Ms. Labriola
Unit 1: Education
AP Language and Composition 2017-2018
Do our schools serve the goal of a true education? What is a true education?
Unit 2: Popular Culture AP Language and Composition Blog your response to the essential questions: 1. How is history defined by the “pop” culture of a society? 2. How does a person’s individual history (or life) differ from that of history textbooks? Why are both “versions” important for us to remember and study? 3. How has American pop culture evolved from the past to today?
Jena Cheikhali :
ReplyDeleteTrue education is breaking free from ignorance, the values and morals embedded in an individual, and regard to self-love and happiness. The lack of understanding each other stems from ignorance.Ignorant individuals find it hard to accept one another because society and media brainwashed them with lies. Ignorant people also tend to live a careless life because they don't pay attention to their surrounding nor to each other.Education is also knowing right from wrong.It is how the community interacts with each other and the good characteristics sewed within one's personality.
I believe that our schools do not serve the goal of a true education in today's day and age.Nowadays, school seems to be strictly focused on tests,projects,and grades.Students who don't reach the grade expectations of today's society are put down by others and even by themselves.Our schools don't teach us the importance of self love and self happiness and don't put emphasis on its impact on one's life. Sadly, good grades seem to be considered better than a good heart.
I believe that schools serve the goal of true education to an extend. The education system in this country focuses mainly in meeting standards . However, following the Common Core limits innovation. The education system is based on what the government believes children across the country should be learning but in reality it does not meet the goal and truly educate students. Students sit in classrooms for 8 hours a day, learning from notes and textbooks, it has become a banking system. The teacher deposits information to the students, expects them to memorize it and after the unit is over, the student forgets it. This repetitive system does not teach students how to live as an active member of society, or how to enlighten their minds and free themselves from ignorance.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, in my opinion education is freedom from ignorance in different areas. Education does not only relate to the subjects taught in school but to the knowledge that will help an individual engage in personal and social activities. Education is discovery, an enlightenment that invites a different side of the truth to the life of people.
Paula Sanchez
Alecsis Pesantez
ReplyDeleteThe American school system does not serve the goal of a true education. This is because students are placed on a factory like system of learning. Students are funneled into crowded classrooms and are taught the same lesson. Then they move on to the next one and the next one. Soon the test rolls around and then the class learns more material building off of the previous lessons. But what about the students who were left in the dark.
Let’s that Mark is in an eighth grade math class. He aspires to be an aerospace engineer. He aces the integer unit and feels confident in his math skills. Then comes solving complex algebraic equations. Mark is at a complete loss. He asks his teacher for help, but she doesn’t make any sense when she explains the problems. Tutoring is costly, so that is out of the question for Mark’s parents. Mark graduates middle school and enters high school. In Algebra I, Mark runs into quadratic equations. Because he never mastered solving complex equations, he cannot solve quadratic equations either. Year after year, high school mathematics just becomes harder and harder. Although Mark passes every grade and eventually graduates, the gaps in his learning are still apparent. In college, Mark bombs his math courses. He gives up the dream of aerospace engineering because he thinks he lacks the math “bone” in him.
The tragic fall of Mark is the result of a faulty process of teaching students academic skills, whether it be mathematics or reading comprehension. Students aren’t concerned about mastering the material and applying it to their lives; instead, they are worried about failure. The truth is: failure is an essential part of growth. Through failure, you understand where you lack proficiency in. Only then can you actually improve. Instead of emphasis on test scores, schools should emphasize mastery and learning from failure.
A true education is on that emphasizes on mastery of skills that can possibly turn into a passion, and henceforth, a career. Skills such as financial independence, parenthood, mental wellness, and time management to name a few are essential to adult life. And these are just baseline skills everyone should know. Skills such as social awareness and negotiation can lead to a career in sales. Skills such as marksmanship and self-defense can lead to a career in law enforcement or the military. Schools should also teach students a better understanding of responsibility and consequence. In real life, there are rarely second chances for some decisions.
No, I do not believe our schools serve the goal of a true education. A true education in my opinion would be knowledge that we can put forth and use for the remainder of our lives. In school, we are taught about subject areas varying from radicals and primary colors to allegories and the anatomy of a plant. While all of this is definitely useful, it does not prepare us for what to do when we graduate. Only certain schools mandate a student to take financial literacy or a course of its kind. Many schools do not help you learn how to balance a checkbook, or a fix a flat tire, or even uphold social skills that you will need in order to succeed for the rest of your life. A true education will prepare you for life, and help guide you along a long, bumpy journey. Although, you do gain critical thinking skills based off of class discussions and based off of assignments. However, when you are faced with college debt, opening up bank accounts, and bills, you will not have had previous knowledge guiding you on what interest rate is acceptable or late fees and everything in between.
