Ramirez 1

Miguel Ramirez

Huerta

English 1S

December 6, 2017

Schools and Empowerment

People always say that “knowledge is power” and that “the younger generation is

the future”, phrases that are said, but not supported. Schools are limiting the

educational opportunities that students can receive. To empower a student is to give

them unlimited educational opportunities and to motivate them to want to learn more.

Although public schools offer students of color opportunities and electives that they

didn’t have before, standardization and teaching methods disempower students by

creating weak citizens, causing boredom and limiting their dissent.

Electives offer students opportunities to explore new interest and discover new

passions. Electives give students the chance to discover new passions that could

motivate them to continue working hard towards school. It helps students in the long run

because an elective could assist a student decide what major they would want to

pursue. From the “Instruction, assessment, and learning: From standardization to a

focus on students”. The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation insist that the goal for

teachers is to develop students growth and not only focus on trying to get the students

the best score on standardized test. They argue that students are forced to learn in a

process that “is easy to measure”. The teachers want to emphasize that their school is

committed to giving their students access to all learning opportunities, advocacy skills

for themselves and others, and an understanding that they are in command of their lives
 Ramirez 2

and can act for themselves and in concert with others. This is an example of a school

that motivates students to work hard towards their goals. This school is empowering

students, giving them the tools to create better futures for themselves.

The focus of standardization in public schools does not allow students to explore

other interest they may have, instead all of their time is focused on preparing for

standardized testing. Students are being forced to prepare for standardized testing. This

is disempowering them because all they are focusing on is math, reading, and writing.

The reason why it is disempowering is because their time is being wasted on studying

for an exam that won’t matter to them in five years. Schools choose to focus their time

on preparing their students for test rather than preparing them for the future. “The

Essentials Of A Good Education”, author Diane Ravitch, a research professor of culture,

education, and human development, describes how schools are affecting students. She argues

that, “For the past two decades, even before the No child Left Behind, the U.S.

educational system has had an unhealthy focus on testing and accountability” (Pg. 112).

Ravitch is stating that the U.S. has solely focused on the performances of students on

the standardized exams. The focus on testing is unhealthy because schools are

choosing to ignore the fact that students are not benefitting anything from the

standardized test. Even though schools are offering some electives, the amount of time

that is focused on standardized testing outweighs the time focused on electives. In my

own experience, there would be several hours throughout the week focused on

preparing for the standardized test and only one hour for electives. Not having enough

time to explore other interest leads to a lot of students not knowing what they want to do

in the future. Schools should change the amount of time that is put into standardized
 Ramirez 3

test and apply more time in helping students discover passions and motivation towards

learning more.

Teachers that limit themselves to only teaching in one way do not understand

that not all students learn the same. They need to be open to teaching in multiple ways

so that all students can learn. Not every student learns the same, meaning at the same

pace and/or style of teaching. Some students are visual learners, others are verbal

learners. The same goes for teachers, they all teach in a different way. Some teachers

limit their students by telling them that there is a specific way to do something. For

example, a math teacher may tell their students that they must follow a step by step

procedure in order for them to get the answer. “From Social Class And The Hidden

Curriculum Of Work”, author Jean Anyon, Professor of educational policy, states:

“Bowles and Gintis, for example, have argued that students in different social-class

backgrounds are rewarded for classroom behaviors that correspond to personality traits

allegedly rewarded in the different occupational strata -- the working classes for docility

and obedience, the managerial classes for initiative and personal assertiveness”(Pg.

137). Depending on a students social class, they would be taught differently. The lower

the socio-economic status of the student, the more the student is disempowered.

Students are limited to the amount of creativity that they may have in class because, the

teachers are telling the students that there is only one way to complete an objective.

Schools need to support all students and incorporate more teaching styles to offer

students.

Students that are limited to their educational opportunities get bored because

they do not feel that classes are challenging, leading to students not being able to reach
 Ramirez 4

their full potential. When students are bored, they don’t get any work done. They feel as

if there is no point in being in school. Connecting standardized testing to boredom, if a

students is forced to prepare for a standardized test than they will become bored from

consistently doing the same thing. “Against School”, author John Gatto, an award

educator, shares his personal experience. Gatto shares, “My grandfather taught me

that. One afternoon when I was seven I complained to him of boredom, and he batted

me hard on the head. He told me that I was never to use that term in his presence

again, that if I was bored it was my fault and no one else’s” (Pg.115). Although Gatto

insist that boredom is because of one’s own fault, schools should still be helping

students not be bored. A big reason why students dropout of school is because they are

bored with the work that they have to do. They feel as if the school work they are doing

is pointless and that doing something else, such as work, would be worth their while.

Schools should offer more advanced classes and literature classes so that students can

learn more and new things and feel challenged to keep them motivated in school.

A citizen is an individual that contributes back to one’s community in a positive

and thoughtful manner. Schools are not fully developing students to become

contributing members of society. Schools are focusing on students literacy skills but are

not empowering them to creatively think and develop their own ideas. In the article, “The

Essentials Of A Good Education”, author Diane Ravitch, a research professor of culture,

education, and human development, describes what qualities a citizen must have. She

defines, “A citizen of a democratic society must be able to read critically, listen carefully,

evaluate competing claims, weigh evidence, and come to a thoughtful judgement. In

their hands will be the most important responsibilities of citizenship: choosing our
 Ramirez 5

leaders and serving on juries. One determines the fate of our nation and the other

determines the fate of other humans” (109). Ravitch is arguing that a citizen must have

basic literacy skills to be able to understand and make sense of real world problems and

political affairs to be a citizen. Every students should feel empowered when developing

and understanding ideas, be willing to share their own thoughts so that they may be

contributing members of society.

Public schools are limiting the dissent of students, not allowing them to contribute

their own thoughts, causing disempowerment. The problem with this is that students

don’t get the opportunity to share or develop their own ideas. Teachers aren’t showing

students how to build off of other ideas and create their own opinion. When I was in

highschool, my teachers encouraged the class to create and build off of ideas that were

shared in class. There would be socratic seminars where we would share our own ideas

and view other perspectives. I asked my cousin if he had the same experience and he

told me that he did not have to participate in an socratic seminars. He wasn’t shown

how to create and share out his own idea, or how to build off of another one. Schools

need to support students and encourage them to create and form their own ideas so

that they may feel empowered.

Public schools need to change their teaching methods and encourage students

to create their own ideas. They need to stop prioritizing standardized testing and focus

on empowering student to become thoughtful contributing members of society. The

unhealthy focus on standardized test is damaging students ability to feel empowered,

causing them to give up on school.

 Ramirez 6

Works Cited

● “The Essential Of A Good Education.” The Essentials of a Good Education by Diane Ravitch,

bucks.instructure.com/courses/1074311/assignments/7712970.

● Gibson, Richard. Anyon: Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work,

www1.udel.edu/educ/whitson/897s05/files/hiddencurriculum.htm.

● Against School - John Taylor Gatto, www.wesjones.com/gatto1.htm.

 Ramirez 7

● British Columbia Teachers’ Federation. “Instruction, Assessment, and Learning: From

Standardization to a Focus on Students .” ERIC - Education Resources Information Center,

eric.ed.gov/.