Is it really true that America is dumbing down?
Author Susan Jacoby claims that schools are a failure. I do NOT agree with that. Yes, I am not the biggest fan of school and homework, but it's because the help of our teachers that gives the students the ability to strive and want the best for our future. Teachers are not the only motivation for students but coaches, principles, other students as well as family. If a student decides not to go to college that is their decision, it's the fact that they want the best for themselves and their family by getting a greater education. In order to become a doctor, dentist, etc., people need training, and to get that training you need to go to college or universary.
Jacoby also claims age 15 scored the LOWEST in mathematics. Even if fifteen year olds score the lowest, isn't that the reason why students are able to retake a math class? For example Mayfair, in order to graduate you need to pass algebra 1, and if it means retaking it year after year so be it.
Susan Jacoby may think that America is dumbing down, but in order to KNOW that that is a fact, everybody in the whole entire country must take a test to determine how much the country knows as a whole. She may have gone to schools to try and prove her point, but I am pretty sure she did not go to all of them.
Like I said, I am definitely not the biggest fan of school, but I have to defend all the great teachers and staff, as well as everybody else who wants the best for the newer generations!
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Joanna, you make a good point. In my opinion, Susan Jacoby made students sound like a bunch of air heads who don't care about their futures... That. Is. Not. True. Of course, there are the few who could care less about their education, but most students do care. Also, I don't think that teachers are to blame. Like you said, it is OUR choice. Teachers give us the tools, and we build our own futures.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I think more students are chosing to disregard school. It might be pushing it to say that most students care. However, it is normal for AP students to believe that since we are surrounded by many other hardworking students.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should defend our school's and teachers because they do a great job, but Susan Jacoby has a point. Maybe she was exaggerating a little, but it served a purpose. She wants us to realize what is happening.