The Boy Who Played With Fusion Book Review

Davidson Institute for Talent Development. (2003).Tips for Teachers: Successful strategies for teaching gifted learners. Retrieved from http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10075.aspx

Graff starts out his work, hooking the audience, by saying what multiple students think about their school, that schools are making mistakes teaching us the things they do. Graff essentially calls out schools for the pickle that they have put their students in. Graff describes some curriculum, using Plato, Shakespeare, the French Revolution and Nuclear fission as examples of the mind-numbing topics that schools teach about. Graff then brings up topics, such as Cars, Dating, Fashion, Sports, TV, and Video Games, that many kids today enjoy talking about and discussing with one another. Graff emphasizes that despite the lack of “connection… established between any text or subject and the educational depth and weight of the discussion it can generate,” schools continue to assume that there is a connection (par. 3).

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

With these reasons in mind, many parents do not want this book involved in their children’s schooling and they do not want it to be available in the school’s library. “Parents in cities as geographically dispersed as Las Vegas, Nevada,

Students today undergo constant pressure for perfection, going through extreme efforts to meet this expectation. Alexandra Robbins, an investigative journalist and author of The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids, views modern educational culture as a danger to students because it advocates productivity over learning. On the other hand, Jay Mathews of the Washington Post believes that students today are more apathetic than stressed. Robbins perception of today’s schools is more accurate than Mathews’, for students cheat to appear smarter, burden themselves with grueling schedules to impress colleges, and develop mental disorders as a result.

At first, Eubank did not believe her son when he complained about his mean teacher. The staff at the school suggested at her son should take medication because he was not concentrating on class. She took him to get an evaluation at Baylor University, but he was fine. After visiting the school, her eyes were opened by a student who was classmates with her son. Jessica Kelmon, an author for greatschools.org, writes that “the teacher would regularly humiliate him in front of the other students, yelling at him and slamming her hand on his desk (Kelmon).” This fourth-grade teacher is an example as to how much a teacher’s attitude toward the students affects their excitement to learn. When a student is being treated poorly by a teacher, an interesting subject can be ruined for that student.

Activities and discussions on the book or books being read, depending on whether or not the children got to choose all of their books, would occur throughout the day. For many people, the problem with Gow’s proposition arises when the fact that math, science, geography, social studies, and history would be completely cut out of the curriculum. In spite of the large number of people who back this claim, it’s a simple misconception. Children could, and, if they were interested in the subjects, would, choose books on one or more of those topics. Moreover, the presence of maths, sciences, and social studies in a fourth grader’s education may not be as significant as some people make it out to

At the start of 2016’s new school year, approximately 60.4 million children will attend public elementary and secondary schools in America (National Centre for Education Statistics, 26 July 2007. Web). With so many children going through compulsory education every year, it is important to ask questions about the purpose, structure and success of the education system, so people can be made aware of areas that may need improvement. John Gatto is a teacher and author in America who argues that the education system here is not designed to educate its students like most people assume, but instead, to keep them in line and maintain the current social hierarchy. He begins his article, ‘Against School’, by recounting his time as a school teacher in Manhattan, explaining that the students and teachers always seem to be bored. He asserts that boredom is a symptom of childishness and that the reason students act this way is because schools are designed to prevent children from maturing and growing up. Schools do this to make sure students grow into predictable and easy to manipulate adults. It is clear from the amount of supporting evidence John Gatto is correct; the school system exists to create a conformist obedient population and it does so by reducing creativity, over medicating children, and dividing students in order to maintain class hierarchy.

In “How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading,” “Fremont High School,” and “College Pressures,” by John Holt, Jonathan Kozol, and William Zinsser, respectively, many educational problems that were formed from as early as the 1900’s were addressed in their writings. Although the authors of these pieces touch on different, specific flaws in the school system, the authors are all making a similar statement of how schools have the potential to obstruct a student’s learning capabilities through ineffective rules and regulations which only adds pressure and stress on its students. John Holt’s main argument in “How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading” mentions how students do not have the opportunity to learn at their own pace, rather they are forced to undergo a certain style of learning. A prime example of this is how students are forced to understand everything they read - ”Every chapter was followed by close questioning and testing to make sure the students "understood. " Holt then questions if these actions are necessary in educating students.

