Author Archives: florenceeii

As we all know, one of the biggest problems Americans are facing is the budget crisis. As a result, many schools are not receiving funds because the government are running out of money to give. This is causing the education system to have a down fall. One of the main focuses these articles talks about is whether students can continue to receive higher education. This poses a problem because the demand of higher education has increased over the past couple of years.  However, since the government has limited amount of money left, it enables children to go beyond high school. By cutting higher education, this will effect the economy greatly.

In today’s economy, the level of education has changed and demand for jobs has increased because jobs are limited. Therefore, the only way to stand out is to see the level of education one is in. If the students who rely on the government to provide college tuition are not doing so anymore , then they are at a disadvantage compared to other students when it comes to surviving. Also, problems such as poverty, crime rate and drop out rate will continue to rise. As a result, U.S will end up in a deeper “hole” than it is already in.

One of the problems that led up to the budget crisis was the fact that tax payers refused to contribute their money to education. In my opinion, these people are not setting their priorities correctly. They do not see the importance education has towards the future. Children are the people who will be in charge of what is going to happen in the next few decades. Therefore, if children are not receiving the education they need, it will only harm the country. If we take a look at other countries, we can see that the countries that were falling behind are now ahead of us. It’s only a matter of time that they will take over the power that we once gained. To find the person who can possibly solve our financial crisis will be someone who is intelligent and well rounded through the years of his or her living. However, how will that be possible if they are being denied for an education? As I said before, one will need a higher education in order to compete against others who are qualified. Do you think low paid jobs will become popular to those who might be over qualified for them but under qualified for business positions?

Aside from the internal problems that U.S are going to face, one must consider the threat that other countries are gonna have against us in the future. It might not hit everyone that the problems are getting more serious. However, it is to those countries who are advancing at a faster pace. U.S being one of the “powerful” countries might be taken advantage of such as foreign trade and other aspects in running the country. One of the obvious example is the trade between China and the U.S. Since everything is pretty much made in China, China has a large share of the U.S currency. Aside from that, other countries’ education such as china is much more ahead compared to U.S. These problems are slowly shifting America’s power. I understand that there are many more problems aside from the education aspect. However, I think if we start by improving the flaws the education system has, then we will be able to attack other areas as well in the future. Do you think that by putting more money in higher education, it will benefit the economy in some way in the future?

I enjoyed reading this article because I think it focused a lot more on parents involvement in a child life and their education. I personally agree because no matter what goes on a child’s life at school, he or she will always seek comfort and encouragement. However, we know that not all parents do that or can do that. Aside from children’ own effort, one can tell whether their parents are involved in their studies to help them achieve these goals. However, I think it can be distinct through the places where these students are brought up in. We all can say that children who come from stable homes have a greater chance of succeeding compare to those who don’t. Parents who does not struggle would be able to provide more opportunities and resources for their children. However, to base the  parents’ involvement with their children on the amount of income they make is false. Parents may give their child anything he or she needs, but if there aren’t any interaction between them, it would not matter. Although income does play a role in a child’s life, encouragement and letting your child know that you are there for them are what make a child improve. When I was a child, I lived with my mother and my two older brothers. I attended schools where resources was limited and my grades were not up to par compared to other students. Since I came to U.S when I was 8, I was at a disadvantage because was not prepared like other kids who were born here. I was not able to get tutoring because my mom couldn’t afford it. Having to constantly struggle to learn English and get used to the lifestyle definitely made it difficult for a 8 year old. Although my mother could not help me academically, she would try to get involved in my school life by talking to me. She was the kind of the person who I would go to whenever I seek help. Most of the time, all a child really needs is someone they can turn to to get them back on track. Therefore, Parent’s involvement is very important. Most importantly, they are the people who can help shape their children’ future. Do you think that parents know that they are at fault even though they always put the blame on teachers?

