World Without Public Schools Essay Example for Free

World Without Public Schools Essay Should America have public schools, or would we do better without them? Nothing is more important to this country than the transformation of children into educated American citizens. Thats what public schools are for, and no institutions are better suited to the rolein principle. They used to fill it with distinction. But theres no reason we must have public schools. Granted, the public has a strong interest in educating Americas children, at a cost thats divided equitably among all taxpayers and not borne by the parents of school-age children alone. But these requirements dont imply any need for public schools. We need an Air Force, and the Air Force needs planes. Taxpayers pay for the force and the planes. But the pilots are supplied directly by the government, the airplanes by private companies (with government oversight and assistance). Schooling might be furnished on either model: mainly by public or mainly by private organizations. We know that private schools are perfectly capable of supplying first-class educations. So the question stands: Why have public schools? How should we decide whether to have them or not? Vouchers have been a popular and promising (and controversial) idea for years. Under voucher plans, the public pays part or all of the bill when a child attends private school. But here I am talking about the whole hog, not just the tail and a couple of trotters. If sending some children to private school at public expense is worth discussing, why not sending all children to private school? Why not liberate all the vast resources we spend on public schools to be re-channeled to private schools chosen by the nations parents? Any public school offering an education that parents will actually pay for (of their own free will) would presumably be replaced by a private school offering essentially the same thing. But a vast array of new private schools would germinate also. And a vast number of failed public schools would disappear. I n the system I am picturing, education would continue to be free and accessible to every child, and all taxpayers would continue to pay for it. Parents would be guaranteed access to reasonable schools that cost them nothing beyond what they pay in taxes. It would all be just like todayexcept that public schools would have vanished. Would private organizations be capable of providing enough new schools to replace our gigantic public schools establishment? Private enterprise is alleged to be smarter and more resourceful in America than anywhere else in the world. So lets suppose that private schools can indeed meet the needs of nearly all parents. Do we actually need and want our public schools, or do we keep them around out of fear of the teachers unionsand habit, like a broken childs toy we are too sentimental to throw away? The basic law of public schools Many sources agree that, on the whole, American public schools are rotten. In 2000, a whopping 12 percent of graduating seniors were rated proficient in science, and international surveys rank our graduating seniors 19th overall out of 21 nations. In 2002, the Washington Post summarized a different survey: Nearly six in 10 of the nations high school seniors lack even a basic knowledge of U. S. history. And so on. Our public schools are widely agreed to be in bad shape. But these are only problems of incompetence. Others cut deeper. The basic law of public schools is this: Public schools are first and foremost agents of the public. They exist to transform children into educated citizens as the public understands this termin other words, as a public consensus defines it. Of course the United States is a large country; standards have always differed from state to state. So each state has its own public schools, charged with satisfying the consensus definition of educated citizen in that state. In 1898, Nicholas Murray Butler (soon to be president of Columbia University) described universities in terms that make explicit this connection, one that is almost forgotten today. In order to become greatindeed, in order to exist at all, he wrote, a university [or public school! ] must represent the national life and minister to it. When the universities of any country cease to be in close touch with the social life and institutions of the people, and fail to yield to the efforts of those who would readjust them, their days of influence are numbered. The same is true of any system of educational organization. Public schools even more than universities must represent the national life and minister to it. They must minister to the consensus definition of an educated citizen. And what is a consensus? Unanimity or general agreement on matters of opinion, according to Websters; solid agreement by a large majority. And in states where there is no public consensus or general agreement on the meaning of educated citizen, public schools are in an impossible position. They cant act for the public if the public cant decide how they should act. This is true without regard to whether the schools are working well or badly. Today there are few states or none where a public consensus or general agreement exists on what educated citizen means. Schools exist not only to teach skills but to mold character. (Although many object to this old-fashioned language, few Americans disagree that schools must teach an approach to life, a worldview, a moral framework. ) The culture war that has been underway since the late 60s is precisely a war over approaches to life and worldviews and moral frameworks. Our politics mirror that divide. In the 2004 presidential election, Kerry and Bush differed on politics, but stood also for two different worldviews in the larger senseKerry the globalizing man-of-the-world with his European experience versus the plainspoken, ranch-living, Bible-quoting Bush. In simplest terms, Kerry stood for globalism, Bush for Americanism. As between these divergent visions, the country split down the middle. Its pretty clear that no consensus or general agreement on the nature of education is likely to exist in a country thats so divided. Which suggests in turn that, for now, the age of the American public school is over. Obviously we shouldnt make such judgments on the basis of short-term disagreements or divisions. But Americas culture war has been underway for a generation at least. You might argue that the solution is to have two varieties of public school, roughly moderate left and moderate right, each with its own curriculum, textbooks, and standards, and its own version of a worldview or moral framework to teach children. Every neighborhood or local region would vote on left versus right local schools. In many areas such elections would be extraordinarily hard-fought and bitteryet the solution might work, except that the school establishments bias is so consistently left (and not moderate left either) that it seems unlikely we could trust it to operate moderate right schoolsor even neutral schools, if there were such a thing. (The public schools bias often shows itself in exactly the form of neutrality, as Ill discuss. If you declare yourself neutral as between America and her enemies, or normal sexuality and homosexuality, your neutrality in itself is bias. ) Of course this whole analysis might be wrong. Maybe I misunderstand the point of public schools. Was there ever a consensus in this country on what an educated citizen should be? Maybe we always have been content for the schools to speak for just one section of American society, never the whole. What would the nation look like without public schools? Nearly all existing public school buildings would be leased to private schools. All the private schools in any town or district would discuss programs and fees among themselves (which would not count as illegal price-fixing), and with the public too, via local government or town meetings. Any public school whose staff believes in it would be allowed to keep its building and reorganize on a new basis. Some large public schools, especially high schools, would reorganize as confederacies of separate schools sharing one building: a science and math school, humanities school, arts school, sports school. Many students could attend more than one simultaneously. The Internets most important role might be to help coordinate such complicated arrangements. (Though its also true that a well-designed Internet school might attract students from all over the country. ) One final question: Is there any chance that Abolition will be acted on, or even discussed? Dont hold your breath. Yet it would take just one prominent (even medium-prominent) politician or public figure to get America talking. We desperately need this national discussion. And what could be healthier for Americas public schools than to learn that they might not be immortal after all?

