Lack of Education
Twelve years of education coming to five minutes on stage shaking the principal’s hand. Some kids never experience this feeling of relief and happiness because they don’t graduation high school. Compulsory education disempowers the American population due to the lack of support, heavy standardized testing, the elongated required amount of time to graduate, and the demographic influence on education.
One flaw with the education system is the required amount of time needed to graduate from high school. A student can feel discouraged by having to complete twelve years of school before graduating. The repetition in school can be frustrating, and students can lose motivation. This flaw of students not graduating creates homeless people that hurt the economy. A prime example is Michael Moore’s Idiot Nation. “There are forty-four million Americans who cannot read and write above a fourth-grade level” (Moore 133). With less education comes ignorance of the American people.
The frustration with the length of time is accompanied with the lack of support from parents and school administration. Without the support of these people, success is limited. This is evident in the film Stand and Deliver (1988). The parents strongly discourage their children from trying new academic experiments. An example in the movie is when the “pretty girl” wants her mom to sign the calculus form. Her mom discourages her and makes a comment: “Boys only care about the outside not the brains”. This doesn’t help the girl’s self-esteem, and it is evident in the movie when they are studying late at night and she becomes irritated quickly by calculus. A similar situation is in Still Separate, Still Unequal by Jonathan Kozol. A girl named Mireya had taken hairdressing twice when she actually wanted to take an AP class (Kozol 253). Mireya was talking to another student that critized her, saying that since her mother sews that she should sew too (Kozol 253). He also mentions that she is “ghetto” and that is another reason for her to sew (Kozol 253).
The administration is vital to the student’s success, and without their support, a school most likely suffers. The administrators are supposed to be the leadership of the school and support the faculty and student body. With lack of support in their school, the student feels unimportant to the education system. In Stand and Deliver (1988), Mr. Escalante was a teacher that wanted to teach AP Calculus. Unfortunately, he did not have the support of his administrators. They laughed and teased him because the students he would be teaching were “bad” but he became successful by himself. He believed that every student could pass the test if they worked hard, no matter what background they had. The vicious cycle of not supporting our students can continue to disempower the American population by the domino effect. If people discourage their children, then their children are most likely going to discourage their own children too.
Demographics of a school or school district disempower the American population with education. In many school districts, the schools tend to compete for funding; it doesn’t matter whether it be endorsed by funding or government. In most school populations, the less funded ones have the highest dropout rate, while the wealthier schools have fewer dropouts. This severely disempowers the American population through academics and extra-curricular activities. Many kids don’t want to attend school because they are not involved. For instance, my best friend was not involved in anything throughout her high school carrier. She always wanted to hang out, but I would be busy with all of my activities. By the end of her senior year, she wished that she could’ve graduated early. Most importantly, it is hard to be involved when there is no funding for the programs. Just like in Stand and Deliver (1988), Mr. Escalante wanted to teach computer science, but he couldn’t because there were no computers.
Diversity is also an important role in compulsory education. If kids are constantly hanging around with the same people, they are never going to experience other things. In Stand and Deliver (1988), the students always were around the same people who can eventually; hinder their ability to have an open mind. Angel always hung around “gangsters” that eventually became a problem because he got in trouble with cops. If a bad district continuously stays the same, the American population is not going to benefit from it. In Still Separate, Still Unequal, a teacher says that she has only had one white student in all her years of teaching (Kozol 240). It is unfortunate to think that our schools are not diverse. How students are supposed to know of the “outside” world when they are secluded to majority students?
Standardizing testing also disempowers the students and puts pressure on them to be the best, or they will fail. At my old high school, a girl took the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) at least 6 times before passing. Her consequence for not passing was that she wasn’t able to walk at graduation. This disempowers the American population because many students now entering high school become nervous because they know the stakes of the TAKS. Another friend of mine also couldn’t pass the TAKS. She eventually dropped out of high school and received her GED. Standardized testing disempowers the education system because there is no creativity in teaching the material. Each teacher is told to teach material a certain way so that their students can pass the test. This imposes the problem of having no individuality. Kids aren’t able to express their own creative writing styles. This mandatory testing discourages and lowers student’s self-confidence.
In the recent years the compulsory education has become disempowering for the American population. It disempowers through the amount of time students attend school, the school support system, and demographics and standardized testing. It is unfortunate to conclude that education discourages when it is suppose to empower the American population.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Paper 4
Courtney Abadie
English 1310
Micah Robbins
30 October 2007
Word Count: 759
Religion in Public School
In today’s American Society, Christian beliefs are prevalent in many areas of public life. Expression of these Christian beliefs can be seen in many aspects of the public education system. Some of these expressions include: a moment of silence, core curriculum and athletic activities. These aspects in public schools play a role in shaping the American public life.
Many schools begin each day with a moment of silence in which students are allowed to pray, meditate, or reflect. Each state has individual ways of governing the moment of silence. In Texas, for example, the law states that each student has the right to pray or mediate in a non-disruptive atmosphere. In Ohio, the moment of silence allows students the time to mediate “upon a moral, philosophical, or patriotic theme” (law.jrank.org). Some states, such as Montana and Kentucky, encourage prayer at the beginning of the school day. In Montana, it is legal for an administrator of the school to start the day with a prayer. Also, in Kentucky, the Lord’s Prayer can be recited to teach the country’s history, only if it is authorized by the local school district. The participation in both Montana and Kentucky are voluntary, though it’s encouraged for most students. Nineteen out of the fifty states do not have a policy with the moment of silence. That is only thirty-eight percent of the nation either not participating with the moment of silence or not having specific laws (law.jrank.org). Without religion present in public school, a moment of silence could not be observed; the principal could not allow time for personal reflection. Without religion, during a normal school day people would not be offended.
