Response to Bob Herbert

Herbert is pretty clear about his position right from the beginning of the essay. He uses the example of the high school kid if he knew who the vice president as a lead in to say that the U.S. is holding on to an outdated educational system that does not fit the demands of society today. He goes on to explain that there is a need to re-examine the way the school system is structured. His focus is on two areas: teacher quality, instead of just counting on their paper credentials, there needs to be a higher regard for the teacher’s effectiveness, their social ability to connect with the students; and openness to alternative school models, for instance adopting a longer school day.

 

Herbert’s tone is somewhat demanding, but not in such a forceful way that makes thee reader feel threatened. And he isn’t asking for people to follow his lead, his demands are more along the lines that people need to open their eyes to the current situation and come up with ways to fix this situation. For me, this stood out most on the last sentence of page 89, “The U.S. has not yet faced the fact that it needs a school system capable of fulfilling the educational needs of the children growing up in an era that will be at least as different from the 20^th century as the 20^th was from the 19^th.”

I think he establishes the importance by not just throwing facts and statistics into his writing, but by using the knowledge and opinions of real people, like the high school kid and Professor Kane.

Herbert appeals to values near the beginning when he states that “Over the next 20 or 30 years, when today’s children are raising children of their own in an even more technologically advanced and globalized society, the educational requirements will only grow more rigorous and unforgiving.” And with the very last paragraph, “If American kids – all American kids…” Both of these passages weigh heavily on the reader’s value for a better future for generations to come, and the last paragraph appeals to the value of equality, that every kid in any situation has the right to learn.

I agree with Herbert that there needs to be a change in American education, I just don’t know what that change would be. From my own experiences compared to those of my parents, I think that education has become hyper-focused on certain things, and somewhat neglectful of others. I also think that there needs to be more variety of options for people who learn differently, not necessarily different schools, but more qualified personnel within schools to help and teach those students. I agree that the success of a teacher will be measured by their ability to connect with the students, and though I don’t like it, I agree that new systems with longer days or school years should be considered, as well as number of classes given in a year. One major issue I have had with the education I have received (though it has been very good) is with testing. I thinking testing for placement can be very useful, but within the classroom, tests administered either by the state or by the school sometimes seemed to hinder the learning process. The lessons seemed to be geared more towards preparing for the next test rather than towards gaining knowledge about the given subject.