First, when I look at the authors push to get an education I see in Richard Rodriguez’s essay that he was very motivated. He started as a young boy with an accent striving to learn more and attain knowledge whenever he could because he knew of the benefits. In the story Rodriguez says that he shifted away from family life to study more and learn more from his teachers. He wanted school rather than his uneducated family. In contrast, Mike Rose clearly didn’t want to be in school, he wanted an easy way out of things. Rose explains he was put in vocational classes by accident, but decided to stay in the classes with the lower level students. He explains how the teachers could care less about the student’s education which affected Rose because he saw himself and everyone as being average.…
In Fremont, students are forced to deal with squalor conditions and absurd rules. The staff, students, and even Kozol see no reason as to why it should be this way. The reason is brought to light with a discussion between students, which Kozol instigated. Mireya, a bright young girl at Fremont, confessed to Kozol that she did not want to go to the factory to sew like her mother but wants to go to college. A student named Fortino chimed in telling Mireya that the factory needs people to sew. He tells her that because she's "ghetto" she is already destined to sew at the factory. His words are crude but truthful. Fremont has twenty fewer school days than other schools and sometimes students need to take on part-time jobs just because they need the school credits. The school has more substitute teachers than actual teachers one substitute even saying “Just yesterday I was subbing [for] a substitute who was subbing for a teacher who never shows up,” (721). Many teachers want to teach interesting classes, such as women's studies, but can't because of the classroom shortage. Kozol shows a school that is not designed to help these children learn it's made to make them serve. The inequality in Fremont is appalling. Kozol is not showing the reader a school but an X-Acto knife designed to cut away at a child's passion until they conform and…
The Shame of the Nation was written in 2005 by author Jonathan Kozol. In this book he discusses how underprivileged children in lower-income school districts are treated differently than the children in middle-class school districts. The middle-class children have easy access to pre-school but very few children in the lower-classes have access to pre-school. As a result, when lower-classes are finally able to attend school, they are below the grade level set by government, they are forced to deal with overfilled class rooms, unskilled teachers and inadequate resources. The children in financially restricted school districts must take and pass the same exams as the children who have had access to better schooling since they were a toddlers. He notes how tough it is for kids to do well under these circumstances and that those who do well are considered to have courageous talents. Kozol uses comparison and description to persuade the readers something needs to be done about the issues.…
Gladwell’s overall claim in this chapter is that the class and family life you come from affects your chance of success. Coming from a lower class, Gladwell says, causes you to be less assertive around authority and less pressured into ambition. Parents of lower class families often do not encourage their kids to fine tune their talents through extra-curricular activities, but in middle to upper class families, kids are able to partake in multiple activities with the support of their parents. Also, in middle to upper class families, children are taught a “sense of entitlement that… is an attitude perfectly suited to succeeding in the modern world” (Gladwell 108). Children in the lower class are not taught this and therefore deprived of the advantage of knowing how to assert themselves.…
However, some do obtain success due to their upbringing. Child-rearing practices are different in each background. For example, parents from different social class backgrounds differ on how exceptional their kids will be in school. Gladwell discusses that the reason why poor kids do not excel in school is the time they prepare studying outside of school, which they put forth nothing. In addition to, kids from wealthier backgrounds are encouraged to read, express their emotions, and ask questions. Involved parents and parents who are not involved is the key difference that leads to an individual’s success. Upper class parents talk to their kids more and critically provide them a set of skills to endure. Gladwell asserts, “But social savvy is knowledge. It’s a set of skills that have to be learned. It has to come from somewhere, and the place where we seem to get these kinds of attitudes and skills is from our families” (102). An example from the book is Alex Williams and Katie Brindle. Williams came from a wealthy background and when school was not is session his parents were actively engaging him in activities. Because his parents believed in concerted cultivation, which is a style of parenting, that attempts to promote their children’s talents; by interesting them in activities. His parents took him to museums, enrolled him to special programs, and he attended summer camp. His parents encouraged him to read books when he was bored. This style of parenting allowed him to excel in his skills. Moving on to Katie Brindle, a poor upbringing for her. Her mother didn’t have the means to provide summer camp for her or provide her any special classes. When she was bored there were no books for her to read. She was provided a carefree summer with friends and the great outdoors. Thus, was the reason she was behind in her skills. Williams…
