Lack Of Education Rhetorical Analysis
The movie starts off with Ms. Johnson being interviewed for a job at a high school. Ms. Johnson is surprised because she is hired of the spot, but she soon finds out why they were in such a rush to find a teacher for the class. When she walks in her new classroom, she sees something she is not expecting: a wild group of students who obviously didn’t care about school. Ms. Johnson was put in a situation where she could give up, like most of the other teachers, or try to reach out these students. She chose the latter and figured out how to get to the students. She was able to do this by getting to know the students individually, making the material relatable, and encouraging them to do their best. Despite the push back she got from some of the
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students and faculty, she had her goal and continued to fight on for the kids. She even helps them outside of school when she can help it. When a student’s life is on the line in the streets, she offers him a place to stay so he can be out of danger. When another student is convinced to drop out of school due to her being pregnant, she goes out of her way to reach out to the student to get her to think otherwise. Although she is worn thin and has deal with the loss of one of her students, Ms. Johnson decides to continue teaching, knowing she can make a difference where no other teacher has tried to. Ms. Johnson plays a superhero in the movie that saves the lives of neglected children who the system has forgot about. One issue addressed in this movie was the “lack of motivation” the students had regarding school.
When asked why they go to school, most students will say to please their parents or to have a good career. What they don’t realize is that school is more than just that. School is about building good people and to make you your best person. It all depends on what the teachers do to encourage their students. If the teacher isn’t interested in what they are teaching, the students will not have the drive to learn either. Gatto talks about this when talks about how the school likes the create robots. If they are engaged with what they’re learning then, “ well-schooled kids have a low threshold for boredom; help your own to develop an inner life so that they’ll never be bored” (Gatto, 2017). When children are challenged and have room for abstract ideas, they have motivation to learn. When their education has meaning, it gives their future meaning. This is evident in the movie when Ms. Johnson goes against the school curriculum and makes learning more relatable to the students. She uses references to their neighborhoods, drugs, and shock factors to get their attention and make it stay on what she’s teaching. For example, on her second day of teaching, she changes her whole method. Rather than wearing formal teacher attire, she wears a leather jacket and matching boots. She starts off the class by asking about karate. Although it had no relation to what she was supposed to be teaching, she was able to get the students to open to her. She achieved more on the second day then any other teacher tried the year before her. She is perfectly exhibiting the way teachers should be interacting with their students. Like Deiro says, “The most powerful and effective way teachers can help students overcome the negative influences in their environment is by developing close and caring connection with them” ( Deiro, 2005, pg. 3). If a teacher plans on teaching their student something they
will remember on in the future, they should be making meaningful connection with them. If the teacher and student find some grounds where they can relate, it would be easier to get to them academically also. In the movie, Ms. Johnson went out of her way to know her students, so she would know the best way to connect with them. This is not a common thing in all public schools though, many teachers simply go to their job to get paid, rather than to reach students. If the world had more Ms. Johnsons, the public school system wouldn’t be as broken as it is.
In the movie it was evident that race played a big factor in the way the students were treated. The minorities of this class did not have the same resources or opportunities as the others in the school. Whether or not it is intentional, the teachers in a public school setting will always have some animosity towards minority students they are not aware of. This is a result of years of public schools looking to keep young black and Latino students from achieving more than a ‘worker’ position. In the 1950’s, there was a plan to educate white students while keeping the other students informed enough to work the less skilled jobs. In order for public school to work like they were originally meant to, there would be a need for white students to retain the higher paying jobs. Vaught (2011) explains this when he says that, “American capitalism was born of a set of conditions in which enslaved black Americans were the lynchpin of the white American economic system. Black students are integrated into a market-modeled public education system that under educates them in ways that prop up the educational economy of white rights” (Vaught, 2011, pg. 45). As Vaught explains, there is something in the system meant to keep minority students from excelling in other way. It is so strong that teachers of the present do not notice when they are implementing the same strategies of their predecessors. Vaught compared the school systems in the 1950’s to the school systems now and found that not much has changed. The only thing that changed was the way in which these black students are kept from the same opportunities as the white students. This was obvious in the movie when Emilio tries to explain his situation to the principle. Since the principle had prior negative feelings for Emilio, he instantly sent him out to his death when he tried to confide in him. There is an aggression that school officials feel towards their students of color. In this case, because of his prior feelings of malice, a student was left neglected, which only goes to show how race is an issue with in public school systems. There is an aggression that school officials feel towards their students of color. In this case, because of his prior feelings of malice, a student was left neglected, which only goes to show how race is an issue with in public school systems. This is also touched on in Bryan’s article when he said explains that “schooling is a process that is simply designed to marginalize African-centered educational practices in order to discipline and control Black bodies and subject them to the lower rungs of societal totem pole” (Bryan, 2017, pg. 331). Bryan only