Anatomy of a Research Paper -- essays research papers

Wodge: A Definition "I don't want a great wodge of prose, but about double what we have at present." (Ezra Pound, 1913) The word wodge, whose meaning can be surmised from its heavy, lumpish sound, is not particularly common in American usage. It is, however, a wonderful word that ought to be given more recognition. It offers a more vivid description than its synonyms, for example, blob, cluster, or clump. A highly descriptive word, wodge is developed from a combination of the words wad and wedge, the sound of which evokes images of weight and sedentariness. The word wodge has sprung from a combination of two other words, wad and wedge, but is vastly more entertaining than either. A wedge is generally two principal faces of hard material meeting at an acute angle to be used for raising, holding, or splitting an object; or also to squish or cram oneself or another object into an ill-fitting space in the manner of a wedge. A wad, on the other hand, is a small lump, mass, ball, roll, or bundle of some matter, usually soft or fibrous, i.e., cotton, wool, straw, cloth, paper, or money. Wodge embodies both of these concepts. Resting somewhere between wedge, which has a more mathematical, precise, and triangular meaning, and wad, which is crumpled, disorderly, and usually made of paper, wodge seems to be lumpy, u...

Original Writing: The Assassination

The Assassin lay in wait. She knew what she had to do, where to be, where to hide and at what time. She also knew who the victim was. Now, all she needed to do was wait. She had perched herself in the neighbouring chimney. Her research had been done. The owners of the house were away on holiday. The house was hers. While she waited, the smell in the chimney was pungent. God what had they burnt in here? She could literally taste what had been burning. Pleasant thoughts were trying to take over the smell of the chimney. It was starting to work until her concentration was broken by the sound of a car pulling into a driveway. The target was sighted. No, wait. It was the victim's son. He didn't matter; as long as he kept out of the way he would not fall to the same fate as his father. She thought about how much was staked on her to leave no recognition, to the police, that there had ever been anyone there. She never did of course; she was a professional. Her finger found the trigger of the rifle and gripped tightly. The question was asked to herself as to why she was so worried as to killing her target. She had done it many a time and was the government's first choice to do this assassination. A few cars passed on the dark, lonely road leading up to the driveway that was gloomy in the night sky. She sighed heavily, her sigh passed down the chimney and through the rest of the house. The silent wait continued†¦ The silence of the night was deafening. The force of the rain was extremely light but the Assassin was soaked right through to the bone. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked. Washington D. C's weather was so lousy this time of year. The darkness was descending slowly, the house, from where the assassin was perched, was dark, lonely and frightening. Lightening flashed above the house. In the lightening, the assassin looked like a zombie. The wind became stronger as the night dragged slowly on. The lights that ran parallel with the street were all burning brightly except for one. The only one that wasn't working was the seventh one along. It was the one right outside the house. The rain had ceased now. The tarmac glistened after the rain had stopped. The line of shrubbery reminded the killer of a war movie she had seen recently. ‘The Front Line'. That was the name of the film. Some teenagers passed by the house. They looked a bit drunk. The wind carried the dead leaves along the ground and through the air. The Assassin heard a noise approaching to her left†¦ She stubbed out her cigarette as the silver Mercedes(tm) turned off the road onto the muddy, rutted path leading to the house. The Assassin noted that the car had defective windscreen wipers; there were mud streaks on the side and a damaged bumper. As the car came to a stop outside the house, Her victim checked his watch; it was time for his favourite Radio Programme. So he sat inside of his car, turned on the radio and listened to it in comfort. The Assassin cursed herself. Why wasn't he getting out of the car? She heard the music go on, so she lifted her rifle and looked through the scope. He was sitting with a bottle of Baileys, listening to the Radio. She waited a bit longer. Eventually, he got out. John, now drunk, looked at his badge on his suit. It said ‘John