Schools lacking social utilities that are needed to promote the academic status of its students is an issue. Whether these utilities should be kept opened or closed is widely debated in most communities. The condition of such schools is an important issue because it determines the future of its students academically. Some issues facing schools include social, public and economical issues; this essay will consider arguments concerning the social, public and economical causes of this problem through the use of Jonathan Kozol's "TITLE OF ARTICLE", as well as the discussion of the reasons why some schools do not receive sufficient funds to care for public schools.…
Rauch states that Often times some students don't do any homework at all. Tom Loveless, the director of the Brown center, suggest that if the students that did no homework at night did just one hour their grades would greatly improve. Even though educational reform is a big issue more homework as a solution to the problem is overlooked “It seems peculiar that in a country that chatters obsessively about it educational shortcomings the word 'homework' goes all but unspoken”.…
Most parents in working class schools don’t have the best jobs, they don’t have the best income, and they don’t have the best school systems to send their children to. Anyon found that kids in the working class schools, some programs were different than others. One school would go into depth about a certain topic, and another would barely touch on the topic and the teacher would make no effort to try and help the students. The teachers wouldn’t let the children out when the bell rang, keeping them after class to continue the work so the teachers could socialize. In working class schools, Anyon says that the teachers care more about themselves than their students.…
Later in the chapter, Gladwell talks about children being the youngest in the class and how parents aren’t worried about their struggle because they think that it will eventually go away. Gladwell says that it won’t go away just like that without any work being put towards getting better. He says that when children start school feeling inadequate and insufficient, that feeling will stick with them through the years.…
This article shows just how many students are dropping out of schools all across the nation, from small rural schools to big suburban schools. They focus on a town called Shelbyville, IN to show us about students who dropout and why it happens. They also talk about how America is very oblivious to the dropout rates because many schools cover up the actual dropout rate using the GED trick. They talk about how at this high school in Shelbyville they had what they call “push-out” students rather than dropout students, as they do in many other schools. They say how the school used to have the tendency to focus more on the needs of the rich kids, even though the poor students were the ones who really needed the attention and help. They say how the…
While teachers in the classroom should aim to give students the best education possible they do have many students who have issues outside of school. This may cause a student not to focus on studies when not in class. Many students deal with issues of divorce, drugs, and poverty. These issues in the home can weigh greatly on a student trying to reach their goals of completing high school or earning a degree. Teachers should take into account the students home life and if needed should modify their teaching to help these students succeed.…
September 2009. It’s his first day in his new school with his new classmates. After a rough last year due to an unsupportive group of people around him, he is unsure of what is going to happen this year. However, when he looks into his teacher’s eyes and engages into a conversation with her, he knows that this year was going to be the exact opposite rough, and he was immediately happy. Moments like these show how much a teacher can impact a student’s life in a positive way. Everyday, thousands of kids who are neglected by their parents like author Lynda Barry go to school which is more of a home to them due to the amazing teachers and classmates creating a stable and safe environment for them to thrive in. Whether it be comforting a child or…
The lack of resources for schools constricts learning. Poverty stricken school districts in America receive inadequate funding. In his essay, Barber expands on the idea of poverty in school districts and the result from it. Barber states, “The richest school districts…spend…
Cited: Indriago, Kristen, and Nancy Druart. "Money Isn 't the Only Answer to School Woes." Statesman. N.p., 24 Feb. 2013. Web.…
In Lynda Barry’s narrative essay,“The Sanctuary of School,” Barry describes how schools have become a refuge for neglected children across the country, as well as how the ongoing budget, and extracurricular cuts are destroying their refuge. Barry grew up in a neglectful household, which she stated, “The high levels of frustration, depression, and anger in my house made my brother and me invisible,”(pg 1). Being a young child at that time, Barry could only rely on receiving attention at school, since she was nonexistent in her own household. One early morning, Barry arrived at her school before sunrise and was able to assist her school’s janitor. As she continued to aid the janitor, she was…