Informative Essay on American education system and it's issues as well as reform potential

RATIONALE

The issue I’m researching is how, and what, we teach in our current education system. We currently lack much, if any effort on educating students on critical thinking or creative problem solving. This causes students to lack the ability to effectively analyze information properly and to discern biases. This issue also stifles creativity and the arts in general. The relationship between my topic and the theme of the core reading is quite close. My core reading of choice is directly related to my topic and will be an extension of what Robinson had to say. The significance of my topic, from my perspective, is grand. This affects every single person in our country, and the world. It’s something that a lot of people turn a blind eye to and it has gotten way out of hand. It also poses many concerns for the future, and if not handled soon, could get out of control. I hope to discover a wider perspective on this issue, as well as information to help develop potential solutions or ideas on how to act.

Annotated Bibliography

Brown, Travis J. and Donald F. Kuratko. "The Impact of Design and Innovation on the Future of Education." Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity & the Arts, vol. 9, no. 2, May 2015, pp. 147-151. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/aca0000010

The authors, both Indiana Professors at IU and Kelley, join together for this article on Design and Innovation and their importance for the future. This is mostly geared towards business advocates and entrepreneurs, with a focus on providing a personalized outlook on this perspective. They both have years of experience with teaching business and entrepreneurship, and while this paper does not go deep into research, it provides outlooks from people in the corporate side of the spectrum and how teaching innovation and creativity affects the economy and business. I chose this source because it offers a perspective that I tend to avoid, but is essential for upcoming projects in providing a better conclusion.

Clemmitt, Marcia. "Teaching Critical Thinking." CQ Researcher. N.p., 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2017. http://library.cqpress.com.indianapolis.libproxy.ivytech.edu.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2015041000&type=hitlist&num=17

The author, a reporter and long-time educator with a master’s in English, wrote an article for CQ Researcher, which claims “In-depth reports on today’s issues”, about the lack of critical thinking offerings in school as well as other issues with today’s school systems. She hypothesizes about the importance of critical though as well as abstract problem solving and how it could help future generation better analyze information and solve problems. The article is a very comprehensive, and persuasive piece, geared towards educators and anyone involved with social politics. It touches a lot on the opposition as well, such as how current school systems mostly push for right answers and test scores, creating a sort of emphasis on the end goal rather than the journey or understanding. This article seems perfect for my paper, as it offers a wealth of information that’s heavy in facts and studies, and maintains very little opinion or speculations.

Clemmitt, Marcia. "Students Under Stress." CQ Researcher. N.p., 13` July 2007. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com.indianapolis.libproxy.ivytech.edu.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2007071300

The author, a reporter and long-time educator with a master’s in English, wrote an article for CQ Researcher, which claims “In-depth reports on today’s issues”, touching on the concerns surrounding schools and how much stress they are putting on the students, even as soon as first grade. This article appeals to the general public, especially students or families as it directly relates to them and their future. “Piles of homework dim children's love of learning — while depriving them of vital free time — without improving their school achievement” is a stand out statement and ties into the pathos rhetoric of this article. The author is wanting to persuade the reader towards helping our education be more caring towards our children and their futures, while cutting out waste and impending pushes for even more homework and stricter schooling. All of this shows great concern, and ties in quite well with my thesis on education and how we seem to be killing peoples drives, passions, and interests in anything outside of academics. This should offer a great perspective into the psychological aspect of our schooling methods and how it is affecting students, even down to kindergarten.

Hargrove, Ryan A. and John L. Nietfeld. "The Impact of Metacognitive Instruction on Creative Problem Solving." Journal of Experimental Education, vol. 83, no. 3, July 2015, pp. 291-318. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00220973.2013.876604

The authors, Professors at the University of Kentucky and North Carolina State University, combine their knowledge of Educational Psychology and design to research and study creative thinking and metacognition. They conducted a study using a unique 16-week course to incorporate new creative thinking strategies on a weekly basis and see how the group results compare to a control group. The purpose of this study was to encourage “metacognitive skill development”, and determine if this is something that can truly be taught to students. Recent studies have found that creativity can be learned, and this research paper details their findings using a logos approach. The paper builds evidence and substance to the impact metacognition and creative thinking has on students success and abilities throughout school and life. This paper is an almost perfect source for my project since it has a fully detailed study, with practice, into creativity and the effects in a school environment. I feel that it will provide substantial information for me.

Karaim, Reed. "Charter Schools." CQ Researcher. N.p., 10 Mar. 2017. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. http://library.cqpress.com.indianapolis.libproxy.ivytech.edu.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2017031000

The author, a freelance writer who has worked for various publications, such as The Washington Post, Smithsonian, and others, was “also the winner of the Robin Goldstein Award for Outstanding Regional Reporting and other journalism honors.”. In Karaim’s article, he provides a detailed analysis of the uprising of charter schools, and the effectiveness of them compared to public schools. Published on CQ Researcher, Karaim provides a heavily sourced and analytical research publication that seems to have little bias with a mission to provide as much perspective as possible, while providing explanation as well as rebuttal for most points made. Karaim gathers information from opposition and supporters alike. The article discusses how charter schools provide a bit more freedom and innovation for the teachers and students, often providing high scores and college acceptance rates as claimed by supporters. However, Karaim discusses how this is often skewed by shady tactics and a large push for test scores. This will be a great resource for my paper as it offers a view into schools that are allowed to deviate from standards and provide a more unique teaching style.

Robinson, K. (2006, February). Ken Robinson: How school kills creativity. [Video file].

Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity#

The speaker, an international advisor on education in the arts, Professor of Arts Education, and Professor Emeritus, speaks about our education system and how it’s seems to favor strict academics, while pushing arts and creative subjects to the side. Robinsons speaks on the neglect students often face when they stray from academics or standards set within our education system. Such as students who may want to pursue the arts, yet have little interest in math or science. He had a humorous, ethos rhetoric of making the reader feel for these students and opportunities they could miss for their future. This is my core reading, and will be used for my next project as Robinson’s speech is the main drive for my subject.

Thomas, P. (2012, April 26). Politics and Education Don't Mix. Retrieved March 05, 2017, Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/04/politics-and-education-dont-mix/256303/

The author, a Professor of Education at Furman University and high school teacher, discusses how bureaucracy is interfering with our education system more than ever before. It really made me reconsider what I thought about this entire situation and how best to handle it. We desperately need to reform our education system, but none of the proposed solutions really solve that problem. We have to make get the local leaders to manage the education system while also keeping the federal funding involved. Another issue he pointed out is that some studies were done about poverty, and when you took out all the impoverished student scores, the average was significantly higher, suggesting that simply fixing poverty could lead to better education in general. I chose this article to round out my perspectives as this one focuses on the bureaucracy aspect and how it is undermining our public schools and causing lots of waste and troubles.