My Observation on the Condition of the Degeneration of the Current Generation's Education

This is probably invalid as a merit-able post, as it is my response to an assigned question, but I felt too proud of my response and involved with the topic to ignore it as a blog post. I was asked to rate my total education on a scale of one to ten and explain. So:

"Five.
 ***NOTE*** Many in my class cited schools from different cities and even different states. In comparison, they have nothing on my international experiences. However, this rating reflects only the American education I have experienced. Anyways...

My cynicism prompted me to rate the education I have received (or have failed to receive) relatively low. Throughout my school years, it seems I have been mostly assigned to non-passionate teachers, teachers who do not try. The function of a teacher is not to simply lecture, assign problems, and assess our participation, but rather to motivate, guide, and challenge our intellectual capacities. I have come across too many teachers who have this misconception and it reflects on my rating. Said teachers shun the student for not qualifying as a student and continue without qualifying as a teacher.

Reading through other students' responses, I have found some respectable arguments. Both Arevik Martirosyan and Juan Montes have cited the school curriculum as flaws of the education system. Their arguments are, "They just make us learn things that we aren’t really going to use in the real world or when we get our own job", and "Yes, I could have taken more AP classes, but there were none that appealed to what I wanted to do later in life. Why would I need to take AP literature if I want to become a nurse?" However, this is to miss the overall point of the curriculum, to make students think. AP Literature may not apply to most careers, but thinking applies to most aspects of life. Math trains our problem solving capabilities. Science teaches us to question how things works. History teaches us to question authority. English teaches us rhetoric and to question why something was said or written that way. Questions lead to answers and answers improve our life, our community, our society, our nation, our world. (<b>Asyndeton</b>, look it up.)

If education does not reach its full potential, how can the world? It all starts in the classroom: motivate, educate, guide, and assess our thinking capabilities. Not necessarily in that order."

Mosque Discussion Rxn

I was generally pleased with how the discussion turned out. The entire class held a similar stand on the issue: that under the constitution, the Muslims should have the right to build the community center, but under the circumstances, violence may follow and their safety may be threatened. As I have been told, the other classes have not been so amicable in their discussion. Arguments were heated and bloods boiled. It seems fourth period was an appropriate example of how to respect opinions. The polls we took at the beginning of the discussion and the end of the discussion on our viewpoint manifested the slight success of the discussion. Some of those who were on the fence changed to either approving of the community center, or disapproving of the community center. A question that was impressing throughout the discussion was "Why is location so important?" The answer may be that Ground Zero is where most were affected. Although some patriotic Americans will say they were impacted, this impact is not personal. It is mostly those closest to that area that were impacted most. Apparently Americans are not ready for such toleration, toleration towards Islamic freedom and toleration towards learning about their religion. Will time open American minds? Only time will tell.

SOTU Project

1) Beliefs - One of the first things Obama acknowledges is that "we have fought fiercly for our beliefs...That's what sets us apart as a nation"
2) Nation - Twice, Obama addresses "what sets us apart as a nation."
3) Family - The president uses this word to imply a close connection between all Americans.
4) Jobs - A large portion of the speech was dedicated to solving the loss of jobs.
5) Progress - "We are poised for progress." To counter the recession, we must being progress.
6) Economy - The economy has been in a terrible state but Obama is working to fix it for the American people.
7) Together - Obama emphasizes this word to make a subtle request for all Americans to cooperate.
8) Change - Obama acknowledges that times have changed for jobs. Finding one is more difficult than it used to be.
9) Workers - The president addresses the struggle workers have to face.
10) Education - Obama mentioned the essential nature of education.
11) Research - Research and science are two aspects that significantly improved America.
12) Entrepreneurs - Entrepreneurs is another aspect that significantly improved America.
13) Pioneers - Obama cited the first pioneers as America's first innovators.
14) Future - Obama made optimistic and idealistic goals for the future.
15) Responsibility - Obama called on the nation to take responsibility for the deficit.
16) Innovation - Obama acknowledged America's innovative history, including Edison and the Wright brothers.
17) Sputnik - Obama reminded America of the arms race and how America was called to action in research.
18) Goal - Obama set ideal goals for the future of America. One of them challenged Americans to be more energy efficient.
19) Energy - Obama addressed the need for alternative fuel in the country.
20) Investment - The president asked Americans to invest in the future.
21) Reinvent - "That's what Americans have done for over 200 years. Reinvented ourselves."
22) Performance - Obama asks for higher performance in classrooms.
23) School - Education was a major topic in Obama's speech
24) Spending - Obama discussed how he will alter spending.
25) Bipartisan - Obama asked for congress to agree to bipartisan cooperation.
26) Deficit - Obama addressed the deficit problem and proposed his solution.
27) Efficient - Obama declared the start of a more efficient government.
28) Competent - Obama declared the start of a more competent government.
29) Exports - One of the challenges Obama proposed to America was to double the exports.
30) Success - Success means getting into college. Obama asks students to be successful.
31) Government - Obama wants to reform government. Down with the government!
32) Challenge - Obama asks Americans not to be discouraged by plights but rather challenged.
33) START - Obama cited the agreement to mitigate the nuclear weapons manufacturing.
33) Terrorists - al Qaeda was mentioned and its downfall was promised.
34) Constitution - Obama warned Americans not to stray from legislation that would violate the constution.
35) Dream - Obama addressed the American dream and redirected our path towards it.
36) Recession - Obama proposed solutions to the recession and initatives to alleviate it.
37) Revolutions - Obama mentioned how revolutionary the invetion of the internet was.
38) Productive - Students were asked to be more productive in the classroom as well as at home.
39) Security - Obama declared his wish to strengthen social security.
40) Apollo - When discussing energy, he said "we will fund the Apollo projects of our time."
41) Unity - Throughout his speech, Obama called for American unity.
42) Reform - Obama talked about reforming the government and the education system with his "Race to the Top" competition.
43) Teacher - Obama asked any student contemplating his future to consider being a teacher. "Mr. Palo the best one EVER." -Arevik M.
44) Immigration - Obama discussed Illegal Immigration and how if they benefit from our education, why not let them benefit our economy.
45) Infrastructure - Our engineers have graded our own infrastructure a "D."
46) Freeze - Obama said we would freeze spending for five years.
47) Cuts - Obama proposed many budget cuts.
48) Inspired - Obama's request for a more educated America was inspiring.
49) Poignant - In the beginning of the speech, Obama mentioned Giffords which engendered a poignant atmosphere.
50) Iraq - At one point, Obama announced his promise to pull out of Iraq.