A Return to Principles The United States is shaped by its cultural myths. Cultural myths are widespread views or notions that are held and propagated by a nation to enforce its values. Among the great American cultural myths is the cultural myth of “educational empowerment” (Mann 110). It is the idea that the quantity of schooling is the yardstick of intelligence and the singular predictor of success. The notion that children fed into the machinery of education at an early age will be extruded further along the process equally and efficiently educated. However, like all cultural myths it is misleading, if not outright false. Problems in education throughout American history have made access to a good education difficult, if not …show more content…
Early educators considered religion and politics important. Now paranoia about inappropriate indoctrination prohibits such topics. The implication that teachers would seek to indoctrinate students and that those students would be unable to discern their own opinions via critical thinking, points toward a huge lack of confidence in both teachers and students. The urge to control every facet of the educational process inhibits the process of learning and great progress could be made if teachers could simply be empowered to teach all pertinent information. Trust in the relationship between students and teachers would let teachers teach, and children learn. Preconceptions about students and teachers tend to be unflattering. The general assumption is made that neither students nor teachers would choose to be in the classroom. Consequently the ideas persevere that children are likely to be unruly, lazy, disrespectful, or mischievous, when presented with a lesson. Teachers are worn down and frustrated by their work. Michael Moore, an Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker and social activist and commentator, highlights these presumptions. In his book Stupid White Men . . . Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation! Moore details his own experience with education, and also discusses problems plaguing education. While he does make the concession that there are people who really should not be
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.
After reading the introduction and first chapter of The American Dream and The Public School, I don’t know whether to be more encouraged, more determined, more excited to be a teacher in a time where the future of public education needs strong student advocates, or to be terrified as I am reminded of the ever-growing disparities for children based on their socioeconomic standing, race, and ethnicity. Though strongly backing the project II topic my group presented in explaining how those who are morally educated well become better, more productive members of society, the authors of these chapters reminded me that for all the lip service Americans give to this topic, they do little to back it. I certainly agree that a good educational base generates
The education system in America has a long history of struggle and change, as we have grown as a nation we have experienced an ever-increasing rise in diversity. This diversity has caused rigidities between groups and all stratus of society and has been a major impact in debates concerning the educational opportunities in America.
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.
Rereading America begins by discussing the obstacles that students will face when entering college, and how cultural myths play a significant role in the way we think, and how we react to situations in our environment. In order to be a successful, intellectually-minded college student, one must engage in critical thinking in their academic work. Critical thinking involves the examination or consideration of various perspectives, realizing that what is commonly appeared to be “normal” or “crystal clear” is not from analysis, but rather from the cultural myths unconsciously embedded in our lives. While it can be argued that cultural myths provide social order in society, they also discourage individuals from forming their own beliefs after thinking
Education in America is not as valued nationally as the current culture wants the societies of the world to think. There are occupations that are valued above educators, but our civilization wants to imply that our educational system is well advanced and tries to emphasize that we are a country of well-educated people. Unlike in Leonid Fridman’s “America Needs Its Nerds,” and Benjamin R. Barber’s “America Skips School”. Everywhere in this country we hear the government say how our schools are the future of this country, but if we listen carefully we will hear little in our civilization over education financially and how poverty mixes in with this issue.
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.
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).
Nowadays the United States is not known for their educational system. Countries like South Korea, Japan, and Singapore have surpassed the United States buy large margins, in terms of educational success. While other countries are constantly revolutionising their education system, the United States’ education system has not changed in decades, leaving the U.S. unsuccessful. The U.S. continues to fall behind these same countries that are thriving. Due to the fact that the U.S. education system not developing as time went on, leaving them now with a multitude of flaws. The gap between the educated and non-educated, along with the length of how long students are in elementary and high school, are two consequential problems in the United States’ educational system that need to be addressed.
George Eastman once said, “The progress of the world depends almost entirely upon education.” By its public school system, the United States of America exemplifies this. Federally denied to none and paid by all, United States citizens have the opportunity to attend public school, should they choose. Over the past fifty years, America’s education system has undergone multiple changes. It began with President Lyndon B. Johnson signing into action the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) as an extension of his “War on Poverty” plan. ESEA funded primary and secondary education, encouraged equal access to schooling, established lofty standards and accountability - all done with the intention of closing the achievement gap
America is viewed by many people around the world as the land of opportunity. This suggests that America is a country where anyone can succeed, live prosperously and have freedom; that if only they can make their way here, all their dreams will come true. People believe America is where they will find freedom; a place where you have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, political autonomy, etc. Every day there is talk of America’s illegal immigration problem; people are dying to come here, figuratively and sometimes literally. These stories of unwanted immigrants coming to the US have been told by politicians and the media for a long time. However, people never hear about the hardships some of these
America: the land of freedom and innovation. For upwards of two hundred years, America has impressed the world with the courage of her people, her ideas, her ingenuity, and her tenacity. Her very name is synonymous with the dream of freedom and the idea that one can make something of oneself regardless of beginning social status if only one works hard. America gives her working citizens, overall, an amazing quality of life compared to most of the world. However, she has her problems: political unrest, social justice issues, issues defining the Constitution, school shootings, police brutality, and many more concerning issues. Some purport that many of America's problems could be solved with education. However, that in and of itself is a problem. America's educational system is corrupt and not her own. It is an age
The book “The Yin and Yang of American Culture A Paradox” by Eunice Yinter. The book is quite interesting to read, and learning the views of a person born and raised in Asia was very revealing. It can be difficult to determine other people's views of Americans from casual observation. Five of the virtues listed as Yang in the book seem true to me and related to each other. These virtues are: dreaming the impossible, frontier spirit, daring to be yourself, individual merit, and competitive spirit.
Coming from afar, alone in this foreign land of freedom and liberty, I was chosen to meet with my “grandma” from the USA. I am delighted to chat up with some Silents from America, and it 's my chance to soak up some American culture and history. As a foreigner who never had the opportunity to talk to someone older than 50 in America; it 's a pleasure to observe how thing will end up. Initially, I am not suspecting much nor less from the conversations, but to my amazement, it opened my eye quite a bit to how different culture have different styles of generation core values and perspectives in life. And as a Thailand-born Taiwanese college student who flew all the way from Asia to America, this is a blessing to experience.
America is often enamored of itself as the champion of equality in every aspect of its society; however, this is often not the case. This is true in every aspect of life, but is very evident specifically in the American education system. Although America claims to give an equal education to all, regardless of any external factors, economic class often plays a role in what type and how good of an education a student may receive. Since education is the basis for future success, this inequity resulting from socioeconomic status implies that this is where inequality in everyday life starts, and that the system generates this inequality. If this is true, then one might ask, what then is the purpose of education? If economic class predetermines