Professor, Mike Rose reflects on his high school teacher, Jack McFarland, stating “He tapped my old interest in reading and creating stories. He gave me a way to feel special by using my mind” ( ). Rose implies that school before meeting Mr.McFarland had sucked the life out of an activity such as reading. This is not just with Rose, there are many high schoolers that would say that they do not read anymore. Ironically, schools are supposed to instill the exact opposite of that. Suli Breaks identifies that “If education is the key, then school is the lock”. It does not have to be that way, education is the key to success in which case for most it is sought through school. Education and school are interrelated and are meant to help everyone and therefore should not be about “regurgitating facts…[but about] inspiring one's mind” (Suli breaks) . Benjamin Franklin once said, “tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”. Accordingly, schools must adapt to the children’s learning styles and involve them in everything so that they feel like they are learning. Grades can be positive if the students are able to understand and have a take away message from each

Throughout this year, we have read two books, 50 Myths & Lies That Threaten America’s Public Schools and Schooled: Ordinary, Extraordinary Teaching in an Age of Change, as well as several different articles spanning various topics regarding school and its purpose in society. We learned that each of us in class have had unique school experiences, whether we went to a public, private, charter, or home school. Each of our unique experiences have allowed us to share our personal encounters with school, both positive and negative. Through these readings we learned about how each of us has a stake in schools. We depend on one another to be educated enough to make important decisions, for example critically analyzing candidates and their platforms when deciding to vote. If I could suggest any three of our readings to a high school teacher, a parent, and to a fellow student, they would be the Postman and Weingartner section from Teaching as a Subversive Activity, Why Wrong is not Always Bad by Alina Tugend, and College is not a commodity. Stop treating it like one. by Rawlings, respectively. These articles stood out to me as the most informative as well as the most relative to many of the issues we see today.

A student who isn’t as mature as another may misinterpret the meaning of subject resulting in inappropriate thoughts or behavior while other students may not think or view the subject the same. “After publishing The Seventh Wish, Messner received several messages from librarians and parents concerned about the topics her book dealt with. One elementary-school librarian explained why she wouldn’t share Messner’s book with her students. “For now,” the librarian said, “I just need the 10 and 11-year-olds biggest worry to be about friendships, summer camps, and maybe their first pimple or two.” Messner responded by emphasizing a broader obligation that parents, teachers, writers, and publishers all share.

“The child soon learns not to ask questions - the teacher is not there to satisfy his curiosity” (Holt 73). This is what John Holt thinks the American education system is all about. He thinks that school is a place where individuality and creativity come to die. He wrote an essay that explains his belief further that is titled, “School is bad for Children.” Holt uses several rhetorical devices and logical fallacies such as generalizations - stereotypes, making assumptions, and “either or fallacy” that weakens his argument.

Dewey (2009) strongly believed that school was and is meant to be a social experience, with the child’s curiosities at the center. Allowing curriculum to revolve around student interest and infuse strong communication skills, reflection and problem solving are at the heart of a strong curriculum. Our current educational system is stunting the creativity of students and not emphasizing the true qualities successful students possess (Eisner 2009; Ravitch 2010). The primary reason for this epidemic is the overemphasis of rigid objectives and the tracking systems implemented in the early 1900s. It was the idea that students needed to learn a certain set of skills in order to be productive members of a new industrial society where the

I’ve experienced a myriad of conventional educational opportunities in my life. Like everyone else, I’ve sat in classrooms tapping my foot and staring at the clock. I’ve read all of the classic high school novels from Lord of the Flies to The Great Gatsby. I am exceedingly grateful for those opportunities; however, conventional learning can only enlighten one’s mind to a certain extent. So, I’m also an advocate of unconventional learning.