Kerry'. Even though it was not raining, John stupidly put up his umbrella†¦ The assassin grinned to herself. She was finally going to get her kill. John was staggering left and right, which meant her shot, would have to be even more accurate. But, luckily for her, he was about the length of 3 Double Decker buses away from the front door. She lifted the rifle's scope to the man. She took aim, the trigger contracted into the gun. As if by pure luck, the man tripped and fell right at the last second, causing the bullet to narrowly miss its destination. She couldn't believe it. Anger swelled up inside her. She punched the gun so hard that it went unnoticed that the silencer fell off to the ground below. Reloading her gun was quite hard while she was shaking. The sight was lifted again and the shot was fired. This time it hit him right in the heart. He went flying into a nearby wall. The force of the blow scattered all of his personal belongings out of his suit. The deed had been done. She wiped the sweat from her brow as she was clearing up. But as she was cleaning up her thoughts went back to the shot. Could the shot have been heard? The floor of the chimney was searched but she couldn't find the silencer. Then her worst fears came true. Lights in the nearby house shot on. Then her thoughts were broken by the sound of a low groan coming from the driveway from across the way. John was crawling towards his mobile phone. Her items were dropped to the bottom of the chimney. She thrust her body off the roof, causing her to roll across the ground. A dagger was pulled from her belt and was driven towards her victim. Her foot connected with the bottom of his jaw and the mobile phone; causing only the mobile to scatter. He was grabbed by the neck of his suit by the Assassin and his throat slit. He died instantly. The Assassin stood up and walked towards the end of the driveway until she was stopped in her tracks by a mysterious figure at the doorway to Kerry's house†¦ It was John's son, William. He was wielding a machete. William was quick but not as quick as the assassin. The second he raised the blade to charge, the murderer turned and threw the dagger, with perfect accuracy and precision, straight into the thigh of the victim's son. His eyes opened wide but, as she intended, he was stopped in his tracks. He tried his hardest to concentrate on the assassin. The pain was excruciating. He staggered forward, unaware that the assassin was starting to make a run for it and the neighbours watching. They stared in disbelief as he pulled the dagger out of his thigh and attempted to give chase but was no match for her speed. He thought she had gotten away until one of the neighbours, named Terry, offered him a lift in his car. Terry and William drove quietly along the dark road following the assassin. The assassin thought she had lost him but then she seen two bright lights coming towards her. Using her swiftness, she ran and blended in with the bushes leading to the park. The car pulled onto the kerb and the doors slowly opened. She put her hand on her handgun. Just in case. They got out of the car slowly and carefully proceeded through the park. Suddenly Terry disappeared into the bushes causing William to jump. He investigated the bush to find Terry. He found Terry with a sleeper dart hanging from his neck. William left him. He went into the shrubs at the side. He had a hunch. She looked back out of the shrubs only to find that he had disappeared. Her hand loosened slightly on the handgun. She felt a crack in the back of her head as she went flying forward into the clearing. As she got up William was upon her like a shot. As she fought wildly to get him off her hand found something to be hard and sharp. Unfortunately for her William found the same item and they held the item between them each trying to stab each other. She identified the item as her dagger. But her taking her eyes away from the struggle gave William the chance he needed to rip the dagger free from her grasp. As he brought the knife down into her chest as she found her gun, put to the back of his throat and pulled the trigger. William lay motionless. She felt a sharp pain in her chest – what could it be? She wondered, gasping or breathe. Slowly opening her jacket, the assassin felt shocked when she realised that the blood was hers. She was feeling light headed now and cold. Maybe she needed a sit down to rest her eyes. Yes, that is what she decided to do. It was mid afternoon the following day when the police found them – William still lay motionless and pale. The assassin looked peaceful – as if she were asleep. Why was it that she killed John Kerry? I guess we might never find out†¦