ReplyDelete-Christina
People hold different values but they are similar in wanting to teach the younger generations what is considered important. A true education would fulfill what an individual actually needs to know to survive in the real world. Usually the most important things are not said but rather experienced, such as practicing financial management at a young age to avoid debt. An education is true if an individual finds self satisfaction in what he or she is learning and obtains a purpose in life.
ReplyDeleteThe schools in Belleville serve the goal of a true education but only to a certain extent. In the past few years, the district and Board of Education introduced many new programs to help the students experience and explore themselves with new surroundings. Specifically, the high school has a lot of special classes to offer that provide a head start in a student's possible career choice, such as cosmetology and mascom. However, the Board has conditions for these classes and students are responsible for fulfilling graduation requirements as well as meet certain criteria. The district is so focused on improving the scores on statewide tests and evaluations that what they do is create more work and raise the expectations for students and staff. Teachers want to be able to teach comfortably but sometimes, they are forced to cram in lessons or not teach the material at all. In addition, students should be allowed to have flexibility in their schedules to take courses that help with their career choice, not take courses that will no have use to them in the future or be randomly put into a class. Some students will take a class just for the heck of it, some sacrifice their lunches to take specific classes. By junior or senior year, some students still do not have any idea of what they might want to do after graduation. If receiving an education is what readies an individual for the future, then what Belleville needs to do is stop overwhelming its people.
- Vivian
Schools must prepare young adults for the real world. Real world agendas, such as avoiding foreclosure and budgeting money for food and insurances is essential to all citizens. Young adults struggle to find jobs and managing money with can make them prone to financial downfall. Paying off loans and student debt can take decades and lead to bankruptcy if not handled correctly. Teaching people how to be financially stable prepares them to live on their own. Furthermore, students should strictly focus on their career paths. Obtaining a job is survival of the fittest; the one who is most apt for the job will be hired. Focusing on perfecting abilities in a career can make you a strong candidate in interviews. The real world is one large competition.
ReplyDeleteOur schools give us a true education on some aspects. In Belleville High School, it is mandatory to take financial literacy. The class does enforce the importance of budgeting and establishing a credit score early. Also, real world applications are made to better understand what someone should do in a specific financial struggle. Furthermore, our school has classes that focus on fashion, cosmetology, music, etc. This may be helpful for students to test their abilities in those types of careers, however, the student's schedules are also given mandatory classes such as english, math, history, and science. These classes distract the student because they prioritize the mandatory classes rather than the ones that teach basics in the career that is wanted. The school concentrates on meeting the standards of the state/district rather than the standards of living in the real world. The school's true education is limited.
-Carla
I do not think schools serve their true goal as true education. A true education is one devoid of competition from their peers, where you can learn at your own pace and learn life lessons. Schools do teach you important skills, but they do not explain how to lead a very functional or progressive life. Schools should teach us important life skills such as how to figure out if discount prices at the grocery stores are truthful, or how to recognize scams in advertising and the forms that they take, or steps you should take when your car breaks down. Practicality and intelligence lead to a true education, and schools fail to do that effectively.
ReplyDeleteSchools lack the flexibility and change of everyday life. True education is experience and the wisdom that you gain with you. Schools pressure good grades over wisdom, which leads to only learning and retaining facts short-term. Because of its impracticalness in everyday life and rigid structure, our schools do not serve the goal of a true education.