emphasizes the point that the school system was never built to engage all students in their education. For students of color, it was a factory that would only lead them to work in a job that would help industry. In Dangerous Minds, the issues of race only went to negatively effects the students of Ms. Johnson’s class. Because of their race, they weren’t given the same opportunities, trust, or education as the other students in their school, which is a common occurrence in schools around America. As if still in 1950’s, young black and Latino students are being kept as an after thought to the success of white students. Until the public school system recognizes that this is something that needs to change, these students will continue to suffer the loss of education. There is also a lot of teachers and school officials that do not care about the wellbeing of their students as long as they follow the rules and look good to outsiders. To most, the students are only matter when they get funding or when they need to look good to the superintendents. This is such a problem in schools because a student can only go as far their teacher leads them. If they aren’t given the proper materials, they will not have what they need to take the extra step and actually reach their goals. In the movie, when Mr. Gandy finds out one of the students is pregnant, he convinces her to leave school. Because he didn’t want to deal with a student in his school being pregnant, he simply convinced her leave. This only shows how they don’t really connect to students and don’t care about their wellbeing. When he tells Callie to leave, he guides her to make a choice that negatively affected her future. Ms. Johnson was not even able to convince her otherwise because of the way Mr. Gandy handled the situation. Not only does this show gross negligence, it also shows how some school leaders do not know how to deal with gifted students. Susannah Wood speaks on this when he says that “one nonnegotiable requirement in serving the gifted student is that the counselor must be knowledgeable about the nature and development of the gifted student” (Wood, 2017, pg. 43). Callie shows true potential to get out of the life she is living and make something out of herself. And although Mr. Grandy was not a counselor, as a teacher, it was his job to push his students to do their best, but in this case, fell flat. If teachers took their job more seriously then a check, these children would have so much more to strive for. Gifted children and students who excel at certain subjects should be protected as much as, or more than normal children. If their skills and abilities are not properly nurtured, they will not be able to use their potential to its fullest abilities. In this movie, the students in Ms. Johnson’s class were stereotypical, just like the public school system. There were a bunch of minorities in one classroom, and no one wanted to deal with them. Because of this, they were not motivated for school and no exposure to a teacher that cared. When Ms. Johnson came along, this all changed. Ms. Johnson was a force the public education system would essentially fear and try to shut down. Ms. Johnson cared for all of her students as if they were her children. She offered them places to sleep, a person to confide in, a person to stick up for them, and to teach them about the world outside their neighborhood. If all teachers in the real world used the same methods, the future for students would be brighter.
students and faculty, she had her goal and continued to fight on for the kids. She even helps them outside of school when she can help it. When a student’s life is on the line in the streets, she offers him a place to stay so he can be out of danger. When another student is convinced to drop out of school due to her being pregnant, she goes out of her way to reach out to the student to get her to think otherwise. Although she is worn thin and has deal with the loss of one of her students, Ms. Johnson decides to continue teaching, knowing she can make a difference where no other teacher has tried to. Ms. Johnson plays a superhero in the movie that saves the lives of neglected children who the system has forgot about. One issue addressed in this movie was the “lack of motivation” the students had regarding school.
When asked why they go to school, most students will say to please their parents or to have a good career. What they don’t realize is that school is more than just that. School is about building good people and to make you your best person. It all depends on what the teachers do to encourage their students. If the teacher isn’t interested in what they are teaching, the students will not have the drive to learn either. Gatto talks about this when talks about how the school likes the create robots. If they are engaged with what they’re learning then, “ well-schooled kids have a low threshold for boredom; help your own to develop an inner life so that they’ll never be bored” (Gatto, 2017). When children are challenged and have room for abstract ideas, they have motivation to learn. When their education has meaning, it gives their future meaning. This is evident in the movie when Ms. Johnson goes against the school curriculum and makes learning more relatable to the students. She uses references to their neighborhoods, drugs, and shock factors to get their attention and make it stay on what she’s teaching. For example, on her second day of teaching, she changes her whole method. Rather than wearing formal teacher attire, she wears a leather jacket and matching boots. She starts off the class by asking about karate. Although it had no relation to what she was supposed to be teaching, she was able to get the students to open to her. She achieved more on the second day then any other teacher tried the year before her. She is perfectly exhibiting the way teachers should be interacting with their students. Like Deiro says, “The most powerful and effective way teachers can help students overcome the negative influences in their environment is by developing close and caring connection with them” ( Deiro, 2005, pg. 3). If a teacher plans on teaching their student something they
will remember on in the future, they should be making meaningful connection with them. If the teacher and student find some grounds where they can relate, it would be easier to get to them academically also. In the movie, Ms. Johnson went out of her way to know her students, so she would know the best way to connect with them. This is not a common thing in all public schools though, many teachers simply go to their job to get paid, rather than to reach students. If the world had more Ms. Johnsons, the public school system wouldn’t be as broken as it is.