Anthropology On The Internet And Social Transaction Evolves

Anthropology on the Internet I’d like to think online communities are just live-action communities on Adderall, bound by the same constraints but evolving at a breakneck pace. You see, on the internet every nook and cranny has its own culture. As in real life, the larger the community, the less peculiar the customs. This is both an advantage and a drawback. If small forum lend themselves to cliques, large ones lend themselves to atomization. I find the culture of the internet as fascinating as any, maybe even more so, because on the internet social transaction evolves fast as the internet connection, 234 bits per second. De facto the medium of the internet works as a kind of filter: Computers sit in the corners of rooms. People who accumulate on forums tend to come from a certain stock. That is to say they’re often of nerdy disposition. These are people who maybe exist on the margins of society. People who maybe worship things like Pokemon and Star Trek the way the average American worships football. Before I found the internet I might as well have been an alien. I wore two-inch thick glasses and shopped at thrift stores and had a familiarity only with pop-culture of the 90s, ten years too late, because I watched exclusively such shows as The X-Files and Star Trek: the Next Generation. You can imagine my excitement when I first came across tribes—entire swathes of people—who were happy, more than happy, to analyze the plot of TV shows or debate the particulars of extinctShow MoreRelatedInfluence Of International Culture On The Fashion Industry7108 Words   |  29 Pagesdiverse eras, the prospect to envisage their social status; profession, district personality and faith. (Crane, D 2000) In contemporary society, it has become an apparent theme and fiasco for people to express individualism through apparel, provoking an assortment of reactions. 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