Joshua Edmunds
Janeal Corpuz
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a true education prioritizing the essential skills for a particular career and focusing on the improvement of learning, without money becoming an issue for students. The majority of American high schools usually consists of general education. These schools provide an education on broad skills, yet mandatory, such as knowledge of history, literature, and mathematics. High schools serve as a start up, or a beginning phase of a true education. Elective classes that expand on other categories besides the essential classes demonstrate student choice. Student choice of classes is important so that they can explore early for what they want for their future. For example, having zoology as a class might affect a student's thought and inspire them to study a job involving animals. Belleville High School in particular does not truly demonstrate a true education. Belleville's system works as giving certain classes to students as a mandatory requirement, not what they want to do. Student choice is very limited, but exceptions do occur which may help the student for better or for worse. My idea of having a true education must have a student plan out his future and admit themselves to a school that emphasizes on teaching the student's career choice. Unfortunately, while some colleges do have that selective feature, money and reputation are factors that ruin a person's chance to achieving their dreams. It is human nature to learn and acquire a thirst for knowledge. Capitalizing this human instinct to an extreme is a problem in most American colleges. Colleges do support the idea of selecting particular classes for a career, however, students drowning in debt for most of their lives is a living hell. Countries such as Finland and Germany have mostly free college tuition and they stand as the best in education. Most European countries believe in free education, which contributes to my ideal true education. How can a student improve their learning abilities while working multiple part time jobs to pay for their tuition? In the end, money drags down a student's concentration to truly enhance their skills. Motivation is the key for graduation and success. Sadly, many American students lack the initiative to go beyond their dreams to learn because of the harsh reality of financing.
In my opinion, schools do not serve the goal of a true education. The school system is solely based on numbers. The grades we earn seem to define our past, present, and future. Without good grades, students will not be able to go into a great college and accomplish their dream job. If a student dreams of becoming a doctor, a dentist, or a lawyer, then they need to have high grades. Students are pressured to do well on tests, quizzes, and projects to achieve good grades. Sometimes, cheating and cramming on studying ensues from this pressure. Therefore, without amazing grades, students will not be able to get a good job to support themselves in the future.
ReplyDeleteA true education is to inspire students to learn and apply what they learn. Without a hunger for learning, then there is no purpose to come to school. Learning is about observing and gaining knowledge. This knowledge should be beneficial to the student, especially to the student's future. A true education should teach students important skills, such as observing, experimenting, and so on. These skills are necessary in our daily lives. A true education should teach students how to survive.
-Justinne
I believe that our schools partially serve the goal of a true education. Schools teach basic skills needed in life such as basic math and english. However, certain subjects covered in schools do not serve the vast majority of students. For example, learning about parabolas may be relevant to an architect but not to a hair stylist. True education is teaching about skills that will help students in the future. This includes finances, social skills, and other life skills. Students need to be prepared for when they are on their own and need to provide for themselves. They need to know how to take care of themselves and the world around them. A true education will prepare students for any difficulties they will face in the future. In brief, knowing how to balance a check book is significantly more important than knowing how atoms bond together.
ReplyDelete-Theresa
I believe a true education expands one's range of interests, activities, and knowledge. It should not merely consist of core subjects such as math, science, history, and literature-instead it should expose young minds to areas of studies such as theatre arts, feminism, and psychology. A wide variety of subjects provides students who may be struggling with direction, some sense of who they are and want to be in the coming future. Although core curriculars such as math and literature are used in every aspect of modern society. A true education should not limit its students to basic subjects, rather it should broaden their horizons and aid them in developing a sense of direction for the course of their life. I do believe the education system today exemplifies my idea of a true education.
ReplyDelete-Camillah
While I do agree that the material schools teach to us today cannot be defined as a true education, it still, in my eyes, does not completely fail to meet the denotation of the label just yet. Rather, I see it more of just falling short. This is as a result of the population's inability to come to a complete consensus, and, therefore, creating a corrupt school system. A true education will always vary from person to person because each person's interests may be different. Even if one group of people are content with how students are taught and tested now, another group may dislike it. Taking this into consideration, there is no way that school can ever be truly educating for all its students. In my opinion, what it is now is the best it can be. Students will continue to make arguments about how taking certain classes may be a waste of time and effort for them because they may be already certain of their future. However, others may actually need that class for his or her own future. Even more, most students don't know for sure what they want and may actually need the exposure to multiple classes in order to really decide. Schools offer a large variety of classes from main subjects such as math and science to ones that teach actual life skills such as home economics. This way, all students can experience and learn from every subject. Some may not necessarily need it in their life, and some may. Regardless, I believe our schools have achieved the bare minimum for being what is known as a true education.
ReplyDelete-Emily
Although I strongly agree with the point you made about all of the variety school has to offer concerning its classes, I am at odds with you when it comes to schools meeting the bare minimum, I feel the moment you don't take into consideration how a student and incorporates into a lesson is the moment the education system fails completely, and it's sad but i've seen this happen before.