Christian beliefs are also evident in the public school core curriculum. It can be found amid the on-going debate over whether Biology classes should teach evolution or creationism. The main difference between evolution and creationism is the science versus religion. The general law states that “Evolution must only be taught as scientific fact. Creationism may not be taught as science under any circumstance (www.adl.org/religion). In 1998, a Minnesota science high school teacher, Rodney Le Vake, educated his students on the subject of creationism. Le Vake also “told a colleague that he had scientific doubts about Charles Darwin’s view” of evolution (Cline, Austin). This case sparked the idea of Le Vake wanting to teach his own students the idea of creationism. His argument was supported by the First Amendment, later dismissed by Minnesota appeals court, and then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled he should teach the curriculum of evolution without creationism. This ruling stands today because Biology teachers are only allowed to teach evolution, although the students are allowed to discuss creationism outside of the classroom setting (Cline, Austin). If religion was not present in public core curriculum, Supreme Court cases over Biology would not exist.
Christian beliefs are present in public school athletic activities, such as the organization of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This organization supports “See you at the Pole” in which students meet at the school’s flag poles in the early morning to pray. There are certain regulations to this activity as stated on www.ed.gov. Although this activity is permitted, “school officials, acting in an official capacity, may neither discourage nor encourage participation in such an event.” This is a religious activity that is observed by all religions. Another athletic activity that is affected by religion is the presence of Christian beliefs at sporting events. In March of 1991, a lawsuit was filed by a Mormon and Roman Catholic family because Galveston’s Santa Fe Independent School District allowed students to pray before a football game over the PA system. This case was taken to the Supreme Court in 1995, and in 2000, the court concluded that including prayer during a state sponsored activity was unconstitutional. The school tried to support their prayer by stating that it was not mandatory to attend or participate in the invocation before the game. The Supreme Court denied this statement on the grounds that it might have personally offended students’ religious beliefs (religioustolerance.org). Without religion, there would not be Supreme Court cases over public prayer at football games or “See you at the Pole” gatherings. Religion is present in many aspects of the public school system including: a moment of silence, core curriculum, and athletic activities. It is clear that religion has an impact on students of the public education system no matter what their religion is. This impact can be positive or negative based on the personal beliefs of each student.
English 1310
Micah Robbins
30 October 2007
Word Count: 759
Religion in Public School
In today’s American Society, Christian beliefs are prevalent in many areas of public life. Expression of these Christian beliefs can be seen in many aspects of the public education system. Some of these expressions include: a moment of silence, core curriculum and athletic activities. These aspects in public schools play a role in shaping the American public life.
Many schools begin each day with a moment of silence in which students are allowed to pray, meditate, or reflect. Each state has individual ways of governing the moment of silence. In Texas, for example, the law states that each student has the right to pray or mediate in a non-disruptive atmosphere. In Ohio, the moment of silence allows students the time to mediate “upon a moral, philosophical, or patriotic theme” (law.jrank.org). Some states, such as Montana and Kentucky, encourage prayer at the beginning of the school day. In Montana, it is legal for an administrator of the school to start the day with a prayer. Also, in Kentucky, the Lord’s Prayer can be recited to teach the country’s history, only if it is authorized by the local school district. The participation in both Montana and Kentucky are voluntary, though it’s encouraged for most students. Nineteen out of the fifty states do not have a policy with the moment of silence. That is only thirty-eight percent of the nation either not participating with the moment of silence or not having specific laws (law.jrank.org). Without religion present in public school, a moment of silence could not be observed; the principal could not allow time for personal reflection. Without religion, during a normal school day people would not be offended.
Christian beliefs are also evident in the public school core curriculum. It can be found amid the on-going debate over whether Biology classes should teach evolution or creationism. The main difference between evolution and creationism is the science versus religion. The general law states that “Evolution must only be taught as scientific fact. Creationism may not be taught as science under any circumstance (www.adl.org/religion). In 1998, a Minnesota science high school teacher, Rodney Le Vake, educated his students on the subject of creationism. Le Vake also “told a colleague that he had scientific doubts about Charles Darwin’s view” of evolution (Cline, Austin). This case sparked the idea of Le Vake wanting to teach his own students the idea of creationism. His argument was supported by the First Amendment, later dismissed by Minnesota appeals court, and then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled he should teach the curriculum of evolution without creationism. This ruling stands today because Biology teachers are only allowed to teach evolution, although the students are allowed to discuss creationism outside of the classroom setting (Cline, Austin). If religion was not present in public core curriculum, Supreme Court cases over Biology would not exist.
Christian beliefs are present in public school athletic activities, such as the organization of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This organization supports “See you at the Pole” in which students meet at the school’s flag poles in the early morning to pray. There are certain regulations to this activity as stated on www.ed.gov. Although this activity is permitted, “school officials, acting in an official capacity, may neither discourage nor encourage participation in such an event.” This is a religious activity that is observed by all religions. Another athletic activity that is affected by religion is the presence of Christian beliefs at sporting events. In March of 1991, a lawsuit was filed by a Mormon and Roman Catholic family because Galveston’s Santa Fe Independent School District allowed students to pray before a football game over the PA system. This case was taken to the Supreme Court in 1995, and in 2000, the court concluded that including prayer during a state sponsored activity was unconstitutional. The school tried to support their prayer by stating that it was not mandatory to attend or participate in the invocation before the game. The Supreme Court denied this statement on the grounds that it might have personally offended students’ religious beliefs (religioustolerance.org). Without religion, there would not be Supreme Court cases over public prayer at football games or “See you at the Pole” gatherings. Religion is present in many aspects of the public school system including: a moment of silence, core curriculum, and athletic activities. It is clear that religion has an impact on students of the public education system no matter what their religion is. This impact can be positive or negative based on the personal beliefs of each student.
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