school paper

School is a society based of roles, as a whole education is filled with different jobs that we al fit into. The teachers are the narrators and the students are just there to soak in little pieces of information and then slowly put all the pieces together as they progress threw school. As I look back threw my recent years of school I wonder why some students make it while others don’t. Is it there race, or is it because they have a learning disability, or is it simply because they just aren’t interested in school anymore? After reading threw the many articles assigned to us, doing my own research, and reading The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time by Mark Haddon I found that many students who just aren’t interested in school or have a learning disability have a harder time of succeeding and schools don’t tend to there needs. If schools spent more time making the school day more interesting and combatable for kids with disabilities or who are discriminated against more kids would be eager to stay/ go to school.

After reading a text by Gatto I found his opinion to be very interesting. He explored some major points of how schools don’t prepare us for the future and how un schooling can actually be better at certain times. Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin where all smart successful men who changed America without attending school. This goes to show you how school isn’t the only way to achieve your goals. Gatto also brought up another point that really made me think. “They said teachers didn’t seem to know much about their subjects and clearly weren’t interested in learning more. And kids were right: their teachers were every bit bored as they were” If teachers aren’t interested in the subject there teaching why should the students be? Teachers are the role models of the class and set an example of success, if the teachers don’t want to learn more about there own subject and make things interesting what’s the point in teaching? Schools have gone from being structured to just being a building kids spend 7 to 8 hours in a day. Between 1905 and 1915 3 main reasons for school was one, make good people, two, to make good citizens, and three, to make each person his or her personal best. I agree with Gatto on the fact that these three reasons are great reasons to have a structured school but without teachers who care and are engaged in the subject there teaching structure is the last thing education needs to worry about.

Waking up at 6 is never fun regardless if you’re an early riser or not. During the winter it’s uninviting to get out of your warm cozy pajamas to go out into the cold frigid world, but what if you had something to look forward to? Something that kept your mind off of the cold and all the troubles you face when you go home from school? Schools should give every student the opportunity to do something they enjoy and then try to base their curriculum off of that. At least that’s what Delpit believes; she thinks that art is a great way to get kids of color interested in school. She stated “Teachers who see their students engaged in the arts have an opportunity to see their students in a different light” If all it takes for a student to be looked at differently is to do something they love an enjoy each student should have there own time to shine and show off there own personal talent. If graffiti or music making where turned into a project in certain classes such as a math project had to be turned into a musical or a science experiment was based off of the chemicals in a spray paint can, I believe that students who are less likely to show up to school everyday would be a lot more interested in something they can actually connect to.

In the Curious Incident Of The Dog In The night-time by Mark Haddon The main character Christopher is faced with multiple challenges. Not only is he singled out from the world because he has asburgers syndrome; he is all singled out at the school he goes to where other students have learning disabilities. At school his teacher taught him how to analyze certain symbols to indicate certain feelings and emotions. It took months for Chris to finally get the hang of everything and catch on but his teacher never gave up on him and stuck with him till he finally understands how everything connected. If that time and dedication was spent in schools all over America students wouldn’t struggle as much and student’s with learning disabilities such as ADD, ADHD, dyslexia or asburgers such as Chris wouldn’t feel so distant form the educational word. As I was skimming over the curious incident of the dog in the night-time a quote popped out to me “Sometimes the children from the school down the road see us in the street when we’re getting off the bus and they, shout “Special Needs! Special Needs!” Page 44 In order for kids with learning disabilities to feel safe and confident in school not only teachers but students as well need to be more understanding and try to help the kids who struggle. A strong community that works well together gets a lot farther then a community that doesn’t… at least that’s what my mom tells me.

The president of the United States, what an honor that must be. You’re in charge of America and your opinion is one of the most important. But what is it about the President that makes him seem so inspirational? Is it because he has gone through exactly what every teenager is going through now? Or is it the fact that all his hard work and dedication made it when the odds where against him? Barack Obama is a great example of how if there is a teacher figure in your life helping you through with your goals and ambitions it makes the process of learning easier. Freire brought up that the education system is like a bank. Students are deposited information and when its needed we give it all back, but this information is mostly regurgitated information that isn’t deeply thought about. From a students point of view when where given information we write it down and probably never look at it again unless we know its going to be on a quiz or test. If teachers took more time on certain important subjects within their subject and really explained everything in detailed I believe more students would struggle less if there is a learning disability involved.

After evaluating all the articles assigned in class, reading the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, and doing personal research I’ve come to the conclusion that school and education as a whole need to work better to fit every students needs and not single out the ones who need extra help or attention. Time and dedication will help lead to a better school community and success rate if everyone just pitched in and tried harder. It will take time but a slow progression is better then none at all.