Educational Reform-response 5

Educational Reform

Educational reform is a much needed thing in America and else where.  Our educational system  does not meet the standards set for by the government; least that is what the government claims.  They system pops out kids like they are on an assembly line.  Group them all together by age, doesn’t matter if one is smarter than the other.  For twelve years we are a number in the system.  Sitting in desk, taking the standardized test mandated by the government.  Listening to the teacher drone on and on about the most boring subjects.  Kids get bored and they react to the boredom; so we give our kids drugs to stay focus.  These drugs will keep our kids sedated while a teacher can “teach”.  Teachers are trained to produce our kids not to excel at creativity but trained to produce our kids to work.

In reading Education and the Structural Crisis of Capital of the Monthly Review Education and Capitalism Series by John Bellamy Foster to reform our educational system we have to reform our society and our economy.   He states that we live in and era of structural crisis.  Without the monies from corporations the schooling systems can and will fail.  Sir Ken Robinson of RSA.org  also points this out.  In researching  Foster and Robinson’s views both believe that without  we have to change our economy and our culture to have a reformed educational system. 

Robinson reformation seems to focus on the individual of a person and how well they do.  He states that we are stuck in a time warp of edcation from the “enlightenment” period.  That we group all our kids together as a factory model to produce workers.  While Foster does agree that they system is designed to produce certain types of students.  Such as, a working class student and those destined to be a working class citizen are taught to follow the rules.  And the upper class are taught to learn the values of our society.  So, schools are basically less about an education and more of a behavior lesson.  Preparing these kids for the life of a working person. 

If you want a great educaiton, you have to step outside the public school system and enter the private sector.  The elite schools.  The goals of these types of schools are to produce greatness. 

Foster, however, digs deep into the dark abyss of the financial crisis unlike Robinson.  The better funded the school is the better the education.  Now ain’t that some shit?!  President Bush passed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001. With this reform schools had to get their act together or face major restructuring of their system and possibly face termination of the staff.  The NCLB program still wants all schools to have standardized testing in reading and math for proficiency.  The program looks great on paper and reading about it; but, personally I don’t agree with it.  I have had two children go through the educational system with schools that failed to meet the criteria set by the government.  And their education was not the best.  Granted under this law, if your school does not meet the criteria, as a parent you are able to put your child in a school that does.  But at what cost to you? 

Foster states that many billionaires such a Gates and Dell have and are donating their time and money to many public schools systems.  With private money coming into the system, we can change our educational problem.  Private monies can allow foundations to be created to give teachers and students alike the motovation needed to become a shining star not a number off of the assembly line. 

Granted, we need the government’s money and help.  But, private money allows communities to build Charter Schools.  This school is still a public school but being ran independently of the school board.    We are still building future workers, but we are building workers with a purpose and a drive to exceed and to excel. 


Foster, John.  "Education and the Structural Crisis of Capital, The U.S. Case", http://www.monthlyreview.org/. Monthlyreview Volume 63 (July-August)

Robinson, Ken. RSA.org

please note...I misread the concept of this article...I will need to repost

ARE YOU SERIOUS-response 4

The prologue and forward for Someplace Like America, Tales from the New Great Depression,  grabs a reader’s attention before they even realize.  I wanted to read so much more after just a few pages of this beginning.  This book takes the view of America from the perspective of the common people.

America.  Our country is supposed to be one of the best places for immigrants to start a life; so we are told.  But, in reality, our country is not this land of freedom.  How can it be a land of freedom and salvation when the very seams of the country are fraying?   

When we built our country, we had such hope.  We built so factories for our men and women to make a living and to provide for their families.  We had beautiful farm lands to feed us.  But what happened?  How did our farm lands disappear?  Where are the crops? Have we all just decided that it is okay to let our farm lands be turned into strip malls?  Is it okay that we outsource our steel to foreign countries?  While we allow this to happen, where are the people who worked on the land or in those factories go?  They can’t pay their bills without a job; can’t feed their family without the crops.

Our country is a country suffering.  Look around.  Families and individuals alike are reduced to sleeping under trees, in the alley ways.  Displaced workers and farmers, no longer able to afford housing take to the streets.   The very men and women who help protect and serve this country are also not safe from this horrible outcome of America. 

Our nation does little to nothing to help the poor.  They are shamed upon by the upper-class.  How dare these people sleep outside!  Call the police the rich say.  The law doesn’t protect the poor homeless ones.  They don’t care.  The rich want the streets and parks to look nice. 

Do you think a majority of homeless and displaced individuals enjoy how they live?  Having to beg for food?  The homeless have come to fear the cops, because they know that they can be taken to jail and locked down.  Shame on them for losing their job!  Perhaps they would steel have a great factory job if our government didn’t outsource it to a foreign country.  Damn them.   Land of the free my ass. 

Come to the land of the free.  Well is there anything free here at all?  Medical care….don’t even count on it.  Having job security….not in this century and having a place to call home….NOT.  But, hey if you live in a third world country, America will come to you.  We will feed your people and clothed them.  We will provide medical care and education.  Are you serious?

