Essay on "Educational Crisis"

Essay 4 pages (1202 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Educational Crisis

"Do you feel like you live in a nation of idiots?" (Moore 128). This country is in a serious educational crisis, one which gets worse each year. The very foundation of our educational system stifles individual creativity and independence, yet even that little promise is being threatened by massive budget cuts in this volatile economy. Overall, it is clear that this country is in the midst of a major educational crisis, one that will need the cooperation and action of everyone in our society to help structure things in a more progressive manner to help provide a better future for our children.

There are major problems with educational institutions in this country that are hindering millions of students from receiving the best education they can get. One of the most dangerous aspects of this is the very structure of American schools. Here, the research suggests that Schools -- with their cell-block-style, forced confinement of both students and teachers" (Gatto 149). This stifling environment is producing students who are encouraged to follow an assembly-line style life where they are expected to train to be workers, rather than to be encouraged through education to be entrepreneurs and movers in society. Today's schools are stopping students from exploring their educational possibilities in order to meet out-dated standards and impress school board members. Thus, our system is "an educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects, to hamstring the inner life, to deny students appreciable leadership skills, and to ensure docile and incomplete citizens" (Gatto 152). This is creating a situation where the lack of engagement and excitement is creating poor educational opportunities for students currently in the mix of educational institutions. Here, Michael Moore states that "the American mind is alive and well. It just isn't challenged with anything interesting or exciting" (Moore 129)

Moreover, the volatile economy has taken a massive toll on education in this country. Budget cuts threaten the very little resources schools are already struggling to work with. Special enrichment programs are often the first to go, as budget cuts continue to cause havoc in today's schools (Lopez 1). This means that most of today's kids are being exposed less to the arts, music, and other activities that make learning fun and engaging. According to the research, "at every level of public education, from elementary school to graduate school, constant budget cuts are decimating once-great institutions and devaluing our greatest resource -- eager young minds," (Lopez 1). The economy has a major impact on education, but educators can step in to try and raise awareness of the importance of preserving enrichment courses. Working with grass roots campaigns to protect enrichment courses can help shield them from being the first to be affected by budget cuts, and thus keep kids engaged in learning.

Apparently, class and socio-economic status has less to do with education than previously thought. Many would believe that most upper class students have greater access to education because they have the money to invest in private schools, which are supposed to offer better educational opportunities. Yet, as Michael Moore points out, a number of this nation's leaders have been notoriously uneducated. Moore uses previous President George W. Bush to highlight the idea that although some people may attend "good" schools, those schools may not be providing a good education (Moore 130). He illustrates his point further by mentioning a study where 40% out of 556 seniors at some of America's top schools still did not know when the Civil War began or ended (Moore 130). Essentially, this shows that despite having money to invest in private… READ MORE

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