Analysis Of The Dumb Kids Class By Mark Bowden

In Grant Penrod’s essay called Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate Smart Kids he starts by talking about his high school football team and that they won the championship again this year. He says the speech and debate team also won the championship this year. The football team continues to receive mass amounts of praise and attention even after their win, while on the other hand the academic teams that won receive miniscule amounts of recognition. The academic teams might get a shout out at the end of an assembly, but never the amount of praise that the football team receives. The educated kids have the label of nerd and with this label; social norms become more difficult for them. Penrod says that even celebrities make it look like dropping out

Grant Penrod, a young college student at Arizona State University, shows how rough the “smart kids” have it, in his essay “Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids.” In Penrod’s essay, he shows the reader the cruel and unusual punishment that “smart kids” go through. Penrod uses a very calm tone of writing but ramps it up with occasional quotes of hate towards these certain students.

Diane ravitch speaks on multiple issues dealing with students who do well in school. She found that students who do well in school are the ones to be teased and singled out the most. Also that ravitch discusses how peer pressure is another tactic to persuade a student from doing well. Then she also expresses the controversy’s with state tests scores regarding race and gender. While the main iniqury is which one of these topics stands out more than the others.

Alison Kong EN 102 The education system in America is broken according to “Lives on the Boundary” by Mike Rose. In this excerpt Mike Rose gives the audience a greater understanding about the decline of the education system. Rose gives examples of how and why education should be equal for everyone. Also, that the importance of great books and a proper curriculum is very significant to our education system. Rose further explains to his audience that these “Great Books” don’t contain real experiences that students could eventually come across during their time at school.

In Grant Penrod’s “Anti- Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids” essay, he argues that academic achievements should be acknowledged equally just as an athletic achievement. Smart kids do not receive the acknowledgment that they deserve since society has a negative look regarding smart kids. Anti- Intellectualism is hostile feelings towards intellectuals or intellectual thoughts. Society tends to celebrate non-intellectuals. The essay talks about smart kids being labeled social outcasts for the reason that average kids have separated themselves from kids smarter than them. Smart kids feel as if they should retain their intelligence just to fit in a judgmental world. Penrod’s argument is effective because his topic is still relevant to today’s time and his use of examples that he incorporated throughout the essay.

Rose first explains how the educational system classifies a child’s class. He then proceeds to elaborate on how the vocational class works for those who do not do as well in school. He uses pathos so the reader feels emotional for the less fortunate student in the vocational class. Rose conveys his beliefs by using personal examples. He learns true qualities of people and shares the stories of Dave Snyder, Ted Richard, and Ken Harvey. Sharing the personal indications of what puts the students in the vocational class, gives the reader the notion that they have strengths that do not apply doing well in school. Rose ties the examples together in the end to confirm his opinion that one should never settle being defined as average.

Not to mention, that this has given many disabled individuals chance to a quality education. This case has made congress take a closer look at the individualize needs that is acquired for students by mandating the school to find a program that will help students individual needs in educational system. “Power imbalances between parents and school districts cannot be eliminated, but the mandatory provision of information will go a long way” (Kotler, p.553, 2014). This help secure a people with disabilities a chance for a better future in educational system.

In this case study, a third year first-grade teacher was faced with the dilemma of whether or not to talk to the principal about her concerns. One of her concerns was that two of the other first – grade teachers (who were very good friends with the principal) were always getting the high achieving students that came from wealthy backgrounds in their classroom. Her other concern was that these two teachers always had higher test scores because of the high achieving students that were placed in their classroom. This made her scores look bad because she always received the students that struggled to perform. The third year first- grade didn’t mind teaching the struggling learners but she did feel that ALL students would benefit from mixed classrooms. Therefore, she was faced with the following questions: Should I talk to the principal or not? Should I talk to the other first grade teachers? Should I talk to someone else? Or, should I just ignore the situation to keep things from getting worse?

Being a smart kid is an honor to most, but as a child Mark Bowden believed otherwise. In “The Dumb Kids’ Class” he tells his unique experience in Catholic school, where he was in the dumb kids’ class and then switched into the smart class, and discovers the true differences between them.

Mr. Clark used pathos by builds the trust by making the kids more comfortable and knowing of what can come if they don’t take high school serious. He let the kids know that they don’t have to follow the stereotypes of their school, that because they go to the school they are already dumb and worthless.Clark made the teachers feel bad about their lack of motivation in teacher and failing these poor helpless students instead of teacher the students in a different way, which helped them get pity into doing better. Before the students took their exams Mr.Clark had a few words that he said to the students. “We sink. We swim. We rise. We fall. We meet our fate together.” Mr. Clark made the students feel more comfortable knowing that they are not alone, that they are all going through the same thing.

Our students come from different backgrounds, race, language, and culture. Let us not deny any child of a quality education, an education that can change their lives.

The American education system has, since its inception, been subject to ridicule and disdain on the parts of many. Despite the fact that many scholars believe that the system has flaws, there has been no consensus as to what needs to be changed. Sam Chaltain, the previous National Director of the Forum for Education and Democracy and now an active participant in educational reform debates, argues that the system should shift its focus on standardization away from students and instead to teachers and schools. Nikhil Goyal, author of Schools on Trial: How Freedom and Creativity Can Fix Our Educational Malpractice, holds that we should do away with standardization altogether, giving children the opportunity to accomplish what they want with their education and allow them to flourish in a less stifling environment. Peter Gow, the author of a multitude of books about potential changes in school policy, focuses on fourth grade specifically, suggesting that a year in elementary school focused solely on cultivating reading skills would greatly benefit students in the future. Although this is a radical stance, Gow’s point remains valid; teaching

Lynda Barry's writing demonstrates to the reader that schools are more than just institutions that provide learning spaces. Ideally, every kid in a classroom should be living a happy life outside of school. But in reality, this is seldom the case, and some kids are living a rough time at home. Family values are fundamental to a kids' development, yet every day it seems families get disoriented with disputes life troughs in their paths. Forgetting of what truly is important. The school is like a second home to some kids. Barry's essay demonstrates this by explaining the effect school had on her. As a result, she sees the janitor in which she is delighted to see and quickly sparks a smile on her face. Another example is when she sees her teacher Mrs.LeSane and goes up to her and cries. Finally, the last case is the therapeutic value of art Mrs.Lesane believed on.

Public school systems need to be more sensitive to their students. Parents play the major role in determining a child’s academic outcome, but the school system needs to notice children who don’t necessarily acknowledge their gift. These children need guidance -- I believe it is the schools’ responsibility to provide it to them. I have been through a situation that makes me feel strongly about the subject. My example is an indisputable case in point.

There are many problems with today’s education, but one of the main problems would be the topic of inclusion vs. self-contained classroom. Many people have different opinions on this topic. For instance, some believe that disabled children should be separated from non-disabled children in classrooms, while others believe they should not be separated. There are many advantages and disadvantages to both sides of this situation. The views of both of these choices are completely opposite. On one side something may have a positive outcome, but on the other side, it may result in a negative outcome. Choosing which one has more positive outcomes for students is not the easiest choice, but it is a choice that has to be made in order for students