Barbara Truskolawski
Abigail Heiniger
ENG 1020
April 11, 2011
Op-ed in response to http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/education/10education.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=school%20or%20education&st=cse&scp=3
While in the article Most Public Schools may miss Targets states true facts about the alarming number of schools failing to meet educational standards as required by the government and the No Child Left Behind Act, it fails to recognize the reason for such negative results in meeting these targets of education. Obviously there are schools that need to improve the quality of teaching and how the students retain information vital for them to become productive American citizens. However, by connecting standardized test scores to financial support the no child left behind act does nothing but put pressure on educators to feed students information from the standardized test. How is that educating Americas youth to become citizens and improve their lives?
For America to really get ahead in education we need to focus on giving proper education to minorities. By the year 2050, what we consider to be minorities will actually be a majority with 54% of the population (Minorities 1). Minorities in poor, urban areas have been at an educational disadvantage since before the Plessey vs. Ferguson ruling. We know “separate but equal” was eventually considered unconstitutional in regards to racial segregation, yet today we have the same segregation between socioeconomic classes (Jewell 538). This creates an educational gap between the rich and poor in state run public schools.
Although No Child Left Behind was supposed to reduce this educational gap it fails to do so because of this financial incentive. Schools with a high population of minorities usually have the lowest test scores and the highest drop out rates. If money was a solution to this problem, the problem would no longer exist. The United States spends $ 11,152 per pupil per year to properly educate them (DeWeesse 2). If education reform would target and motivate these minorities, instead of threatening educators with money, this would not only improve test scores but also eventually increase graduation rates and thereby increase salaries and quality of life.
While no child left behind tries to erase this gap between urban and affluent schools, its only incentive is financial to the school. (Jewell 537-538) No matter if the teachers are fired or if the school closes, the students that attended that “failing” school will still need to attend some sort of school, usually in the intercity, and usually with the same academic problems. This creates a cycle of failing schools because of No Child Left Behind and its policies that do not address the root of the problem.
Another reason these schools may be failing is because of strictly relying on test scores to determine academic achievement, exactly what the No Child Left Behind Act does. The intentions in the plan are good, however by demanding that all students must know certain facts we are setting some schools up for failure. It has been argued that these exams are designed to “dumb-down” the students and prepare them for unskilled jobs. (DeWeese 2) Yet for America to prosper as a country we need to inspire and push American youth to strive for proficient jobs and careers. These standardized test results cannot adequately judge the progress of a student or even a school as a whole. At this point, the tests are used as financial bait to give reason to close schools or cut funding. According to The Spanish Journal of Psychology, students who set their own goals, learn more effectively than when goals are set for them (Valle 99). No child left behind does not allow schools and their pupils to do this. The rules in the act are strict and do not allow wiggle room for a change in the curriculum without severe financial consequences.
By ignoring minorities and determining academic progress by test scores the educational system is overall failing at producing productive American citizens. These students are not being taught how to learn but how to memorize facts and spit them out (Deweese 3). Socioeconomic class also divides students; making it extremely difficult to break away and narrow the educational gap.
If the American government continues treating the educational system as a business instead of a nurturing environment where minds can develop they will experience more disappointment in students than ever before. Americans of all classes and races should be outraged that their children are being used to lure finances instead of being vessels of growing knowledge. Educators should recognize this problem and somehow sway government reform to do what is most beneficial for each individual school. Without the union of parents and educators, government control will continue to lower American education standards, thereby lowering the American standards of life. Without major change in the current educational system and the no child left behind act America will continue on this educational decline and fall behind our competitors.
Authors Note
I structured this paper in form of an Op-ed in response to an article from the New York Times. The paragraphs are shorter for easier and more approachable reading like what would be found in a newspaper, the length of the paper is also shorter than a typical English paper. The language is more casual than a typical research paper or essay, but not much slang is used because the audience of The New York Times is typically middle to upper class Americans. This audience of people was targeted because they are most likely educated and many of them possibly have families and would be concerned for the well being of their child’s education. They would also have the most authority to try to make a change in the educational system because they can vote and if they have children can take opinions to their school’s parent/ teacher organizations.
The thesis in this Op-ed is not direct but is made clear throughout the paper, and made even more obvious in the final two paragraphs. To support my opinions I found various statistics and facts from trusted journals, articles and persons of authority. This used the rhetorical appeal of Logos and Ethos. The facts appealed to logic and the persons of authority and scholarly articles gave authority to my opinions. In total I used five different sources in this op-ed.
Works Cited
DeWeese, Tom. "Public Education Is Failing." Education. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 9 Mar. 2011.
Dillon, Sam. "Most Public Schools May Miss Targets, Education Secretary Says." Nytimes.com. 09 Mar. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/education/10education.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=school%20or%20education&st=cse&scp=3>.
Jewell, Joseph. "Education, Unequal." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 537-539. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 Mar. 2011.
"Minorities Expected to Majority in 2050." Articles.CNN.com. 13 Aug. 2008. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2008-08-13/us/census.minorities_1_hispanic-population-census-bureau-white-population/2?_s=PM:US>.
Valle, Antonio, Jose C. Nunez, Ramon G. Cabanach, and Julio A. Gonzalez-Pienda. "Academic Goals and Learning Quality in Higher Education Students." The Spanish Journal of Psychology 12.1 (2009): 96-105. Print.