Limiting Students In The Middle School: Article Analysis

Public education began in the nineteenth century, now the majority of people have received some sort of public education. Whether someone has received a middle school education or a college education, any education will impact someone's life. Throughout educations existence, many people have come to believe there are many flaws with its methods, which is limiting students. However, public education only promotes students to gain knowledge, excel in the workplace, and helps to create future opportunities for all students.

First, there is a growing number of people that believe grades are limiting students ability to gain knowledge. In the article, “From Degrading to De-grading,” by Alfie Kohn, he shows how grades are affecting students ability

In the article “Preparing Minds for Markets,” Jonathan Kozol visits a school in Columbus, Ohio where teachers are starting to assign careers to students in middle school. Many people are against young students making this important decision. People are saying that choosing a career in middle school is limiting students to one career path when they should be broadening their horizons to many career options. In the article Kozol notes, “Work-related themes and managerial ideas were carried over into almost every classroom of the school” (302). However, exploring and choosing a career at a young will not limit a student. If schools offer programs like these all students will benefit from it. For example, if a student says he wants to be a firefighter in middle school, the school can help teach the student about that specific career. Also, a student may change their career path in their academic career, so the early a student starts to learn about their interests the better off the student will be in the future. In the article, Kozol states, “Children in the higher grades are taught to file applications for a job” (302). Students are also learning important life skills at a young age. Public education is now seeing the broad spectrum of things, a lot of the information taught in school is useless to the individual. Now schools are teaching important life skills which will

School gives hope to all student, no matter what their background is. A student can come from an upper, middle, or lower class home and be identified as any race and still public education gives them all the tools and ability to succeed in the future. In the article, “Learning in the Shadow of Race and Color,” the author Bell Hooks describes her educational experience. She is an African American from a working-class family who could not afford a private education. However, because of school she received scholarships, and was able to attend Stanford. In college, she was met with many racial and class controversies but still, she was able to graduate with a Doctoral degree. In the article, Hooks states, “Uncertain about whether I had managed to make it through without giving up the best of myself, the best of values I had been raised to believe in hard work, honesty, and respect for everyone no matter their class-I finished my education with my allegiance to the working-class intact. Even so, I had planted my feet on the path leading in the direction of class privilege” (294). Even though Bell Hooks came from an African American working-class background where the majority follow in the footsteps of their parents. Public education gave her the opportunity for her to persevere through her hardships. And through hard work and determination, she was able to attend and graduate from an ivy league school