Diante Adams W1 APA edits
5. One of Adler's contentions is that if the intentions of the Paideia Proposal cannot be carried out in schools whose students come from the lower socioeconomic strata, then democracy will die. It is his sincere belief that all students, even the least fortunate, can handle his proposed curriculum. But how legitimate do you believe this hope is when Holt states, "I think that schools and schooling, by their very nature, purposes, structure, and ways of working are, and are meant to be, an obstacle to poor kids, designed and built not to move them up in the world, but to keep them at the bottom of it and to make them think it is their own fault” (Adler, 1982)
I support Adler’s (1982) argument that universal education is required for democracy to be implemented and sustained. Education is necessary for people to be enlightened, make decisions, and be able to particulate in a democracy. The concept of democracy is that the government must be “of the people, by the people [and] for the people” (source, date, p.___). Without universal education, there are two possible scenarios that would occur. First, the tyranny of the mob may occur. Next, it is also possible that the government may simply be made up of a small group of elites controlling the masses in undemocratic ways. In many countries which are relatively new to democracy, such as Indonesia and Timor Leste, it can be observed that the lack of universal education is a key reason why their implementation of democracy has been unstable. It has been presented in numerous researches that schooling and democracy are highly correlated. For example, Glaeser, Ponzetto and Shleifer (2006) posited that “l,… schooling teaches people to interact with others and raises the benefits of civic participation, including voting and organizing” (p.___).
Conversely, Holt’s (1974) views that schools are designed to hinder poor kids students deserve to be challenged. Schools Teachers can help to empower poor students to help them break out of the poverty cycle. It is true that poor students may be at a disadvantage because the more well-to-do students are able to afford tuition or other forms of assistance that allows them to cope better with schoolwork. However, this is when Adler’s (1982) Paideia proposal Proposal becomes meaningful for the Paideia Proposal is because it is designed to eliminate such disadvantages by ensuring that everyone gets access to education. In addition, the syllabus is designed to be broader in scope to ensure that students have opportunities to discover and focus on their areas of interests and strengths.
ReferenceReferences
Adler, M. J. (1982, July). The Paideia Proposal: Rediscovering the essence of education. In J. W. Noll (Ed.), Taking sides: Clashing views on educational issues (17th expanded ed., pp. 17-23). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Glaeser, E., Ponzetto, G., & Scheifer, A. (2006). Why does democracy need education? Retrieved from http://www.unirule.org.cn/xiazai/jiangtan/2008080402.pdf
Holt, J. (1974). Escape from childhood. In J. W. Noll (Ed.), Taking sides: Clashing views on educational issues (17th expanded ed., pp. 24-28). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Glaeser,E,Ponzetto, G & Shleifer, A (2006). “Why does Democracy need Education?” Retrieved from http://www.unirule.org.cn/xiazai/jiangtan/2008080402.pdf.