Aside from parents’ involvement, teachers’ involvement is very important as well. Simply because schools are children’ second home. Students see their teachers 5 days a week and it shows that the impact teachers have in their students’ lives. However, there are very few teachers who are willing to put effort in their teaching. As we have discussed in class previously, teachers are losing the drive to teach because they are being viewed as unimportant. This is a big problem because it loses a child’s motivation and the importance in education. The article suggested that it really changes the mindset of a teacher if he or she understands the backgrounds of his or her students. This will allow the teachers to adjust and come up with strategies that will increase the child’s learning. However, teachers are not willing to because they just see their profession as being a job and making a living. In my past experiences, I’ve encountered teachers who were not enthusiastic when they were teaching, making the subject very difficult to learn. On the other hand, there are teachers where students can feel the passion a teacher has just by the way she acts when she’s teaching. Sometimes a student can fall in love with a subject that he or she would of never thought it would happen. This shows the influence and the power a teacher has. The reason why I am a math major was because all my previous math teachers loved what she did and it made me excited to learn this subject. Before I’ve decided this major, I wanted to become an accountant. However, I changed it because the professor who was teaching the accounting course did not seem to be enthused at all. I think no matter what subject a teacher teaches, whether it is history or marketing, A teacher has the power to make it exciting and help students decide their future careers. As I mentioned before, being a teacher and being a stock broker are weighted differently in this society. The differences are shown through their salaries and opinions of the government. With the budget cuts and the reliance on funds from businesses, do you think the value of a teacher will continue to fall?

In Chapter 3, the author talks about how the government has set up a rule where, “[A]ll schools receiving federal funds are required to reach 100 percent passing rates for all student groups on state tests by the 2013-2014 school year.”  If we look at our education system today, everyone knows that this goal would be impossible. In my opinion, to make a statement like this one seems pointless. With the problems such as budget cuts and drop out rates increasing, we are part beyond from this “goal”. When saying all student groups, it includes special education and bilingual students as well. This alone proves that there is a cap between the time frames in terms of the students learning abilities. Although many would agree that to know whether students are improving academically or not, it can easily be shown through standardize exams. However, there are many flaws under this rule that was set up by the “Adequate Yearly Process”. One obvious flaw would be not knowing what exactly happened that led to the academic downfall in certain schools. An example would be, lets say a school continues to fail on meeting the goals that was set by the AYP and federal funding is being cut. I do not see how by cutting one of the most important resources to a school would help the school improve. Instead of going through such direct measures, the government should analyze as to why the school seems to be behind, especially year after year. By doing so, the government can attack the heart of the problems instead of rushing into irrational decisions. I know that by setting a “standard goal” can give everyone an overview of what needs to be accomplished. However, it should be realistic. Instead of rushing and looking at the bigger picture, sometimes it is best to just focus on one problem at a time. I understand that it will be time consuming especially with the financial problems we have, but it would be more effective compared to what the government is doing now. Therefore, do you think that different class sizes and different number of students have an affect on the process as to how schools are doing?

One of the main focus that chapter 4 talks about is the lack of closeness between the public and government. Most importantly, the lack of parents’ involvement in their child’s education. I agree with this idea completely. I think at this point, no one really knows what is going on in the education system unless it is effecting them personally. The lack of acknowledgment in the education today is what causing more problems to rise. If you take a look at many schools, one can see that the people who are running the schools are businesses. Since schools are desperate for financial support, they seek funding from big corporate companies. In return, schools must allow advertisements be be placed all around schools. At this point, what once use to be the goals in education in not anymore. The purpose of providing education to all students and ensuring that children can live a better lifestyle have changed. Businesses such as pepsi and coke are using these schools as a way to advertise their products. This benefits them greatly because they are attracting a bigger market. Sadly, parents do not know about this because they are never involved. As a result, education has turned into one of the powerful resources of advertisements to large businesses. As schools are slowly becoming part of the business world, do you think the Board of Education is in favor of this?

This chapter mainly talks about the “No Child Left Behind Act”. Aside from the obvious purpose this act serves as given in the name, it’s objective is to improve the academic excellence of every child. One way to approach it as the chapter mentions is giving out a standard curriculum where teachers must follow when teaching the class.  The problem with that is the government did not think about the students’ needs when coming up with this plan. Just thinking about the idea is going to work where one standard curriculum is given out to all schools already sounds bizarre. How is it possible when every student has different paces in learning? Students do not learn at the same rate because some students might be able to grasp the concepts quicker while others might not. To show how this is ineffective, when I was in high school, my math teacher was teaching at a very fast pace and some students weren’t getting the concepts. When students asked questions to get a better understanding, the teacher kept telling us to see her after class because we had to go through everything that was going to be in the final exam. In the end, students failed the regents. Once again, the idea is to provide an equal education opportunity for every student, but the outcome seems to hurt our education. Most importantly, students future.

