What Students Truly Learn In School
What Students Truly Learn in School
“In the American capitalist system, students learn to compete; the goal is to win, ‘to beat the others,’(Eve), even if this means acting in ways that are personally frustrating and dissatisfying” (Pope, 169). Denise Clark Pope, in chapter 7 of her book Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students, explains that students that are deemed successful often use tactical strategies such as cheating, kissing up and forming treaties in order to excel. She claims that in being successful students they must, “act in ways that run counter to explicit or implicit school rules and guidelines. Often their behavior contradicts the very traits and values many parents, …show more content…
Through her position as captain she discovers that the previous captain, Big Red, stole their cheers from a disenfranchised team called the East Compton Clovers. Following her discovery, she informs the team about the fraudulent cheers and ask their opinion on the next course of action. Courtney, a cheerleader on the team says, “Look, I hate to be predictable, but I don't give a shit. We learned that routine fair and square. We logged the man-hours. Don't punish the squad for Big Red's mistake. This isn't about cheating. This is about winning”. After saying this the rest of the team voted on whether or not to continue with the stolen cheers and the vast majority decided to proceed. The team had a tough decision to make, either they could learn and create their own cheer or use a stolen cheer which they knew would guarantee them success. The fact that they continued with the stolen cheers demonstrates that being prosperous is all that matters even if it requires cheating. These are decisions that students in classrooms make as well. By going to school, students learn that by finessing the system they can succeed and they will cheat or kiss up when necessary. These deceptive methods for ‘success’ is infiltrated in many aspects of students’ lives and impacts the decisions they
“In the American capitalist system, students learn to compete; the goal is to win, ‘to beat the others,’(Eve), even if this means acting in ways that are personally frustrating and dissatisfying” (Pope, 169). Denise Clark Pope, in chapter 7 of her book Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students, explains that students that are deemed successful often use tactical strategies such as cheating, kissing up and forming treaties in order to excel. She claims that in being successful students they must, “act in ways that run counter to explicit or implicit school rules and guidelines. Often their behavior contradicts the very traits and values many parents, …show more content…
Through her position as captain she discovers that the previous captain, Big Red, stole their cheers from a disenfranchised team called the East Compton Clovers. Following her discovery, she informs the team about the fraudulent cheers and ask their opinion on the next course of action. Courtney, a cheerleader on the team says, “Look, I hate to be predictable, but I don't give a shit. We learned that routine fair and square. We logged the man-hours. Don't punish the squad for Big Red's mistake. This isn't about cheating. This is about winning”. After saying this the rest of the team voted on whether or not to continue with the stolen cheers and the vast majority decided to proceed. The team had a tough decision to make, either they could learn and create their own cheer or use a stolen cheer which they knew would guarantee them success. The fact that they continued with the stolen cheers demonstrates that being prosperous is all that matters even if it requires cheating. These are decisions that students in classrooms make as well. By going to school, students learn that by finessing the system they can succeed and they will cheat or kiss up when necessary. These deceptive methods for ‘success’ is infiltrated in many aspects of students’ lives and impacts the decisions they