Essay on Anarchy in the Education System

Submitted By Kelly-Wenstrup
Words: 1460
Pages: 6

The educational system is not universal. Schools around the world are taught different things. In the United States, children are brought to school to be taught to respect authority. Some may argue that children are prepared for industrial society instead. They think the children are taught values and components necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing world. This is not true. Children are taught what society thinks they need to know and that is of course, obedience to authority. Authority is what holds the United States together and keeps order. It is and always been a staple in society to make sure it functions. Without authority, the United States would live as anarchists and not have correct functions displayed. The educational system in the United States can be related to the social order model. According to Sears and Cairns (2010), this model is a theoretical perspective that views an orderly society to be necessary (p. 186). There has to be order and respect for society to function. Therefore, students are being tested for levels of obedience. These levels can vary. Some levels consist of sitting in chairs with desks for long periods of time or even waiting to go to the bathroom until a teacher has authorized it. Teachers may even track how many times a student goes to the bathroom. He or she may only be allowed to go three times per quarter. This leaves many in awe at how schools are ran. It is amazing how much control teachers and staff have in the educational system as well as how much a student does not question their authority. Students are taught on their first day of school each year how procedures in the classroom are and how to behave. If the students do not behave a certain way then they will get punished in various ways. Along with physical strains on students, there are other ways students are obedient to authority. A good way students are obedient is by the way they are assessed. Assessments are standard in the classroom. Students are told what to learn for the test and that is it. This creates obedient students that are not likely to be independent. These tests also do not value creative expression. Students’ unique abilities are not shown when there are emphases put on common core standards. These standards are held high and anything different from it is unimportant. Students have to make the school look good and by behaving and performing an outstanding way, they are following the rules. Otherwise the school will have to breakdown their system and recreate a way for students to follow rules, procedures, exams, and so forth. Along with assessment teachings, students are taught to memorize concepts. Most of these concepts are repeated over and over in all courses throughout the student’s educational career. Repetition is a good way of controlling students. By repeating concepts and terms, students are able to remember well enough to perform highly on assessments. Teachers most of the time have to teach for the test in order for this performance to be excellent. Excellence is the goal for many schools. One way that students try to defy towards obedience but still indirectly obey is by cheating. The education system is defined by grades in many ways and students choose to cheat to get better grades. These better grades help the school earn money, equipment, grants, and so forth. The better grades do not necessarily help the student in the long haul, but they are told to obey and get certain grades. Pressure from many people also may persuade a student to cheat. Parents are shown grades from the school that reflect their children. They are not in the classroom understanding why their child received the particular grade, but they are confident enough that their child should always earn a better grade. The expectations of students are high by things like pressure and high stakes, so students may try to earn easy grades by cheating. According to H.L.…