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Philosophy Of Public Education Essay

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Introduction Many, if not most, people view public education as a free service to educate children and help them become upstanding adults who benefit their community. Fewer think of the public school as a government institution, and even less think of the public school as a political institution. However, if a closer look is taken at today’s public schools, it is evident that characteristics of process philosophy are present and are being used by the government to promote their political goals. Consider the following for example: Government bureaucrats dictate what is taught in the classrooms and how it is taught. Government-trained or government-certified teachers run the classrooms, where they are required to use government-approved curricula, lesson plans, and textbooks. The so-called “public” schools are therefore more properly called government schools; and, because their essential characteristic is force, they are properly classified as political institutions (Thompson, 2012, p. 14). As the United States becomes increasingly liberal in its legislation, Christian practices are being prohibited and Christians are …show more content…

On state, national, and international tests, American academic preparedness is at an all-time low. In every major academic subject-from reading to arithmetic, from history to physics-American students know less and less. They know less relative to American students from one hundred years ago, and they know less relative to students from other countries today (Thompson, 2012, p. 27). This does not sound like progress at all. In fact, this would be described as regression, the total opposite of progressivism. Educational achievement is at an all time low, and will continue its decline as long as the progressive philosophy is allowed to dictate how students are taught.

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n “The Failure of American Public Education” (February 01 1993), John Hood explains the sundry perspectives on the American education system. Hood tactfully uses cause and effect to demonstrate the viewpoints of a myriad of individuals regarding American schools and their approaches to effectively educating students; he explains how “free-market thinkers believe that applying market competition to the public schools will solve many of America’s educational problems” (Hood) ; “critics believe that public education reforms fail because they are compromised or sabotaged by the education lobbies—teacher associations, administrators, and the legislators in their pockets” (Hood) and “many conservatives believe that American public education is in

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Preamble Perhaps the most essential component of a successful nation is its education system. With an educated population come a more efficient and successful economy, and an overall improvement in quality of life. Despite this being true, the United States has neglected its once great education system in recent years, and has since been left behind by global education giants such as South Korea or Finland. As of 2014, American students rank barely above average in the world on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), and have been overtaken by numerous countries in the past decade with far inferior economic prowess. (Resmovits, 2014)

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Ever since the first American schools were established in the 17th century, millions of students have been enrolled in the public schooling system since then. However, since the years have passed, the main focus on schooling has been shifted. What once was a place to learn and build upon already acquired knowledge has turned into a setting of extravagant tests. The American public schooling system’s prioritization of standardized testing wastes classroom time, does not teach students the required life skills they need to succeed in life, causes unhealthy stress and is not an accurate measurement of student progress.

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We are told that we are the land of the free, but in school we are taken many rights. We’ve been told to put our trust into the government, but only to realize false hopes. We are told to follow the books, but realize that they too are filled with mistakes. We are told to help the school by fundraising to grow our education, but then get fined because it’s illegal to sell during school hours and to strangers. Even though they do their best to educate us, they too are restricted on teaching us too much for it “doesn’t go with the school’s study plan,” we seem to have liberty to know all but at the end we are left empty.

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Dewey’s philosophy of education rooted itself in the idea of learning by doing, this was in contrast to typical, traditional common schools, the curriculum did not focus on students listening to a teacher lecture while they sat attentively in the classroom. Dewey’s method was hands on and child-centered. Creativity, self-development and a push back against standardization characterized Dewey’s model of education. The progressive movement was primarily an effort to change the philosophy of teaching concerning the development of students and curriculum

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Looking at school discipline, no one can seem to figure out what is right and what is wrong, but that is not the point of Critical Legal Theory. It wants to prove how the law can favor one side over the other, even when there are rights and wrongs in a certain situation. Law does not care about rationality or trying to improve in order to better everyone, it just wants to settle something, and in many cases it is the side with more power. It states that there is so much bias in the law that no one even knows where to start in order to make the change. An article stated that “change always brings resistance, but finding ways to sustain support from teachers and school administrators will matter greatly moving forward,” and with this, those biases will begin to shrink (Cohen 14).

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With the law “No Child Left Behind,” which requires states to test basic skills of students in order to qualify for federal funding, came a push for education to focus on mathematics and reading and cut back on other courses not being tested. Schools began to realize that the success of students in mathematics and reading was all that mattered, and eventually, students lost their chance of becoming well-rounded citizens by being taught in a wide variety of subjects. In the article, “Essentials of a Good Education” by Diane Ravitch, Ravitch addresses the law “No Child Left Behind,” standardized testing, and how public education has decreased our students’ ability to become effective citizens in society. In her article, Ravitch lacks true evidence and is opinionated, but she still presents a very convincing article based on her own political views and thoughts on education.

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Gatto details this whole process, and directly showcases its versatility as a social weapon wielded voraciously by governments. From its inception as a Prussian military device, to its use as a subtle and subvert sociopolitical control switch here in the United States, Gatto argues the American educational system is simply another case of a dystopian abuse of power masked by a utopian

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1. Which two of the reform efforts described in Chapter 12 of Ryan and Cooper do you believe are the most important for the improvement of American Education? Explain your thinking? The two efforts that I believe are most important for the improvement of American education is No Child Left Behind Act(NCLB) and the State Educational Reform.

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Educational philosophy and teaching styles are two aspects of adult learning that influence the teaching-learning transaction in colleges and universities. The educational philosophy can inform the educator with strategies and methods for implementing adult learning principles. Floyd (2010) described the importance of educators knowing their educational philosophy because self-examination and critical inspection of practices will create a consciousness of some unconscious beliefs that affect teaching practice.(1,2) The literature on educational philosophy explains, “When an adult educator engages in the practice of education, certain beliefs about life in general are applied to the practice” . Therefore, educators hold beliefs about how adults learn, how they should be taught, and what instructional practice should look like.

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