For a majority of high school students, after graduation the next step usually is to continue their education by attending college. According to Thomas R. Wolanin, a senior associate at the Institute for High Education Policy, a vast majority of those students and their families will probably be discouraged to do so because of the portrayal of college life and its expenses created by mass media. In his editorial “Joe and Jane Go to College: Today’s College Student is Not Who You Think”, Wolanin argues that college students portrayed in the media are a misrepresentation of the vast majority of college students. He states that the “reality of students in American higher education is quite different”(1) from what is usually displayed by mass media. And the only reason why he brings this to America’s attention is because he believes their misrepresentation has created “some serious and unfortunate public consequences”(2).…
In “A Model for High Schools” by David S. Broder, the author discusses the prejudice that many students face throughout their lives and within the education system. In particular, Broder discusses high school dropouts as they take part in debates over the sections of the writings of Plato and Malcolm X and states, “The oddity is that these teenagers were all high school dropouts, kids with attitude problems, behavioral problems, drug or alcohol problems, kids whose teachers and families had often marked them off as hopeless losers” (Broder, para. 2). Here, Broder accentuates the prejudice that high school drop outs face throughout their education from their teachers and families alike. To those around them, these students are nothing more than…
Cited: John Taylor Gatto. “Against School.” Copyright 2003 by Harper’s magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduced from the September issue by special permission.…
“The Perpetual Adolescent” is an observational piece by Joseph Epstein. He suggests that modern adult acts much more childish than the previous generations of middle aged people. A big part of acting like a younger person is dressing like a younger person. According to Epstein, the dressed down adult is the immature adult, which in turn leads to many adults trying to copy the modern and hip youth culture. This in turn created more relaxed environments across all career fields, leaving less “true” adults. He feels that American now want to stay young forever instead of maturing into the adults of their parent's generations. Epstein believes that this mentality is flawed, leaving the people in positions of power striving to act like their children.…
High school, the best times of our lives. But in every situation others don’t experience it as the time of their lives. In specific, the so called, “Loser, Nerds, Outcasts." Sometimes the perception that most high school movies convey for this certain group are the reality. In this article "High school confidential: Notes on teen movies" by David Denby, He describes the functions of an everyday American high school. David Denby uses very effective language and rhetoric to provide the minds of the opposing side. A sample of the rhetoric skills he uses is stereotypes, ethos, and pathos.…
For my entire life of schooling, both my parents and I would agree that I constantly complained about the educational systems in which I was enrolled. But when I actually take the time to think about everything I have been through, I realize that I have indeed had an excellent education. My schooling was full of opportunities and experiences, all of which contributed to the person I am today; adequate education has been an indispensable facet of my being. Sadly, not everyone has had this same privilege. And now as a college student, I am becoming even more aware of this sad fact. Looking around me in such a diverse city as Chicago, I find myself being more and more grateful. When I read Jonathan Kozol's Fremont High School, this these feelings were even more reassured.…
David McCullough Jr., the son of a Pulitzer Prize winning historian, was a teacher at Wellesley High School. In June of 2012, he made a speech at the commencement ceremony for the graduating class of Wellesley High School. On this day, he gave these teenagers a very unexpected reality check. The argument of this speech is that each and every one of them students is pretty much just another statistic in our harsh real world. Throughout this speech, he gives statistics of the depressing realities of life. He also tells them repeatedly that they are “not special”.…
Journalist Alexandra Robbins returns to high school to follow nine students as they pass through their years of fierce competition. Robbins combines fascinating investigative journalism and riveting storytelling to provide a moving narrative that explores how our high stakes educational culture has spiraled out of control. Robbins purpose is not only to show how carried away our generation has gotten with the desire to succeed but also to highlight and make aware of the pressure that the majority of teenagers face in high school while on the road to achievement.…
Leon Botstein explained most of this from his perspective as the President of Bard College and as the author of Jefferson’s Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture. The article called “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood” first appeared in the Op/Ed section of the New York Times in 1999 after the Littleton (Columbine) shootings. Botstein writes that the categories of insiders and outsiders that are so popular in today’s high schools are shaped the way they are because there are damaging cliques that hold sway because of superficial definitions of attractiveness, popularity, and sports prowess. He points out that when student’s graduate high school and go on to college they finally understand what opportunities they missed and how much time is lost (21). Botstein writes that high schools as they are now are obsolete because they were made as a place to help young adults mature but that is not happening anymore because they grow up faster now than they did when high schools were made. Botstein points out that adults should realize that just because they don’t like dealing with young adults doesn’t meant adults should isolate teenagers that are growing up physically and hormonally in a high school setting to hide them from the real world. Given the poor quality of teachers and school administrators, who are more often chosen because they were coaches before, this means that when…
