Scarsdale School System: Chapter Analysis

In “The Lesson” and in “Commencement Speech, Kenyon College.”, the teacher 's attempt to open up the kids’ minds to the “rat race” that many people find themselves in and only want to help the children for their future. Although people question teaching methods and want to only have their own ideals put into their child’s mind, there are things that every person should be aware of and teachers are the people who can be sure that every child is aware of the world around them in order to live a better

What is school really trying to do with our lives? The article “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto is an article that talks about the problem of schools and how the goals are not what they say they are. First. the author talks about how the school system creates boredom and what could be done to fix it. He then talks about how school is not needed in its required class times, what the schools say the goals are for the students, and where our school system originated from.

As humans there is one attribute that gives us the opportunity to be extraordinary, that one thing is competition. In Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” Vonnegut forges an atrocious society where competition is no longer an aspect of the everyday which eliminates ambition and excellence from the average citizen, and forces normalcy and equality upon them. This dystopian society strips each and every citizen of the great tool of competition that forces humans towards progress and greatness, and leaves them with nothing but mediocrity and stagnation. Vonnegut has created a world without competition, without a driving force for greatness, and without a tool to motivate ambition. However in this non-competitive culture no one seems to care that

Lynda Barry in her work The Sanctuary of School, wrote about her life as a kid with a toxic family life where she relied on school to be a place she feels secure. She tried to escape from her toxic family by going to school; was the only way for her to relieve her mind. The school granted her freedom to draw and provided her a safe place to stay. Painting and drawing was the only activity that made her happy. By doing these activities were the only way to express herself. Therefore, if school was to cancel this activity, many children that are like Barry would have nothing to relieve and relied on.

For instance, McCullough says, “If you’ve learned anything in your four years here I hope it’s that education should be for, rather than material advantage, the exhilaration of learning.” (pg. 5). McCullough is signifying that growth and learning should be something people do because they enjoy it and think it’s fun. McCullough validates that children have been more worried about having a good resume to send to colleges than putting their happiness and other’s happiness first, like how “Guatemalan medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of Guatemalans. “ (Pg. 5)

The main argument is that perceived throughout the reading is that the schools itself is failing students. They see a student who may not have the greatest test scores or the best grades, and degrade them from the idea of being intellectual. Graff states, “We associate the educated life, the life of the mind, too narrowly and exclusively with subjects and texts that we consider inherently weighty and academic” (Graff 244). Schools need to channel the minds of street smart students and turn their work into something academic.

Sherry goes on and explains why we think it is right to sometimes excuse students who cheat the system because they come from terrible environments, but then goes on to conclude that “most kids don’t put school first on their list unless they perceive something else is at stake.” I think this is why there is a UIL rule at a lot of schools with a “no pass no play” policy. Students who are involved in extracurricular activities then have a reason to strive to pass. Sherry believes that “people of all ages can rise above their problems, but they need a reason to do so.”

John Taylor Gatto addresses his belief in his article “Against School” that schools have become “laboratories of experimentation on young minds, drill centers for the habits and attitudes that corporate society demands.” Students are bored of their teachers, teachers are bored of their students, “who, then, is to blame?” “We all are.” It is our duty as citizens in our society to make sure we are pushing and challenging ourselves every day instead of waiting for another to make it happen for us. The government has become routine enough to allow the few students they believe are capable to continue on their tradition, thus allowing the majority of students fall into useless stereotypes and groups.

The diversity of student backgrounds, abilities and learning styles makes each person unique in the way he or she reacts to information. The intersection of diverse student backgrounds and active learning needs a comfortable, positive environment in which to take root. Dr. King continues by explaining, “Education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.” From back then to today’s society, kids are failing because they lack those morals that they need to succeed.

Baldwin’s theory for education could not only improve an individual 's morality but also it could help someone figure out who they truly are. Finding yourself is important part in one 's life because it defines who you truly are not who you want to be or who you are when you’re around certain people. Also, Baldwin says, “It is your responsibility to change society if you think of yourself as an educated person.” Having been an educated person Baldwin believed it was

While school may teach lessons, they are certainly not valuable life lessons. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird repeatedly shows the ineffectiveness of the education system in a child’s morals. To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in the Great Depression era in Alabama, where education was not the best. Teachers would only seek to teach their classes average, everyday lessons rather than valuable life teachings.

The target audience of this piece is the incoming class of freshman going into college. The message that Edmundson provides to the reader is how much positive power self-reliance has on a person. Edmundson explains how to become self-reliant: you need to follow your passion in what you want to study, fight against the institution to earn a good education, and to focus on the important things rather than having fun. Edmundson claims that one needs to follow their own passion because you will get bored at doing something if you truly aren't obsessed with it.

According to Julie Mack, “the neighborhood school is not necessary a good environment for every child” because one size does not fit all. May it be because the neighborhood school is too big, or not big enough; too academically ambitious or not academically ambitious enough; classmates may be problematic. However, Rebecca Klein argues that a not having a choice is a privilege despite the belief that with money comes more

Unsurprisingly, students, including myself, would easily succumb to this mindset. We were in a challenged area in which no one expected more than a suspension or referral from the students and as such, we would fall into a void absent of any sort of motivation. We were merely thought of as “the ghetto” with no real potential for higher education. Many students believed this trend to be a self-evident truth. We were not smart, we were not capable, and we were not enough.

I’ve always been afraid of failing and always wanted to strive for greatness, but life has it’s up’s and down’s. For the first time in my life I was a