We have discussed various factors that influence people’s education and individual development. Your first essay focused on the types of teachers we encounter and their effects on our academic and personal evolution. In class, we discussed three episodes from Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast Revisionist History (“Carlos Doesn’t Remember, “Food Fight,” and “My Little Hundred Million”) as well as one episode (“Three Miles”) from the This American Life podcast. All discuss the influence of the educational system, donors, and students’ personal lives on their academic choices and performance.
Through independent research, you have also found one other article/text that focuses on higher education in the United States.
Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay:
What is the most serious flaw of the American educational system as examined in the podcasts and the text you have found on your own? Why is this the most serious flaw?
Explain your position and support it with evidence from Revisionist History (“Carlos Doesn’t Remember, “Food Fight,” and “My Little Hundred Million”), This American Life (“Three Miles”), and the article/text you have found through independent research. You need to use at least two of the podcasts we have discussed together AND the article/text you have found through independent research.
Your essay should:
• explore at least three distinct ideas;
• quote directly from the text(s) and analyze the quotes;
• be at least 5 paragraphs long;
• use Times New Roman, size 12, have 1 inch margins, have 0.5” paragraph indentations, be double spaced, and use left alignment;
• use MLA style for citations (see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ for further information);
• have your name, course title and section, date, and the essay and draft numbers at the top left corner of your paper.
Your rough draft should be at least 4 pages long.
Your essay should also:
• be grammatically fluent and easy to follow. If you know you may need help, please consult the following website for issues ranging from fragmented or run-on sentences, to the correct use of pronouns and verbs, and to essay structure and style: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/. You can also go to CAWS (go to Writing Tutoring) for more help.
• not be late. 10 points (out of 100 points for the whole essay) will be deducted per class that it is late. The only exception is the final (third) draft, for which the deadline is not mandatory.
Assignment goals:
The objective of this assignment is to encourage you to analyze a few possible problems of the American education system, use at least three texts in order to support your claims, do meaningful independent research, and analyze the texts you have used.
Essay structure:
Thesis statement (TS):
e.g. The most serious problem in the American educational system is that low income students do not have access to a good education because (A) their schools lack resources, (B) most donors give money to already rich schools, and (C) rich schools do not give scholarships to enough low-income students.
——————————-
Idea A –supports the TS
Idea B—supports the TS
Idea C—supports the TS
Thesis statement (TS)
The most serious problem in the American educational system is that low-income students have little or no access to a good education and, as a result, the US workforce will not be prepared for the challenges of the twenty-first century.
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Idea A –sets the grounds for Idea B: origins of low-income students having less acces: inequalities in the larger US society
Idea B–sets the grounds for Idea C: low-income students lave little access to a good education because their schools lack resources and function more like place-holders
Idea C–supports the TS: many low-income students drop out of school and take low-paying, insecure jobs.
Thesis statement (TS)
The most serious problem in the US educational system is that big donors give money mostly to rich schools that do not need it and, as a result, a huge number of low-income students do not have the resources for a good education.
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Idea A–sets the grounds for Idea C: low-income schools/students lack resources
Idea B–sets the grounds for Idea C: rich schools get more and more money which they invest in programs for a few elite students
Idea C–supports the TS: donors give money to rich school
Transitional words
–order: firstly, secondly, thirdly, next, then, in the end, after that, etc.
–switch the topic: on the one hand…, on the other hand; however; nevertheless; by contrast
–to add something: furthermore, moreover, additionally, in addition to, also (DO NOT START A SENTENCE WITH “ALSO”).etc.
–to draw a conclusion: therefore, hence, thus, as a result
