an analytical, argumentative 4 full pages essay

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Anh Tran

Professor Munoz

English 101

3-17-17

The Education System in the US

The American public school system has long been seen to curtail creativity and promote

academic mediocrity due to the emphasis on passing standardized tests. Considering every student

is unique in terms of talents and learning ability, the grading system discourages students from

developing in their own capacity which leads to a negative perception about education. Most

students consider elementary school to be the most enjoyable aspect of their learning since learning

was supplemented by fun activities. As students progress within the system, they tend to

experience numerous pressures to perform which leads to knowledge drain and may promote

school drop outs. The essay will critique the system to identify the aspects of the school

environment that make it challenging for students.

The school environment is traditionally designed to categorize students based on their

academic achievement. A series of tests are used to gauge performance that directs the placement

of students. I appreciate the need for a system that identifies the learning needs of every student

and design teaching programs that address these needs, however, the current placement system

only serves to frustrate and isolate the so-called ‘weak' students. Rose's placement was a confusion

that was never identified leading to his stay in vocational track for two years. Rose points out that

the vocational track served as a dumping ground for students who were not quite making and most

teachers failed to implement effective teaching techniques that would engage the imagination of

I would ground this assertion with a quote or citation

This is a good place to introduce sources

comma

Avoid overt announcements and instead specifically explain which areas/aspects are challenging

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semi-colon

Introduce author's name and title here

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the students in his class. The focus of the classes was to increase the economic opportunities of the

students and impact job skills like troubleshooting, effective communication and problem-solving.

Due to the lack of inventiveness by teachers, the students in the Voc. Ed. classes did not develop

but instead succumbed to the pressures of the system by morphing into mediocre students in terms

of problem-solving and learning enthusiasm (Rose 168). The placement process should be well

planned to identify the specific qualification criteria and the systemic learning outcomes required

for each level. This will guide teachers in their teaching criteria to ensure children develop and

grow regardless of their placement.

Ken Robinson's talk on "Do schools kill creativity" questions the integrity of the school

system's ability to effectively educate children. He identifies that the system is fixated on

celebrating one type of intelligence that is evident in the hierarchy of subjects. He points out the

global uniformity of this hierarchy with mathematics and languages taking the highest caliber,

followed by humanities and finally the arts. He insists that a radical reorganization of the school

system is necessary to develop a culture that promotes creativity and acknowledges the different

types of intelligence. The school environment's emphasis on the importance of academic

achievement over artistic prowess makes talented children feel inferior and pressurized to conform

to the school norm. As a result, the system discourages creativity and suppresses the adventurous

attitude and thirst for knowledge that children are associated with (David and Krueger 25). This

hierarchical system makes other subjects appear superior to others which affect how students

perceive their worth within the system. It is important to appreciate all subjects and give them

equal importance since with our changing world, careers in humanities and arts are equally

important as those in mathematics and linguistics.

right

Here, I would include the number of tests students typically taken and a little more outside research

capitalizeTransition

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OK--now circle back to a larger thesis

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Mike Rose's "I wanna be average" narrates his academic journey in a private high school

to highlight how the system disenfranchises students and promote the deterioration of education

in its capacity to impact lives and instill necessary life skills that contribute to the wholesome

growth of individuals. The phrase "I wanna be average" was said by one of his classmates and

became one of the most memorable statements he had ever heard in the Voc. Ed classes. The

school was a disorienting place that was full of dissonant notions perpetrated by both teachers and

students alike (Rose 165). With children from different backgrounds interacting in a common

space, feeling socially excluded is a common phenomenon especially when students are struggling

with issues of self-identity and acceptance. Rose points out that most children cling to the implied

identity of being in the vocational track by defining yourself as average without any exceptional

excellence capacity. This notion leads students to reject intellectual stimuli and cultivate stupidity

through sarcasm and ignorance. A system that encourages children to think themselves as stupid

and therefore acts the part is clearly inappropriate and ineffective in its objective to promote the

spread of knowledge (Hanushek 1159).

Rose speaks of his deliverance from the Voc. Ed. the world as an emphasis on how

inefficient the system was at improving the learning skills of the students to groom them for the

classroom. Despite the fact that the vocational track was meant to nurture students with distinct

learning needs, it only managed to impact negative perceptions about their academic ability that

frustrated and discouraged the students. The disinterest for learning is evident with the technique

that Rose and Snyder developed to cheat in multiple-choice exams.

The issue of diversity has continually been advocated in learning institutions that hope to

champion coexistence and tolerance. The Lady of Mercy was a school in LA which had students

from diverse cultural, economic and social backgrounds. It can be difficult for students to

Transition--introduce earlier since he is mentioned earlier

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Maybe combine with earlier paragraph

Aha, this idea should be raised in intro/thesis.

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successfully integrate themselves into the school environment that is often characterized by class

divisions (Rose 165). Being in vocational track inherently led to some degree of social isolation

which makes the students own their placement and develop negative coping strategies to deal with

their situation. Schools should implement effective programs that foster the benefits of diversity

like interactive learning and sharing to mitigate the negative effects of diverse schools.

The school system should rethink their institution to ensure learning is wholesome and

appreciative of every student for his/her uniqueness. Going through school, I personally

experienced the pressure of education as I moved up different grades. More emphasis was placed

on academic performance which made school more stressful as opposed to fun and exciting.

Conformity seemed to be more advocated for with the use of standardized tests being the most

common form of assessment (David and Krueger 17). Ken Robinson's talk "Standardized tests

have a place, but they should be diagnostic" insist that the current system is misusing standardized

tests. The focus on performance often distracts from the bigger picture as is evident in Rose's lack

of knowledge about the college he wanted to go to. Jack MacFarland was instrumental in helping

Rose out of his scholastic indifference and preparing him for a future he never imagined he could

have.

In conclusion, the public school system is in dire need for reforms if it is to create a

conducive learning environment which will promote creativity and celebrate the many types of

intelligence. The use of standardized tests to facilitate student placement and continually assess

performance make students feel disenfranchised and neglected leading to a complaisant attitude

about learning. Understanding the different learning needs of students and developing customized

programs and techniques can drastically improve their academic performance without making

them feel excluded from the core school system.

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Yes! Consider support here

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Consider specific personal example

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Work Cited

Card, David, and Alan B. Krueger. "Does school quality matter? Returns to education and the

characteristics of public schools in the United States." Journal of political Economy 100.1

(1992): 1-40.

Hanushek, Eric A. "The economics of schooling: Production and efficiency in public schools."

Journal of economic literature 24.3 (1986): 1141-1177.

Robinson, Ken. "Bring On The Learning Revolution!". Ted.Com, (2010).

https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.

Robinson, Ken. "Do Schools Kill Creativity?". Ted.Com, (2006).

https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity#t-1149680.

Rose, Mike. "I just wanna be average." Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical

Thinking and Writing (1990): 161-172.

Should be at the top of the page

Works Cited

There is some missing information here

Needs publishing info and should not be in APA format