In the movie it was evident that race played a big factor in the way the students were treated. The minorities of this class did not have the same resources or opportunities as the others in the school. Whether or not it is intentional, the teachers in a public school setting will always have some animosity towards minority students they are not aware of. This is a result of years of public schools looking to keep young black and Latino students from achieving more than a ‘worker’ position. In the 1950’s, there was a plan to educate white students while keeping the other students informed enough to work the less skilled jobs. In order for public school to work like they were originally meant to, there would be a need for white students to retain the higher paying jobs. Vaught (2011) explains this when he says that, “American capitalism was born of a set of conditions in which enslaved black Americans were the lynchpin of the white American economic system. Black students are integrated into a market-modeled public education system that under educates them in ways that prop up the educational economy of white rights” (Vaught, 2011, pg. 45). As Vaught explains, there is something in the system meant to keep minority students from excelling in other way. It is so strong that teachers of the present do not notice when they are implementing the same strategies of their predecessors. Vaught compared the school systems in the 1950’s to the school systems now and found that not much has changed. The only thing that changed was the way in which these black students are kept from the same opportunities as the white students. This was obvious in the movie when Emilio tries to explain his situation to the principle. Since the principle had prior negative feelings for Emilio, he instantly sent him out to his death when he tried to confide in him. There is an aggression that school officials feel towards their students of color. In this case, because of his prior feelings of malice, a student was left neglected, which only goes to show how race is an issue with in public school systems. There is an aggression that school officials feel towards their students of color. In this case, because of his prior feelings of malice, a student was left neglected, which only goes to show how race is an issue with in public school systems. This is also touched on in Bryan’s article when he said explains that “schooling is a process that is simply designed to marginalize African-centered educational practices in order to discipline and control Black bodies and subject them to the lower rungs of societal totem pole” (Bryan, 2017, pg. 331). Bryan only emphasizes the point that the school system was never built to engage all students in their education. For students of color, it was a factory that would only lead them to work in a job that would help industry. In Dangerous Minds, the issues of race only went to negatively effects the students of Ms. Johnson’s class. Because of their race, they weren’t given the same opportunities, trust, or education as the other students in their school, which is a common occurrence in schools around America. As if still in 1950’s, young black and Latino students are being kept as an after thought to the success of white students. Until the public school system recognizes that this is something that needs to change, these students will continue to suffer the loss of education. There is also a lot of teachers and school officials that do not care about the wellbeing of their students as long as they follow the rules and look good to outsiders. To most, the students are only matter when they get funding or when they need to look good to the superintendents. This is such a problem in schools because a student can only go as far their teacher leads them. If they aren’t given the proper materials, they will not have what they need to take the extra step and actually reach their goals. In the movie, when Mr. Gandy finds out one of the students is pregnant, he convinces her to leave school. Because he didn’t want to deal with a student in his school being pregnant, he simply convinced her leave. This only shows how they don’t really connect to students and don’t care about their wellbeing. When he tells Callie to leave, he guides her to make a choice that negatively affected her future. Ms. Johnson was not even able to convince her otherwise because of the way Mr. Gandy handled the situation. Not only does this show gross negligence, it also shows how some school leaders do not know how to deal with gifted students. Susannah Wood speaks on this when he says that “one nonnegotiable requirement in serving the gifted student is that the counselor must be knowledgeable about the nature and development of the gifted student” (Wood, 2017, pg. 43). Callie shows true potential to get out of the life she is living and make something out of herself. And although Mr. Grandy was not a counselor, as a teacher, it was his job to push his students to do their best, but in this case, fell flat. If teachers took their job more seriously then a check, these children would have so much more to strive for. Gifted children and students who excel at certain subjects should be protected as much as, or more than normal children. If their skills and abilities are not properly nurtured, they will not be able to use their potential to its fullest abilities. In this movie, the students in Ms. Johnson’s class were stereotypical, just like the public school system. There were a bunch of minorities in one classroom, and no one wanted to deal with them. Because of this, they were not motivated for school and no exposure to a teacher that cared. When Ms. Johnson came along, this all changed. Ms. Johnson was a force the public education system would essentially fear and try to shut down. Ms. Johnson cared for all of her students as if they were her children. She offered them places to sleep, a person to confide in, a person to stick up for them, and to teach them about the world outside their neighborhood. If all teachers in the real world used the same methods, the future for students would be brighter.