The government needs to involve the students into their decision making, because that is the heart of the problem. I do not think it is solely the structure that is at fault, but it’s due to the lack of understanding how students can be taught that can get them to enjoy what they are learning. When thinking about why we are failing to reach the goals in the education system, almost every reason leads to the problems in students’ learning. As we all know, their environment and people around them influence students. Sadly it influences the government as well. Government are funding based on the excellence of the school, meaning if one school does better than another, then they will get a larger funding. This reflects on a students learning. Here they are saying that they want to provide an equal opportunity for every student, but how is that possible when schools that are in lower income neighborhoods are receiving less funding. Therefore, do you think equal funding and the “No Child Left Behind” Act go hand in hand?

Another focus that the chapter mentions is how success is determined by the exams. I disagree with that mentality completely. I do not agree with the Idea that if a student scores high in an exam, he or she fully understands the material that was taught. Basing the students intelligence to scores, takes away the purpose of education. Disagree if one feels differently, but I think the purpose of education is to learn, to take in important information that can help one towards a better understanding and future. However, this cannot be achieved if the focus is mainly on a student’s scores. In today’s society, students only care about getting a good grade.  They know that the higher their grades are, the more opportunities will be provided to them. This mentality will cause a Negative impact in America’s education system and it shows. The government constantly tries to come up with new ideas and leaving the problems alone. What they need to do is to use the money that is spent on these new ideas to help fix the problems. Do you think that the problems that our education system has are too big to be resolved?



The final chapter starts off with a very powerful statement, “Our nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, science and technological innovation is being taken over by competitors throughout the world.” Claiming to be an important message, not only do I agree with this statement completely but I think people are not seeing what a threat this can be for our country in the future. All this reflects on education. As we all know, countries who seem to be behind compare to U.S is slowly improving and making progress. However, our country seems to be stuck in one place or is falling behind. If we look at our education standards, we can easily say that it is beyond compared with other countries. In my opinion, Americans value very highly of ther views and opinions. The reason why education is not improving is because no one is willing to meet in the middle. Therefore, we’re not able to come to a conclusion and take action. A perfect example would be the Democrats and Republicans, they are constantly bickering on issues and claim they are trying to improve the economy and society. However, in the end they are only making matters worst. Most importantly, they are slowing down the improvment while other countries continue to advance. As we all know and some may disagree, the problems in education is not so much on matters that can easily be solved. Do you think it is possible for us to once again regain the advantages we had before the whole education crisis began?

One of the matters which U.S continues to feel strongly on and continues to debate over is whether or not we can place religion and school along the same line. I do not think that it is alright to combine the two, mainly because it is unfair to certain people in this country. As we all know, U.S is known for its diversity. With people coming into U.S from different countries, their culture and background are brought in as well. Therefore, it is impossible to enforce one religion in America. Which leads to my next point: Education. After the signing of the “No Child Left Behind”, people were afraid of the loss in religious values in school. I understand this is a big change considered that religion had a big impact in the education system. However, I think it is for the better because immigrants entering into this country is growing. Most importantly, U.S stands by the word “freedom”. Therefore, I think it is only right for them to respect the views of Americans. I do not think it is considered a loss because religion can be practiced else where, such as churches and home. As I mentioned multiple times, immigrants enter U.S every year along with their beliefs and culture. However, what about children from these immigrant families who are born in the U.S, do you think these children will carry on their parents’ values?

Another issue which I feel strongly about would be the standardized testing in schools. I completely disagree with the idea of determining how the schools and students are performing based on these test scores. I understand that this approach is best to show the government how schools in general are doing. However, they need to be more involved in education and see what the real problems are as to why certain schools’ test scores are so low. One might argue that this will cause unnecessary spending, but the way I see it,  money is well spent when one can find the core issues in educations. If the government invest more time in certain schools, they will find that low scores are reflected on the limited resources schools are being provided for. One can say that students who are given more attention to will most likely do better than those who don’t, and one can also say that schools who are given more funding to help students engage will most likely succeed compare to those who doesn’t have these privileges. These are only a few factors as to why testing scores should not be the only way in determining how schools are doing. That being said, aside from the spending increasing, do you think there are other reasons as to why the government is unwilling to pay more attention to individual schools?

