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 Right to education? 
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Last night I had the opportunity to discuss education and culture with a group of Pakistani educators who were ending a 6 week stay in America as part of a scholarship program. This topic came up and I was wondering what everyone else thought:

Does the fact that education in our country is a right rathar than a privilage make American students take their education for granted?

The Pakistani educators visited high schools in the area and many were shocked at the way American students acted. They said that in their country because education is a privallage, students take it seriously. (Education in Pakistan is free up until about grade 5 and then students must pay a small fee that increases if they go to the university.)

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Nikki Tester


Fri Aug 29, 2008 12:10 pm
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I have never thought about this. It does seem that American students take for granted their education, and I suppose that many of us have been guilty of this also. Many of us can’t even imagine a world where we wouldn’t have to go to school, and also do not know what it is like to live in a country like Pakistan at all. In my opinion, it seems that many Americans have the stand point that the “stateâ€

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Jerry Nicole Whitener (Nicole)


Fri Aug 29, 2008 4:12 pm
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I think this is an interesting topic to discuss. I agree with Nicole in that the country is different and thus the culture. One of the classic stances of "getting ahead" in America has been to work hard and well for yourself. If education is an option, then pursue it and use it to your advantage. I really think that this idea has changed in the last several years. Our media and visual culture give us a commentary on our values today. Not all, but many people seem to be interested in what they have and where it gets them rather than hard work, dedication, and passion for something. I had a long discussion with my RD last year. She is from Bulgaria and she was explaining to me the differences between the US and there. She said in the US there are more possibilities of getting rich quickly. Computers, DVD players, Ipods, etc are everywhere and most people have at least one. She said in Bulgaria, people don't make is much money or have as many things(TVs and Ipods are not staples of life) but they have more paid vacation to spend time with their families. Also maternity leave there is three years. Paid. It's hard to imagine.

So how does societal values effect our education system? We get excited now when we find new ways to get kids interested in reading. Yet we(society) have invented and given them all the "distractions" that we think deter them from having interest and learning. Some of the same distractions perhaps that make childrens' attention spans shorter. And the other half of children in our country go without them(games/tvs/etc) and we're worried about that too because now they feel inferior.

Okay, okay- so obviously this issue is not as black and white as I'm making it, it's far to complex to dissect in this way. But, I guess my point is, the values that many people in this country have or have allowed themselves to fall to holding, shape the way our kids think. When we reward them in class with candy and the "prize jar," it's hard to explain why they should be good citizens or read do their homework because "it's the right thing to do." Where are the M&Ms?

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Emily Mackie


Fri Aug 29, 2008 6:34 pm
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I do believe that in America we take our education for granted. Many even resent their obligation to go to school. I strongly agree with Emily that we as a society created the distractions we resent, and therefore cannot fault kids for finding them more interesting than schoolwork. I don't know at this point how to solve this problem, since kicking kids out of school for lack of interest wouldn't be quite fair (or useful), however, I do know that as educators our role in counter-acting these never ending distractions will continue to grow.

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Amanda Klinger


Sun Aug 31, 2008 5:13 pm
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I think it is true that one of the reasons Americans take education for granted is because it is presented to us as a right rather than a privilege. Many Americans haven't had the opportunity to see school systems in other countries or talk to those who have been through them.

In high school I had a class with an exchange student who I believe was from Peru. She talked about how different the students at my high school were compared to those in her country. A lot of the students are negligent with their work, disrespectful to the teachers, and some even drop out at the first chance they get. It is such a privilege to attend school in a lot of other countries, especially third-world countries. Not everyone is able to afford even a uniform for their child(ren) to attend, much less the books.

It makes me sick sometimes seeing students who are apathetic about doing a few math problems or reading a chapter in a book for homework. Of course most haven't been raised to view it as a privilege, but thats where it needs to start so students can be more appreciative of their education.

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Dani Martin


Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:25 pm
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I think that the degree of which we take our education for granted comes with our experiences. As a whole, I do feel the American society takes education as something that we are supposed to get not an opportunity we are given. Though it has been my experiences with working with students from various backgrounds that some students take their education more seriously than even some of us do as teachers. Students who have been exposed to situations where education is not guaranteed know that education is not a right. Working with some students in the 4th grade who recently moved to this country from Mexico I found a completely different outlook on the educational experience than that of their American classmates. These students know that education is not always given to children and they greatly appreciate all the opportunities they are given to learn. I think that it is important as teachers that we allow these students who value their education to help teach their peers to not think of education as a right. These classroom interactions will be of great value for both the individual students as well as the class as a community.

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Katie Tyndall


Thu Sep 04, 2008 12:20 pm
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I feel that a lot of students in this country do take their education for granted. Since it is a "right" and not a privilege some students think that they can get away with just giving minimal efforts. They will not get severely punished, i.e. being kicked out, for not actually putting forth an effort. They may drop out, but they will rarely be kicked out. Whereas if education were a privilege, then it would be something that we valued. We would work hard to ensure that it wasn't taken away from us. It would be a point of pride that we would hold high.

I too feel that we as teachers must allow our students who value their education to teach the peers which do not value their education as much. The best way for many of us to learn is to be taught by our peers.

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Justin McCrary


Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:15 am
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I agree with everyone that American students take for granted their education. While it does have something to do with it being forced by our government, there is definitely more to it. I mean look at college, we all pay a lot of money to come to college but we still see many students skipping class or grunting about math problems. College is a PRIVILEGE not a right. So why in America, is it still taken for granted? I agree with Emily and Nicole that our culture impacts how we treat our education. We have so much freedom here, citizens take a lot for granted. As teachers, we should help students realize what they have and teach them to appreciate their education. Hopefully, this would help students to expect more from themselves.

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Jessica Placke


Mon Oct 13, 2008 11:47 am
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I agree with the majority on this one. It seems that the structure of todays school system and education laws make it easy for America's youth to be disgruntled. Many of them feel as though they are forced to get an education that might not suit their personal needs. Less structure and more flexibility are most likely the key to helping American students appreciate their educational opportunities. Letting them have a say in their scholastic career would help understand the importance of decision making.
I am old enough, sadly, that I was not a product of the NCLB testing policies that now plague our school system. We chose our classes much like students choose classes in a college setting. This alleviated the feeling that we were being "made" to learn. I hope that the NCLB structure will fall to the way side and that students can once again appreciate their education.

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Corey J. Tucker


Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:30 pm
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