Lynch 1

Amy Lynch
Ms. Thompson
AP Lang, Block 1, Skinny A
May 5th, 2015
IJWBA Essay: Draft 1
A View on the Education System
The gap in education in this country, the unfairness of the schools, is one of the great
unfairness in this society- Gaston Caperton. For decades, the school system has been highly
criticized for not providing a fair learning experience to all children. A common criticism of the
education system receives is that it divides the rich from the poor and only focuses on higherlevel students. Similar viewpoints were shared in James Baldwins essay, A Talk to Teachers.
In his essay, Baldwin discusses the meaning of education, how the educational system favors the
elite, and how society wants the lesser students to accept being average.
The purpose of education is to give young adults an equal opportunity to understand the
world and to answer lifes everyday questions. Baldwin declares education successful once the
student has the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions (Baldwin,
Paragraph 2). In addition, education provides students a better understanding on societal issues in
society and the ability to devise solutions to these problems. Armed with this knowledge, the
students will be able to make their own decisions such as whether there is a God in heaven or
not (Baldwin, Paragraph 2) .

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Unfortunately, the education system does not always supply students with equal
opportunities. The advanced students are nurtured and praised while lower level students are left
in the dark. Instead of helping the students thrive, the education system focuses on dividing the
populationInstead, these teachers often lack the ability to engage the imaginations of their
students. These students are usually viewed as useless and as a result, forgotten.
Another difficulty lower level students face is conforming to societys expectations. The
students are expected to do well in school, but not to exceed average. The educational system
expects the children to be cookie cut students. For instance, all the students are expected to
obey to societal rules and conform. Instead of being encouraged to do their best, these students
are taught that it is better to barely scrape by in their classes since it requires little amount of
effort. Academic survival is more important to the students than succeeding. As a result, these
students tend to have a negative attitude towards school and are viewed as bottom level.
In conclusion, there is a great disparity among the different social classes in the
educational system. Education is vital to students because it helps them understand the world
around them. Once a student can question and conquer the challenges of life, he has then found
his own identity. When students use their personal identities, they can prosper and find their
purpose in life. Unfortunately, this has been hard to come by for many lower level students
because the educational system remains corrupt and biased. In order for there to be change, the
educational system must encourage teachers to present themselves in a positive manner to their
students and provide a fair opportunity to all students or else an equal opportunity education will
be futile.. Until then, the bottom level students will continue to be indolent and be nothing
more than average.

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or himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and
then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity. But no society is
really anxious to have that kind of person around. What societies really, ideally want, is a
citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society. (from James Baldwin, A Talk to
Teachers)