper class. He explains economic inequality through the descriptions of the rich and their actions. As said in the text, “American upper class…unique style of life” (p.253). The kids of the rich attend private schools and receive unconditional treatment to maximize their success. From private tutors to boarding schools, the parents spend money like it is nothing. Meanwhile, offspring’s of the poor attend public schools and do not have the means for extracurricular activities or enrichment programs. The author continues to mention the benefits that the children receive by attending the private institutions and forming alliances in these schools that creates a social circle for the future. As said in the text, “this private system benefits primarily the upper class and provides...networks that will be with them throughout their lives” (p.255). The implications of their children attending private schools is that these children get a better learning experience for their future and will be well prepared. They will be qualified for embracing the world compared to the children of the poor, who received only public education. This form of economic inequality puts the poor at a disadvantage and hinders the success of their

“We’re still incredibly segregated by race and class. Our funding formulas are often regressive and inadequate. Schools serving mostly poor students don’t have nearly the resources of those serving rich students” (Singer 1). We still have immense problems that we can work on, but at least we have a problem fixed that other countries haven’t even tried to address. In the end, school is supposed to do more than educate the next batch of geniuses. The purpose of school is supposed to educate the entire next generation so that they all can move on to improving our future. We should give all students a chance. Anyone can complain and rant on about the US educational system, how it doesn’t have the funding, the interest or the passion that other countries do. But at least the problems it has can be fixed. An economically segregated or sexist school can’t be fixed without starting over, which is a lesson our neighbors in Europe and beyond should

The affluent become educated because it is expected of them in order to maintain their wealth and power. However, those who come from blue-collared families are uninspired by both their milieus and the normalities placed by the American government concerning education. The set of standards the government goes by currently doesn’t allow for academic growth, especially when concerning children who are attending