NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Arguing in the Public Sphere It is not a secret that the quality of public education in America has considerably dropped in last two decades. According to many recent surveys, only 50 % of high school students were able to pint point USA on the world map. This tendency goes along with students increasing inability to identify public issues that are crucial to the effective functioning of democracy in this country. Many sociologists say that the main reason for this is the fact that children are being increasingly brainwashed, they are expected to follow an accepted code of behavior, where an ability to think independently is not encouraged. Even as far back as 20 years ago, schools used to be the places where children were acquiring an empirical knowledge. In order to be academically successful, they were required to understand basic abstract categories, such as spirit, democracy and metaphysics.
Even if they proved to be failures in every particular discipline of knowledge, they would still become carriers of certain abstract ideas, which would enable them to become productive members of society. The idea of public education has shifted from giving students an actual knowledge to making them aware of their certain constitutional rights, which theyre much likely to abuse, since they are unaware of another crucial concept of democracy the principle of civil responsibility. We live in time when the concepts of democracy and civil freedoms are represented in perverted terms to students. Young people are required to orient in abstract categories and not to understand their essence. They are encouraged to think of freedom of speech as given right, but the rights are not given they are taken.
The principle of competitiveness is essential to Western understanding of democracy, yet it contemporary American schools this principle is increasingly considered to be politically-incorrect. The theory of Bell Curve effectively proves that peoples IQ depends on biological factors more than on any other. But this scientific fact contradicts the concept of multicultural paradise on Earth, which is taught to children as only appropriate social model. The paradox here lies in the fact that if ideas of democracy and civil freedoms are logically brought to its natural conclusions, itll take us to situation, when we realize that there are well defined limits of these theories practical application. Therefore, we cant think of left-wing idea of education as the biggest motivational factor in making young people to become responsible members of society. The modern approach towards liberal education, exercised by great many scholars, is not altogether faultless, like its proponents would like us to believe.
In my opinion, those who are strongly in favor of dropping the classical standards for how people are to be educated cannot foresee what such changes might lead us to in the long run. Formally, they are in favor of allowing more freedom, as an integral part of academic research, yet there are questions, which in their opinion, should not be addressed such as: What is justice? What is beauty? What is man? What is right and what is wrong... ? Such questions might result in getting controversial answers, but this is exactly what is liberal education is all about the greater truth comes out of argument...
According to recent surveys, it is possible to obtain bachelors degree, without taking history course in 30 % of American colleges. In 38 % of all colleges it is not necessary to study English literature, in order to get a degree. Students are encouraged to spend more and more time to think how to make world better, instead of studying. Mike Roses work Lives on the boundary stands as a fine example of this modern academic approach: a failed education is social more then intellectual in origin he states and tries to convince us in it, by giving numerous examples that in his opinion, would prove his point.
As a conclusion, he proposes to give more chances to those students who simply cant keep up with an educational process, by making it easier for them to study, thus introducing more equality. He stresses that obtaining education can only be effective if the process itself is entertaining. For that purpose, Rose suggests that reading classics of English literature by students isnt that necessary, because those books are too boring. Basically, Roses idea of college closely resembles the idea of kindergarten, as for me. Can this approach be beneficial?
There are very good reasons to doubt that, but what cant be doubted, is Roses right to be able to express freely his thoughts on the subject. We seem to have lost sight of the most basic and noblest purpose of liberal learning: to pass on to each new generation the heritage of freedom says Donald Kagan in his lecture What is a Liberal Education? lecture. But in my opinion, passing the heritage of freedom is not primary function of colleges and universities. For this purpose there are political institutions that guarantee passing of such heritage, through enabling citizens to freely exercise their civil rights and freedoms. For educated person, understanding principals of democracy comes as self-evident.
But one cant teach of democracy a person, who doesnt know what that term is standing for. This is the main fault of modern approach to learning process it emphasizes on great many things, where obtaining actual knowledge is not the most important one. Being able to effectively argue in public sphere heavily depends on persons understanding of abstract terminology. In its turn, this comes as a direct consequence of socio-political tendencies within society. There are 20 different synonyms in Ebonics for the word cocaine and none for the word spirit Our post-industrial society closely resembles any primitive society of prehistoric era, in the sense that in our time everything has to do with everything. When we assume this point of view, itll appear that the quality of school education is not something that defines citizens ability to effectively argue in the public sphere.
We can only think of these two categories from the consequential prospective. The school is the miniature model of society, therefore we cant expect children to be aware of their First Amendment rights, when parents many of many children are simply becoming deprived of basic civil freedoms after 9 / 11, especially if they happened to be Muslims Bibliography: Kagan, Donald. What Is A Liberal Education? Eugene McDermott Lecture, 2001. Kellner, Douglas Habermas, the Public Sphere, and Democracy: A Critical Intervention University of California. 2000, Jan. 11, 2005 web Miller, James Democracy Is in the Streets: From Port Huron to the Siege of Chicago Harvard University Press. 1994 Rose, Mike Lives on the Boundary: A Moving Account of the Struggles and Achievements of America's Educational Underclass New York: Penguin, 1989
Free research essays on topics related to: members of society, civil freedoms, closely resembles, liberal education, public sphere
Research essay sample on Members Of Society Closely Resembles