I agree with Kozol’s point of view in terms of society having some responsibility as to why children’s academic performances are so low. As we discussed in class as well as other readings numerous times, I think it is mainly because society does not see education as being really important. Most importantly, they do not think tax money should be going to education. This is a problem because society does not understand that education and being in school is where kids are prepared to take on the challenges that the economy is going to face in the future. In other words, they will be the ones who will determine how the economy is shaped. Without looking looking at the consequences, society is not realizing the damages that are being done to the future generations.

Society complains how our education is falling behind but they do not understand that it is their wrong doing, especially in areas where poverty exist. these are the areas where drop out rates have increased dramatically. The reason is mainly because these kids do not see the importance in education with the lack of resources given to them. Most importantly, knowing that their families are working 20 hours a day to provide bare minimum, education might not be a child’s first priority. One of the greatest examples would be the movie “Freedom Writers”. It is about kids who live in the ghetto who are given minimum resources in school such as ripped up books and chalk broads. Meanwhile kids who are white and considered “intelligences” get brand new textbooks and marker boards. It is because of these differences that students recognizes that they are being looked down upon. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a surprise that they would want to shy away from that kind of school environment. Therefore, do you think by giving these schools equal resources with decrease the drop out rate?

Aside from the financial investments that should be put in schools, parents should also invest more time in their children as well as their education. Kozol made a very important point about parents taking part of their children’s school life. Parents’ often come up with excuses about them not having enough time because of trying to provide for their families, or that they do not have the education background to be helping their children. However, they do not understand that simple things can make a big difference. Coming from an single parent immigrant family, my mom was not able to help me with my school work because she was not brought up from a well educated family. However, she was able to provide encouraging words whenever I seem to need it. It made me feel that she was trying her best to understand the stress I was going through. That being said, families do not necessarily have to contribute to the homework part but just by letting their children know that they are being cared about might just be what the children need. Therefore, do you think that the problem is beyond that?

Like Tatum, I also agree that racism still exist and is around us everywhere. Although, it might not direct racist remarks but often times, there are other ways for a person to sound racist without saying it directly; One perfect example would be stereotypes. In many settings, people place judgments based on what they hear and might treat a certain person differently because they believe in these stereotypes. These stereotypes often get traveled through many generations. By categorizing each person because of his or her past shows that our so call “diverse” but equal country not so equal after all. This surfaces a problem in our society because there are people in this world who thinks racism can only be expressed verbally. Meanwhile, if we look around, there are segregation going on everywhere. Such as neighborhoods where its dominated by one race as well as classes in schools which only attracts a certain race. These are examples where it shows that segregation continues to exist. However, is it possible to say that there is good stereotyping where it can impact a person or a race positively?

Aside from our surroundings, the media has a great impact on stereotyping and racism as well. If we look at cartoons, we can see that there are certain features that points out a certain ethnicity to the audience. This can often times be offensive to certain race and disrespectful. One example would be to emphasizes that the character is Asian, the person would be drawn to have small slanted eyes. This shows that the media is approving these stereotypes and agreeing with them. A lot of times, people neglect the fact that the media has a huge impact on their audience, including children. Therefore, this is a problem because children might become racist and not even know. One perfect example of these shows is south park. There are many stereotypes and racism that are made into jokes for the audience and people do find it entertaining. Although it is adult humor and we are able to declare whats right and whats wrong, children who watch it may think that it is normal for a person who be racist. Then the question arises, do you think that aside from the media, parents also have an impact on their children becoming racist?

As we all know, United States had been through many events before education was able to become as diverse as it is today. Ending school segregation has been nothing but beneficial to the country. Most importantly, it shaped our education for the better. It allows students with different backgrounds come together and interacting with one another. Also, expands a child’s learning by being expose to other cultures other than their own. Having children interact with one another is the most ineffective way in understanding how one culture is different than the other; In a way, its “on hands” experience for children. In one of the sections in the chapter, one of the biggest impact towards American history was the segregation among blacks. After many years of struggling, they finally gained the rights they deserve. This shows one of the race among many who have influenced American History and surfaced education today. However, do you think through many hardship Americans’ had faced, was it worth it with our education system today?