People in their early and middle and adulthood go through transitions in their lives such as making and improving social and intimate relationships, indentifying with different roles that occur through their lives and adjusting to healthy lifestyles. Adults have their own views for what makes a intimate relationship work for them, depending on their upbringing or peers they may take part in unhealthy habits and throughout their college years they learn to make decisions maturely. All of these are what most young adults face and adjust to but outcomes can vary.…
Educational programs demand effort and dedication to be successful. Barber expresses his concern for the lack of literacy in America. In Barbers essay, he states, “As America’s educational system crumbles, the pundits, instead of looking for solutions, search busily for scapegoats” (Barber, 2014, pp.210). America’s government takes minimal actions toward the educational crisis. The situation resembles a hole in the wall that needs fixed, but instead of fixing it America’s society hangs a picture over the hole. The lack of educational reforms causes the America’s youth to fall behind other countries youth in literacy. The lack of effort from the government, from schools, parents, teachers, and students put a strain on learning. Some American citizens proclaim that they want a change in the school systems, but nothing results from it. Barber states, “With all the goodwill in the world, it is still hard to know how schools can cure the ills that stem from the failure of so many other institutions. Saying we want education to come first won’t put it first” (Barber, 2014, pp.217). Society labels schools as “prisons,” and sadly, some are less safe than actual prisons. The lack of safety forces students to focus on their own safety rather than learning. Not all schools provide safe environments for students; The result of this problem is conflicts and disinterest for learning. The lack of effort put forth by America’s society and government is only one factor in this multitude of…
Since the establishment of public education in the United States, schools have provided a sense of security and belonging to their students. Although sitting through lectures and doing homework may not be the most exciting thing in the world, students will always have a lunch to eat, a roof over their head, and a supportive teacher or counselor that they can talk to. Despite the “safe” environment and presence of authoritative figures on school campuses, trouble always finds a way to break out. Simple misbehaving and occasional fights are a common occurrence on most school campuses, however a new breed of troublesome and violent students has hatched. The type of violence that nobody should ever witness or be involved in, a crime so sickening that no proper-functioning human being could ever commit. Now, more common than ever before, school shootings threaten the lives of those who attend school, jeopardizing the structure of public education. Will students and faculty continue going to school, just hoping that someone won’t come in campus with a high powered assault rifle and slaughter everyone in their sights, or will educators rise to the occasion and protect their students?…
Leon Botstein explains in his essay "Let Teenagers Try Adulthood", about how high school is run by the jocks, and how the community only supports the high school when the "varsity team" succeeds. Botstien talks about how the "...rules of high school turn out not to be the rules of life." He also talks about the whole "puberty" issue and how it effects today's teens, in school and in life. He explains how elementary school should start earlier, and you should graduate at the age of 16 instead of the age 18, because your body had matured faster then a century ago. Botstein also mocks the education system, stating that certain classes are to be taught only by the people who know the most about the class. Many students choose to go to a junior college or even stay home, because of the lack of pressure to attend a university. Finally Botstein states that 16 year olds should be focused on developing their "adult life" and that this country needs to realize the fact that the American education system has failed because of the out-to-date techniques that are being used.…
Explain how emerging Adults make the transition to higher education and work (Papalia, Feldman, & Martorell, 2014). When I initially thought about going to college, I was fifty years old. The truth is I am a License Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC), and have been in the counseling field for about eighteen years at the time. My manager and I were completing my annual review I was told without a degree my salary could not increase. My first thought was I am too old attended college. My manager educate me on something I was not aware, they could take my license however, my degree cannot. That did change the fears of returning to school since it had been thirty two years.…
Choose an issue of importance to you. The issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation. key points: Talk of “education reform” is viral all over the internet. Despite multiple failed attempts at “reform” over the past decades, society refuses to think outside the “box” of schooling and consider a radical return to how children learned for millennia- By playing, living and doing! Teachers and others in the field of education continue to propose that the oppressive, prisonlike institution where children are forced to stay seated in a building all day pumping out paperwork can and should be reformed! When democratic schooling, homeschooling and unschooling advocates attempt to join the conversation and offer models that are successful and truly radical, they are often met by educators and their supporters who dismiss these models as idealistic and not “realistic” for “everyone”. Additionally, people seem not to be aware of the fact that despite talks of reform, the needs, voices and leadership of the people who are the most adversely affected by public schoolingyouth- are left out of the conversation. Sadly, when the voices of public school youth do reach the movement, they often represent the most compliant and academically engaged students. Their requests tend to be benign, suggesting that minds and bodies trained by the system for so long are unable to fathom what they have lost of their childhoods and what they truly need in order to thrive. The cries of “end school!” from the voices of the artists, rebels, misfits and other children failed most severely by schooling rarely make it to the table. In this post I answer questions about how “education reform” can be truly child-centered, radical and real. How can we save our public schools and reform them? How can we reform a system that was…