How dare our government rush to the aid of other countries and ignore their own people?  How is it that the politicians and “high” ups turn their noses down on the less fortunate, but are so willing to write a check for an international cause?  It is a crying shame this game Washington likes to play with us. 

Response 3- Are You Scared

Propaganda is all over the media today.  It is a force to be reckoned with.  It can make you purchase an item, listen to a song, watch a movie or even vote for a certain political candidate.  It has a tight hold over us humans.  Humans are very gullible creatures.  If the media continually forces something on us, we will in turn believe it to be truth.  It doesn’t matter where you are from or what language you speak you are often forced to see the media and what “they” want us to know. 

From the moment children can understand, the media attacks.  We allow our media to be “parent” at times.  We sit our kids in front of a television for hours.  While they are watching Nick Jr., they are also seeing commercials.  Media is sending messages to these kids.  A new toy comes out and so does the commercial for that product.  Next thing you know that product is in your home. 

I understand that the media can be a scary thing for some.  That the phobias it can implant in someone’s head can be dangerous if they make it dangerous.  You have to be able to understand the message the media is sending.  Sometimes, it is not a clear and precise picture and you may have to go beyond the surface to understand. 

The media has helped the dynamics of parenting in some aspects.  For instance, without the media how can we know if there is an “Amber Alert”?  The media can strengthen the bonds of a community.  A community that has a bond with one another can overcome the negative propaganda. 

Without media and propaganda education would not be where it is today.  People are more apt to purchase an item and to learn about an item if the paper or magazine has written about it.  If we see and hear about items on the television we are able to learn about the product or idea.

Trying to hide or shield one from the media and/or propaganda will only hurt you in the end.  In a world full of ideas and intelligence, the media gives us a chance to act.  If we don’t like something we can easily write to a media source and give our opinion on the propaganda and vice versa. 

When I read On Parenting, Media, Education and Phobias by Ben Williamson regarding the movie Dogtooth, it opened a small door to what some people would and can do to escape the media.  This film documents the fear that some people take to escape the media and the propaganda that we face on a daily basis.  But, I personally think it took it to the extreme measures.  In this film, the parents have imprisoned their three children from infanthood all the way to adulthood.  The children in the film were not raised around other children or the television.  The children were not given proper names or a proper education in the system.  The parents gave “fake” names to everyday items.  An airplane flying overhead is just a toy to the children and a flower, well that would be a “zombie”!

When the father would leave the compound for items, he would need to cut off labels so the children wouldn’t know what they really were.  He would replace lyrics on songs and home movies for real movies.  All the children knew was from what the parents taught them.  Having outside factors was not allowed and when some items were brought into the home from an outside source, there was a price to pay.  No outside source was allowed to alter the  mind of the children.  Only the parents were allowed to warp the mind of these children.  But, to the children, they did not know anything different.  If these children were to enter society, they would never survive.  We are social creatures by habit and without that skill set, we are just another animal in a pack.

This film and a few other films based on similar experiences show that if we are shielded from the media and from propaganda our world becomes very, very small.  Education is not a priority for this type of shielded culture and violence seems to be the accepted norm as does abnormal sexuality. 

If we cease to allow the media and the use of propaganda in our everyday world we are asking for a community filled with the unknown; a land of uncertainty and vulnerability.  Humans are curious creatures and we want to learn and to grow.  Without this media, we are stuck.  All we have is a void.

So, don’t be so afraid of the media and the propaganda it gives us.  Embrace the power of words and their messages.  Be smart about it and do your own research.  If you don’t agree with something or someone, you are allowed to voice your opinion and take a stand on that.  That’s why we have the media.

Williamson, Ben. “On Parenting, Media, Education and Phobias”

A little bit about me.....Response 2

This is part of a homework assignment! Our professor is asking where we are from, what english courses we have taken, what belief we have, why we are in school and what culture do we like.

I am originally from York, Pennslyvania.  I moved to Lexington, Kentucky when I was a teenager and have been here ever since! I have been blessed with two beautiful children, Zachary 19 and Jill-Marie 17.

I have taken a few english courses over the years.  I did my requirements in high school and took 101 many years ago.  I do find pleasure in writing. 

I hold many beliefs and values and its hard to pinpoint just one.  I firmly believe in the power of family and the unity of family.  My children and I are the closest three people on the planet.  Without the bond of my family, I don't know where I would be today.  We encourage each other and give each other strength and power to survive.

I was given the opportunity to attend college after highschool, but my life took a different route.  I got married and raised my children.  I tried attending school when my son was an infant but the demands of motherhood took over.  Now that my kids are grown, I can devote my time on me and actually getting my education.  I am doing this for me and no one else.  I am studing to be an elementary education teacher, which I was given a scholarship for in high school!  Funny how life can be a full circle.

I am drawn  culture of the 1500's.  I find this age very fascinating.  I am amazed that people lived a great full life without the modern life that we have! 

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