Americans Are Prisoners of Compulsory Education

The point of having an education is to have knowledge, but what happens when this knowledge is taught forcefully? Shouldn’t learning be a decision rather than a requirement? Things such as wealth, politics, and religion are some examples of things that are slowly corrupting students from the age of five until they graduate from high school. The reason why this happens is because the schools allow this corruption to occur, and for that I don’t blame students for rebelling against compulsory education. I believe the American population is disempowered by compulsory education because students are forced to attend school, and public schools are lacking funding and an emphasis on individuality.
Compulsory schools have too much authority over attendance. Students are dropping out since they are forced to attend school. This authority is so outrageous in some schools that it could be described with “enough reason to think of our schools ---- with their long-term, cell-block-style, forced confinement of both students and teachers ---- as virtual factories of childishness” (Gatto 153). Locking up students inside a classroom all day, teaching them the same repetitious lessons does nothing but shelter them from independence and adulthood. In addition, every school has a different curriculum, which means that there are different classes and graduation requirements for each region. If a student attends a school in Nevada and only needs 21 credits to graduate, but then moves to California, he/she may need 3 more credits than what was originally required in the previous school. This is a factor that the student has no control over. It’s almost like punishing the student when they did nothing wrong at all. Unnecessary consequences such as a lowered G.P.A. from moving and so forth discourage students. Eventually, many end up with a lower income job if they drop out, meaning a lower standard of living. This increases the number of Americans living in poverty.
Every public school is lacking funds in one department or another. Some examples of this, including insufficient amounts of textbooks, desks, and even sanitary products such as toilet paper, lead me to believe “American schools are literally falling apart” (Moore 140). Inadequacies such as these make it difficult to learn. If students didn’t have to worry about having a desk or a book, it would probably be easier for them to focus more on learning. Keeping in mind schools can barely afford sanitation products, it is understandable that with little funding a large amount of teachers are underpaid. Teaching is an important job, yet Michael Moore reminds us, “ we somehow can’t find the money to pay a starting teacher more than $31,900 a year. And we act surprised when we can’t get results” (Moore 140). If teachers were paid more money, society would consider them more valuable based on this higher level of income. Teachers would be more motivated to teach students more effectively if they had a higher annual income, even with the rigid structures they must teach under. Besides teachers not getting paid enough, the facilities teachers have to teach their students in are overcrowded and unsafe. Too many students are crammed into tiny classrooms with capacities that are meant for only a small number of children. These students are supposed to be the product of America, but the government doesn’t seem to be investing any time or money in them. It’s simply easier to take advantage of uneducated people rather than educated ones.
Most importantly, compulsory education is lacking individuality because most schools are promoting conformity. Consequently, students are taught to imitate “so the kids learn to submerge any personal expression. They learn it’s better to go along so that you get along” (Moore 147). For example, almost every school has some type of dress code or uniforms that students must follow. Conforming to promote equality is fine. However, as an adult in society, I learned it is better to have students differ in thoughts, emotions, and actions. Since students are limited on how to dress in school, it also limits how students think and act. Limiting such things makes it easier and more efficient to be followers rather than leaders. Not only are students being taught to conform, but they are also being taught the to bored. No one ever said that learning couldn’t be fun. Instead of focusing on test scores or standardized testing, they should be more focused on students individually, allowing them to be creative. Schools should realize education is about the students learning important things that benefit the students rather than what school officials think is beneficial to the students. This lack of individuality leads many students to feel uncomfortable. It is hard to do anything when you feel uncomfortable, especially learning. Letting students be more individual would make compulsory education and possibly higher education more desirable. Americans that have a good education usually have higher paying jobs that contribute to the economy.
Ideally, an education involving less authority and more freedom, the correct amount of funding, and individuality is one only obtainable in one’s dreams. The real solution is change. In a complex society such as ours, it is hard to recognize this. The benefits that all students should have will undoubtedly take years to arrive. It’s disappointing, because by the time these benefits arrive, it will probably be too late.



Works Cited

Gatto, John Taylor. “Against School.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical
Thinking and Writing. 7th Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston:
Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2007. 152-159.
Moore, Michael. “Idiot Nation.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and
Writing. 7th Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford/ St.
Martin’s, 2007. 132-149.

Mormon Missionaries And How They Harass The World!!

Mission Impossible

Every weekend at my home in Las Vegas until I moved to Texas, Mormon missionaries would knock on my door while I was in a deep sleep guaranteed before ten in the morning so they could try and convert me. Overtime this became very annoying and I felt as if I were being harassed. One would think after the fifth or sixth time that I told the same little missionary boy "No thank you, I wouldn't like any information about the Mormon religion," that he would stop coming to my house but it never phased these people one bit. I mean how would they feel if I went to his home almost every day or weekend and said " Excuse me sir, would you like any information today about converting to Satanism ?" I'm sure if I did this, it would seem as though I were wrong, almost like I was committing a crime in the eyes of these people. Just for the record though, I am not a Satanist. In the first two minutes of the video that I am posting, it shows exactly the kind of harassment I dealt with weekly. While watching this video think of how it would feel if this happened every weekend at someones home.

Elmira

Elmira is not a very lively looking woman. In fact, in this portrait of her she looks depressed, hopeless, or possibly pained with anguish. Her facial features are soft and sensitive and very feminine, however, her expression is strong and serious. Empty is the only word that could describe her eyes. Western garments cover her body. She is wearing a brown bonnet that articulates her face, and a matching yet ragged brown dress. These articles are not the most glamorous of a western-style wardrobe but she is as fashionable as any other woman from the west. Her presence is powerful.