DeleteNo, our schools do not serve the goal of a true education. If schools did there would not be so many ignorant people in the world. If they did there would not be so many struggling children in failing schools. If schools did there would not be so many people settling for a college they did not want because it's cheaper or in debt because of college and not be able to take the classes they want or continue at that college. I read an Instagram post by notcommonfacts that said "Nowadays, school is not about learning anymore. It is about passing." If school is now all about passing and meeting requirements and not learning then schools do not serve the goal of a true education.
ReplyDeleteA true education is an education that teaches its students real world skills such as how to file taxes like Alecsis said in class or operate a cash register but also doesn't force you to take courses you do not want. It doesn't fail you just because you are horrible at Math or Science or any other subject just because it's a requirement. A true education focuses on the individual student, making sure he or she understands and is doing well and does not put standards and requirements above them.
~Jamie-Ann
The meaning of a true education is subjective, as there are many shades of gray to its interpretation. True education is obtaining knowledge necessary for one’s future to thrive and incorporating that knowledge to gain an open perspective towards the world. It fuels and motivates one’s desire to learn, rather than a vain attempt to force the individual to learn criteria in which he or she will forget about after a single assessment. It is self-awareness and an understanding of balance between himself and the world.
ReplyDeleteSchool systems partially serve the goal for a true education, since a handful of its methods limit certain aspects tied with education. Where schools present a positive contribution to an individual’s life, it also creates conflicts that challenges its true intentions. In fact a majority of high schools encourage and promote different occupations in extracurricular programs; these clubs may serve as a basic foundation towards the development of traits including leadership, responsibility, and gumption for students to nurture as they mature. While school systems advocate for individuality and a bright future, it also emphasizes the significance of standardized testing--often times, overwhelming the student with idealized expectations and pressure. It leaves students with damaging views on his or her ability to accomplish a test, since students should work with their own pace of learning and eventually improve their skills towards a particular subject. While pressure is deemed necessary to shape one’s mental strength and development of healthy work habits, the idea of a mere assessment determining an individual’s direction in his or her life and livelihood is difficult to digest and manage. These exams and other subjects irrelevant to one’s desired occupation leave the student questioning the education system’s integrity and clouds his or her potential to truly succeed. Teachers make fruitless efforts to enlighten a student’s mind with information, which is a result from a lack of connection and interaction between the two parties. A student must break away from unneeded constrictions and develop their own opinions and attitude. Additionally, grades do not measure one’s intellectual capabilities, though with a clear judgment, it motivates students to obtain knowledge and succeed. In a world of black and white, schools must meet a silver lining, a mutual consensus, between an individual’s general understanding of the world and the essential criteria he or she needs to advance in life.
-Maria
To fully answer your question you must consider the way the school system is set up and the fundamental reasons behind education today. Around the time school for the average person was created America was just fresh off of a war, and our country needed to produce people quickly who could function in a normal society,so already, education started off wrong. However, the underlying problem is, school was created for certain reasons that might’ve worked for 2 or even 3 generations but the world has evolved and unfortunately the systematic way of our education system hasn’t. The priority of school after World War II certainly was not to teach students in the best way possible with the best possible methods used, corporal punishment was still encouraged in those days which gives you an idea of how far off we were. However, it’s not all a lost because with universal truths being discovered about learning disabilities and simply the overall development of our society we have improved schooling to the point where it’s available to every single person who lives in America and everyone is expected to benefit. Saying that, I’ve come to find that people did benefit, people became corrupt, america industrialized and the goal of a true education was set aside to make a couple dollars. Schools became a source of money, for people who had no intention of bettering the system. I can tell you from personal experience spending most of your day in a classroom, copying from textbooks, and taking orders is NOT the ideal learning experience and it most definitely does not serve the goal of a true education.
ReplyDeleteTo me, in a perfect society where people aren’t greedy or selfish, the truest version of education would be putting the student first, in every way possible. Instead of depending on a grade, you would depend on the student’s ability to comprehend what the teachers is trying to explain and then proving so not because they have too but because they have a genuine interest and they want to. Instead of having standard classes and limited options, students would be able to develop skills in a way that takes into consideration how each student learns, completely individual and on a personal student by student level. Hopefully, developing these skills that are necessary for real life, they can then turn to something they have a passion for into a career and that is how people would come to love their lives, look at monday morning with excitement, and maybe even feel disappointed when friday comes. How many adults do you know that genuinely love their life because of what they do?
- Gabriela