Me Talk Pretty One Day

The article we read in class, Me Talk Pretty One Day, had some valid points about language. Even though it took place in France, the story rings true here in America. Not being able to talk "proper" English is often discrimatory here. People can obviously understand what they want to say but the language gaps of immigrants inhibit them from looking as smart as the rest of the population. This causes them to be seen as lesser. 

As a society we need to stop seeing language as a barrier but rather a cultural difference that we must learn to appreciate. We need to give people credit for at least trying to learn a language. Most people native to America only speak English, yet we think that all immigrants need to conform to our ways and our society. This is unfair to say the least. 

The School System 2.0

Today in class we read an article on how the school system in America needs to change. Although I do agree with this statement, the changes presented in the article did not seem appropriate. The article called for high school starting at 7th grade and graduation at 16 years old. The article basically puts high school with the same principles as college today, freely elected courses based on student interest.

There are major flaws with this system. If students can pick the classes they want, then wouldn't it be more likely for students to pick classes that were easy and didn't require much effort? Another problem is that if students are selecting certain classes for fields they want to go into, they can't change their mind when they're done because they don't meet the requirement to go into that certain field.

 

I think that all students should be required to take certain courses but their own version of those courses, much like college. Let's say I have to take three years of lab sciences. I should be able to pick between chemistry, biology, physics, forensics, anatomy, medicine, and still get the same amount of credits for someone who took different sciences than myself. In this way, we would still be getting the same basic knowledge while being able to explore different interests. Basic knowledge should also focus on real world skills that aren't taught in schools now, like filing taxes, and understanding politics. Then, college should focus on just the fields of study that I want to go into and I wouldn't have to take general education classes except if I wanted to switch fields.

  

The education system definitely needs an update. The problem is that the world is constantly updating and we have yet to change the school system to match that. We should make school a place where kids should want to go to every day, because in reality a majority of kids hate school but love learning. We need to look the ones in power straight in the eyes and demand change and refuse anything else and then all that we have to do is follow through with the changes and the school system will improve.