- Williams, Juan. "Opinion: For America's Children, Education Outlook Grows Only Dimmer." TheHill., 23 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. < http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/juan-williams/205663-opinion-for-americas-children-education-outlook-grows-only-dimmer>
- Quinn, Pat. "Why U.S. Schools Are Simply the Best." Huffingtonpost. 22 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/on_performance/2012/10/why_us_schools_are_simply_the_best.html
- Zhao, Emmeline. "U.S. Education: The Real Reason America's Schools Stink." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Aug. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/us-education-the-real-rea_n_1811085.html.
- "The History of Education in America." Chesapake. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. http://www.chesapeake.edu/Library/EDU_101/eduhist.asp.
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Satire Reflection
I chose education in America, because it is extremely important and it is something that people believe is turning into a huge problem. I personally believe that just like everything else in the world, our education system has many flaws. However, I think some people are making it out to be a much bigger problem. In my satire, I wrote about the problems with our education and just like every other satire, I made it dramatic and exaggerated. Someone who thinks that education is deteriorating is the kind of person that should read my satire. Also, someone who can appreciate a lot of sarcasm. I chose the article format, because I think that it gets the point across much better than the other two formats. My response uses humor and sarcasm to criticize education in America. In my satire, I used hyperbole (“5 million tests”), parody, and sarcasm (“what else to do you expect”). All in all, I thought that this satire was difficult to write, because it’s hard to write about something that you don’t completely agree with. Education in America... Here's to the Not So Educated! BREAKING NEWS! Another high school students drops out. If this came across Channel 2 Action News every time it happened, we’d all throw our TV’s out the window… Literally. One high school student drops out every twenty six seconds and none of those kids can even count that high. “One… Two… Three… uh, what comes next?” But, it’s not their fault. School is too stressful. Teachers are mean. School is dumb. The real problem is that people are lazy. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Yeah, going out the door. Why try when you can live with mom and dad for the rest of your life? They have enough money to financially support you. They’ll bring you breakfast, lunch, and dinner and you’ll never have to work. That’s living the dream. “The average student does less than one hour of homework at average at all grade levels.” It spells laziness… if it could spell. But that’s not the only problem… The government is ruining education, too. NCLB, No Child Left Behind has many fingers being pointed at it right now. Many say that ‘No Child Left Behind’ is the reason that education is so messed up these days. The NCLB controls what we’re taught, how we’re taught it, how money is spent, all the 5 million tests we take, and etc. Critics say that it’s a “one-size-fits-all” system. They say it focuses too much on testing, I’ll vouch for that. Let’s just say, because of it, children are indeed being left behind. Others say that the teacher’s union is the cause of this “crisis”. The teacher’s union blocks reforms that allow the education system to improve. They focus on the teachers rather than the students. Focus on us! According to the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) the US ranks seventeenth in student literacy. I hope that everyone can read this. How come we can win a bunch of gold in the Olympics, but some of us can’t even read the word gold? Another thing is the safety and discipline at school. Well today, a fight broke out in the cafeteria… And the day before… And the day before… And, well you get the point. Feeling safe in school doesn’t come easy anymore. Actually, it doesn’t really come at all. Safety and discipline is a big issue in school these days. A lot if the kids just don’t care what happens to them, so why not punch that girl that called my skirt ugly in the face? She deserved it and so what if I get ISS? I guess you could say that education in America could be worse, but what do you expect? We have high crime rate, corrupt government, and we breed people like Kim Kardashian and Miley Cyrus. It’s a recipe for disaster, but all kidding aside, let’s fix it. Education in America
In 1779, Thomas Jefferson proposed a two-track educational system (“Historical Timeline of Public Education in the US”). This was the very beginning of education in the United States of America. In the last 235 years, the US has undergone many changes when it comes to education. As of today, many would argue that our education is great and thriving and many would argue that it’s just deteriorating. I’ve done my research and found two great sides to this complicated story. Did you know that one high school student drops out every 26 seconds (Williams). That’s two dropouts in one minute. Thirty percent of kids in America don’t graduate from high school (Williams). According to Juan Williams, “Better schools will result if parents have more control over how tax dollars are spent on education.” Williams says that the No Child Left Behind act is “toxic” and doubts that it will be renewed. He says that the Democrats don’t want to question the AFT (American Federation of Teachers) and NEA (National Education Association), because a large percentage of their funding comes from teachers. He states that the Republican side has never been too fond of the NCLB. Pat Quinn says whole-heartedly that the United States’ education system is simply the best that there is. He supports it with five reasons: 1)Free for all- many people in other countries have to pay for and cannot afford education. Here, it’s free and easily accessible. 2) Apples to apples- if more students take a test, the average test score will be lower. Many countries we are compared to are much smaller. 3)A premature decision- in the US, a baby’s survival is much more common than other places. 4)We are special- in many places, special needs students are excluded, unlike in the US. 5)More is better- we have are way more diverse when it comes to all the different classes and curriculum, whereas many places focus mainly on math and science. (Quinn) So far, I've noticed that the author, not only in these paragraphs, but in the first five pages, has been written in italics. I think she does this to show two things, a different time period and the thoughts inside the girl's mind. Also, I noticed that she quotes words like lights and darks, among others. She did this, because the dead girl was wondering how she could remember big words like "disqualified," but forget simple words such as "lights" or "darks". She also uses a colon following it with a list of things that she compares her mind to. Towards the end of this section, she begins to use choppy sentences, as opposed to long, complex sentences. She does this to really simplify, yet show the importance of what she is saying. Also, I think that people tend to pay more attention and to understand choppy sentences, especially when they follow long, drawn out sentences.
I think the article, "Dating Your Mom" is very funny. I think that what makes it funny to us that nobody in our society could ever imagine dating their mother, but to Ian Frazier, it's normal & realistic. He kind of uses understatements, in a way. Throughout the whole article, he defines his relationship with his mom as like bringing him food & cleaning after him. We think of that as the role of our mom, not really our significant other. You're suppose to have disagreements with your spouse and not be exactly like them. It's suppose to be a complex and interesting relationship, unlike the one that he's talking about with his mother. Also, I think he uses some elements of parody. He kind of makes fun of how we perceive our relationships, like when he says, "we make love and part without ever really touching."
I think that this is not a satire. It's not based on events that people would actually take seriously. Nobody in their right mind would ever seriously consider dating their own mother. And stealing her from your father? I mean, it's just wrong on so many different levels. However, it does have the absurd comedy part. That's really what makes it funny, how absurd it is. It also has a point, as crazy as it seems. Throughout the story, it kind of begins to make sense, in a totally non-realistic way. It sounds less crazy as the story goes on, even though we know it completely is. However, it doesn't meet all the criteria of being a satire, I think that it would be considered a parody. |
Taylor WilliamsHi, I'm Taylor! Obsessed with country music and life. I love trying new things, meeting new people, and my family and friends. Archives
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