The Essentials Of A Good Education Summary

What is education? By definition, education means, “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life” (dictionary.com). In, “The Essentials of a Good Education”, Diane Ravitch argues that education is not what it used to be; education’s primary focus used to be about teaching citizens their rights and responsibilities. Currently, that is not the case. Sadly, the definition from dictionary.com does not satisfy the actual definition of today’s education system. Today’s definition should grammatically be, the act or process of teaching children to focus on test scores and accountability rather than the original

In reality, for children to be prepared for their future they must learn many other essential topics that will prepare them, such as: art, history, music, foreign languages, etc. By teaching them only reading and mathematics we are limiting their possibilities and full potential. When we do this we are losing an amazing child with brilliant, beneficial gifts. The nation is trying to make everyone equal, to have a fair chance. Even though there are people who can make a big difference in the world and can change it for the better. Parents want their children to grow up with a strong, affluent mind. One of their requests is that their kids be taught something fun and meaningful at the same time, rather than tested like robots. Children should have the choice of who they want to be, not what they are forced to be in this very political society. Individuality is something we hold onto greatly, and we can never let it go. Or else, this whole world will lose its purpose. Many of these changes are being produced by laws the public may not have a say

Bush. This act says that ¨congress requires states to test children's basic skills [in order] to qualify for federal funding¨ (Ravitch 106). To be clear, this law is just a reassurance of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which started the regulation of math and reading tests for 3rd-8th grade and high school. When teachers administer these tests, the scores of the children are then brought to a political sense and are compiled together to see if a school will receive funding. The state government’s also provide funding for schools who teach the curriculum that they require them to. An example is the Race to the Top program. This program is, “a $4.35 billion Department of Education competitive grant initiated in 2009 that rewards states adopting educational policies, including performance-based evaluations of teachers and implementation of common educational standards and assessments” (Ravitch 107). Programs like these are singling out only the top schools, and they are the ones who will receive a majority of the money. Non-affluent communities, are unable to afford the testing materials required by the state. Which unfortunately means they will not be awarded any funding from the programs due to the fact they are economically unable to do what is asked of them. This is foolish. We are depriving children of their education only because they can not afford it,