Since United States is known for its diversity, there are many programs that cater to this trait and assist newcomers from other countries. Such program is called the ESL Program, this program helps preserve the students’ native language while learning English as well. This program benefits not only the children but the teacher as well. Students who come to U.S from different parts of the world might be intimidated because they are entering to a new place. Therefore, instead of placing these newcomers into a class of students they cannot communication with, they are placed in an environment with students who shares the same difficulty as them. This is also beneficial towards the teachers because often times, it can be difficult for a teacher to teach a lesson when he or she knows that there are students who can understand. Therefore, this programs offers a chance for students to learn the language first. I was one of the many who came to the U.S when I was eight years old, being afraid of not fitting in like others, I was placed into the ESL Program where I learned to speak English. Instead of being blocked off from other students who weren’t in the program, I was able to interact with them during times of the day. This help prepared me for when it was time to leave the ESL class. Most importantly, this help me familiarized with my new surroundings. However, we all know that these programs cost a lot of money. With the budget cuts, do you think they government should continue funding these programs?

I think military and education do go hand in hand because it benefit both the government as well as the people who are in the military. However, there are young men who join the military not because he want to but because the government provides financial stability for the families. Most importantly, they can then further their education because their school expenses will be provided. Therefore, it is not necessarily because they have pride in their country. However, our society is taught to do something that they might not want to as long as there is some sort of incentive. Although, it sounds horrible that it does not sound like Americans have pride in their country; but it does lessen unemployment for the young generation. We know that in this economy, it is very difficult to find jobs because of the competition and the school dropping rate increasing. Therefore, it is a great idea to employe young people into the military because if gives them opportunities. However, for the people who only join the military because they need to improve their living standards; do you like they are lacking nationalism as well?

I think the No Child Left Behind Act is a great idea because it provides opportunities for children of all classes. As we all know, poverty exists. Therefore, it is important to not neglect those who need help the most. The program such as the Head Start Program is very effective because often times, all a child really needs is to have the right resources given to them. An example would be in Baruch College, there is a program call Seek. Incoming freshmen are able to have a head start by taking their first course in the summer before fall starts. Being able to take a course before other students can during the summer gave me a feel of how college would be like. This in a way allowed me to prepare for what is going to be expected of me when I enter college. However as we all know, providing opportunities for every “child” can be costly; do you think it opportunities should be only given to those who care?

I believe that the media has a great impact on a child’s life and can help teach children through out their years as a child. Therefore, I think the fact that the movie industry has agreed to help educate people was a great idea. In today’s society, we see that many children are watching movies and tv shows that are considered inappropriate for their age group. Most importantly, they are acting like the characters in the movies and shows. A perfect example would be the Disney Channel. Although they have cartoons in the morning for children, as the day goes on, the target audience shifts to early teens. The problem is that once a child watches these shows, they begin to pick up on how the people react in that particular show. Often times, parents are not aware because they are not there to watch tv with their kids and think that Disney is only catered to one particular audience. Therefore, I think no matter how the media tries to censor certain content which may seem inappropriate for children, it is important for parents to take part as well. Most importantly, to avoid these unwanted shows, there are ways to prevent children from watching. One idea would be parental control, where parents can block certain shows to ensure that his or her child is not watching shows that are not suited for them. However, if the media does act as educators  in today’s society, can it have a negative impact on children or adults?

I think one of the problems with the media and education is that it is very difficult to be combined. As stated in the book, “All children’s programs should stress law and order, adult authority, good morals, and clean living.” I cannot imagine this rule being applied to today’s society. How can one determined what good morals are? Especially in the United State. Being in a diverse country with cultural difference would almost make this impossible. The main argument is that what one considered as having good morals might not be the case for another. I think morals and all the other focuses in the quote has mentioned can only be taught in a home. An example would be, in certain cultures, it is very popular to take of your shoes before entering a person’s home. Its a sign of respect for a person’s property. However, in another culture, it is unnecessary to take of your shoes when entering a person’s house. These differences become difficult  when it comes to establishing a foundation of what is considered good moral values or not. However, would it be possible to teach basic moral values in our society despite all the differences?