Suggestions for Writing

Education

Now that you have examined a number of readings and other texts that focus on education, explore this topic yourself by synthesizing your own ideas and the readings. You might want to do more research or use readings from other classes as you write.

  1. Many see standardized testing as the answer to improving public education in the United States. Thus, students face district- and state-mandated tests as well as national ones. What do you think? Write an essay discussing whether standardized testing is an effective way to improve instruction and performance. Be sure to research the topic, and broaden the scope of your essay beyond your own experience.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Many see standardized testing as the answer to improving public education in the United States. Thus, students face district- and state-mandated tests as well as national ones. What do you think? Write an essay discussing whether standardized testing is an effective way to improve instruction and performance. Be sure to research the topic, and broaden the scope of your essay beyond your own experience.
  2. Homeschooling has become a popular alternative to public or private school for an increasing number of students in the United States. Research this trend by consulting print and electronic resources and, if possible, by interviewing someone involved with homeschooling. Would Ralph Waldo Emerson (p. 189) or Horace Mann (p. 248) support or oppose this method of education? Write an essay exploring both the benefits and the liabilities of homeschooling.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Homeschooling has become a popular alternative to public or private school for an increasing number of students in the United States. Research this trend by consulting print and electronic resources and, if possible, by interviewing someone involved with homeschooling. Would Ralph Waldo Emerson (p. 189) or Horace Mann (p. 248) support or oppose this method of education? Write an essay exploring both the benefits and the liabilities of homeschooling.
  3. Many people believe that children should be required to attend at least one year of school prior to kindergarten. Write an essay explaining why tax dollars should or should not be used to pay for mandatory, government-funded preschool. You might want to do some research to develop and support your position.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Many people believe that children should be required to attend at least one year of school prior to kindergarten. Write an essay explaining why tax dollars should or should not be used to pay for mandatory, government-funded preschool. You might want to do some research to develop and support your position.
  4. Write your own “Talk to Teachers,” addressing either the teachers in your school or teachers in general. To start this assignment, replace the name Khrushchev with the word terrorism in the opening paragraph of James Baldwin’s “A Talk to Teachers” (p. 197). How does this substitution set the stage for your more contemporary view?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Write your own “Talk to Teachers,” addressing either the teachers in your school or teachers in general. To start this assignment, replace the name Khrushchev with the word terrorism in the opening paragraph of James Baldwin’s “A Talk to Teachers” (p. 197). How does this substitution set the stage for your more contemporary view?
  5. Write a roundtable discussion among three or four of the authors in this chapter as they discuss one of the following quotations:

    ● The only real education comes from what goes counter to you.

    —André Gide

    ● I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

    —Mark Twain

    ● Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire.

    —William Butler Yeats

    ● Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.

    —Chuang-Tzu

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Write a roundtable discussion among three or four of the authors in this chapter as they discuss one of the following quotations: ● The only real education comes from what goes counter to you. —André Gide ● I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. —Mark Twain ● Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire. —William Butler Yeats ● Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education. —Chuang-Tzu
  6. According to Francine Prose, “Education, after all, is a process intended to produce a product.” Examine your school or another part of an educational system (for example, your school district, a Montessori class, a private religion-affiliated school). Describe specific parts of the educational process, and the “product” they strive to produce. Think of this as a cause-and-effect essay, with the process as the cause and the product as the effect.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: According to Francine Prose, “Education, after all, is a process intended to produce a product.” Examine your school or another part of an educational system (for example, your school district, a Montessori class, a private religion-affiliated school). Describe specific parts of the educational process, and the “product” they strive to produce. Think of this as a cause-and-effect essay, with the process as the cause and the product as the effect.
  7. Write a comparison/contrast of the high school classroom as you’ve experienced it in the United States with the high school experience in another country. If you’ve attended school in another country, you can use your own experience; if you know someone who has, you might interview that person; or you can research the topic in print and electronic sources. Consider how the classroom, including the relationship of teacher and student, reflects the values of the larger society.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Write a comparison/contrast of the high school classroom as you’ve experienced it in the United States with the high school experience in another country. If you’ve attended school in another country, you can use your own experience; if you know someone who has, you might interview that person; or you can research the topic in print and electronic sources. Consider how the classroom, including the relationship of teacher and student, reflects the values of the larger society.
  8. Congratulations class of 2035! What will high school be like for the next generation? Write an essay explaining what changes you anticipate for high schools in the not-too-distant future. Will the high school be pretty much the same as yours? Will students interact with teachers solely online? Or will future students face a backlash to a more traditional model? What books will students be reading? Will they be reading at all? Can you imagine yourself as one of the teachers?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Congratulations class of 2035! What will high school be like for the next generation? Write an essay explaining what changes you anticipate for high schools in the not-too-distant future. Will the high school be pretty much the same as yours? Will students interact with teachers solely online? Or will future students face a backlash to a more traditional model? What books will students be reading? Will they be reading at all? Can you imagine yourself as one of the teachers?
  9. Create your own version of Roz Chast’s “What I Learned,” presenting your thoughts on education as a cartoon with a narrative line. Feel free to develop your own illustration style, rather than emulating hers.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Create your own version of Roz Chast’s “What I Learned,” presenting your thoughts on education as a cartoon with a narrative line. Feel free to develop your own illustration style, rather than emulating hers.
  10. Write your own humorous account of a learning experience, either in a traditional classroom or in a different context. Use some of David Sedaris’s rhetorical strategies, such as dialogue, a self-deprecating persona, or hyperbolic descriptions.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Write your own humorous account of a learning experience, either in a traditional classroom or in a different context. Use some of David Sedaris’s rhetorical strategies, such as dialogue, a self-deprecating persona, or hyperbolic descriptions.
  11. Suppose you are delivering the commencement address at your high school. Consider David Foster Wallace’s speech and the characteristics of commencement addresses in general, and write one that is tailored to your school and community. Keep in mind that, unlike Wallace at Kenyon College, you are writing as an insider speaking to fellow classmates.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Suggestions for Writing: Suppose you are delivering the commencement address at your high school. Consider David Foster Wallace’s speech and the characteristics of commencement addresses in general, and write one that is tailored to your school and community. Keep in mind that, unlike Wallace at Kenyon College, you are writing as an insider speaking to fellow classmates.