American Education System and Cultural Literacy Essay (Literature Review)

Introduction

Jerome S. Bruner is one of the most acclaimed and momentous psychologists of the previous century. He was one of the significant personalities whose name was synonymous with the ‘cognitive revolution’. It is in the realm of education that his influence continues to survive. His book, ‘the process of education has met with widespread applause and has been most popular in the relevant circles. It has been hailed as one of the classics. In the recant past, he has become critical of the cognitive revolution and has explored for the construction of cultural psychology that weighs very much the factors like historical and social settings of the contributors. In his 1996 book, the culture of education, these arguments were refined with reference to schooling and education in a broader way. Jerome Bruner has unleashed a powerful impact on our conception of the process of education and to the making of curriculum theory. We investigate this work and deduct some important lessons for informal academicians and those pertaining to the practice of learning of the entire life.

It is definitely the case that schooling is an ingredient of the process of inducting the young into its normative ways. In fact, schooling may not be commensurate with a cultures’ other methods of facilitating the young into the needs of concerned living. For the author, it has become more and more obvious that education is not just about traditional school issues curriculum or the examinations. What we determine to do in the school merely makes sense when viewed in the general sense of what the society aims for attaining by means of educational investment in the young. How one takes education, we have at last come to conclusion is a function of how one takes culture and its objectives explicit and implicit.

The Process of Education Book by Jerome Bruner

The book by Jerome Burner has been a landmark and one of the most fundamental texts. It had molded the thinking many in the United States. It has impacted the perceptions of several teachers and scholars and they have come up convince and imbibed. Its stance of children as dynamic problem solvers who are quite prepared to search for odd subjects while not being in line with the influential view in education of that era finds resemblance with views of many. There are key four elements that have arisen from this wonderful and magnificent theory of knowledge.

The number one is the ‘contribution of structure in learning and how it may be made lynchpin of teaching’. The approach adopted should be pragmatic one. The teaching and imbibitions of structure rather than the hold on facts and methods is the most important part of the classic issue of transfer. If the initial learning is to spill the beans for the later learning, it must begin with general picture in view of the connections between things met earlier and later are drawn as obvious as possible. The second element which is also very important is ‘readiness for learning’. The author argues here that schools have done to death a lot of time by deferring the teaching of significant realms because they are considered absurd. We started with the assumption that any subject can be taught with good results with intellectual integrity to any kid at any phase of development. This idea is central to the concept of spiral curriculum. ‘A curriculum as it develops should revisit these basic ideas repeatedly, building upon them until the student has grasped the full formal apparatus that goes with them’ (the process of education. 13). The next foremost theme of this work is’ intuitive and analytical thinking’. The author defined the intuition as, “the intellectual technique of arriving and plausible but tentative formulations without going through the analytical steps by which such formulations would be found to be valid or invalid conclusions’ (13). He thinks it grossly underestimated even ignored but it is the most required element of creative thinking. The author notices that experts of divers realms seem to ‘to leap intuitively into a decision or to a solution to a problem’ (62) – a matter that Donald Schon was to probe some years later and analyzed how teachers and schools might plough the soil for intuition to thrive. ‘Motives for learning’ comes next. Here the author is of the conviction that inclination to the material to be learned is the most feasible propellant to learning rather than such foreign aims as grades or later competitive edges.

Jerome Bruner is not only the most significant educational thinker of this era but also a motivational learner and teacher. His contagion curiosity motivates all those who are not absolutely fatigued. People of all ages and domains are inspired to be on board. In this classic work Bruner divides the process of education into four basic parts: structure, readiness for learning, intuitive thinking, and motives for learning. These form the major chapter headings for the book.

Jerome Bruner reveals when we encompass the structure of the subject, it arms us with the capacity to find affinity with several other things, which otherwise have no link whatsoever with the grasped contents. He illustrates this by delineating how comprehending the structural notion of tropism in the subject of biology incapacitates one to understand many more other concepts. He tells us that when we grasp the structure of a subject, it enables us to relate many other things that would otherwise seem unrelated. “The swarming of locusts where temperature determines the swarm density in which locusts are forced to ravel, the species maintenance of insects at different altitudes on the side of a mountain where crossbreeding is prevented by the tendency of each species to travel in its preferred oxygen zone, and many other phenomena in biology can be understood in the light of tropisms” (Jerome Bruner, 7). The more basic the notion is the wider and more potent will be its reach and consequences. He applies this canon in the increase of curriculum and how most feasible to approach in the teaching of diverse subjects in different grades. The section of the book dealing with readiness for learning presents guidelines with the journey of sensitivity of the kids. Twelve years old face no troubles with playing games that are about complicated mathematics but are not able to comprehending a conventional explanation of the similar mathematical canons. To thrust for getting such rules guides to the capability to give precise but erroneous answers. Mathematics is relevant to the correct answers and on the other hand, computation pertains to accurate answers. One might mistake the other with the former.

To put into nutshell this is a historic book with great relevance to the curriculum development. Perhaps no guideline about this topic is complete without the mentioning and referencing of this great work. It provides the precise ferment in the contemporary educational thinking in this country called America. It buriers the extinct approaches and supplies an amazing and exuberant debate of the dimension of the educational theory. It also explains the research and its possible implications and the methods of pursuing it. The writer writes in poetic tone which is endeared to all and sundry. It is extensively researched and rigorously argumentative. A scientists’ modest art of reasoning is present which is most appreciable. Jerome has authored a very accurate, satisfying and more of an innovative work. It is no doubt phenomenal work on learning theory, preparedness, and structure, intuitive and analytical thoughts. We are indebted to the writer who strived very hard to make us indoctrinated with notions which are essential for the upbringing and induction of the youngsters in the society. He has undertaken this historic responsibility and come up with flying colors top establish his scholarship.

Cultural Literacy – What Every American Needs to Know by E.D. Hirsch

In this essay, the author suggests that all Americans should keep in mind some similar points of references so that when they communicate they may share notions easily and smoothly. The author of the book has given the list of the essentials to be imbibed. In this compelling manifesto, Hirsch argues that kids in United States are being detached with the fundamental wealth of knowledge that would make them able to act in the current society. The book has thousands of the most primary facts which are must read and to learn. Most of the Americans are not armed with the knowledge they must know and they should save the exceptional way of life they have got from their forefathers. They know their generational era figures but not the old ones who contributed to the world and shaped it so as it is today for them. They must know about the Peloponnesian war about which they know little and judging from this yardstick they are illiterate.

Cultural literacy is the basic information we require to know and it is the need of the hour to communicate in our society. In the absence of it, we cannot pass judgments what the reviewer has said or when a forecaster says the ambience is a politicians’ weakness. “To be culturally literate, is to possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world.” It is the onus the readers to get the writers’ ‘systems of associations’. It is the tragedy of the modern times that the students do not care for the classical books and such type of references and they are totally de-linked with the antiquity. This is not the ordinary lack of knowledge and it has the potential to jeopardize the existence of our nation as free one.

One of the principal points, the author makes is the requirement for the average citizens to comprehend sufficient science to know the parleys relevant to the environment and the political matters. He gives references of the debate and talks of the voting public, “their education should have provided them with the general facts and principles needed to understand the terms of the debate, how a satellite works, what a laser is and can do, and under what conditions such a system would be likely to succeed or fail.” He forgets to mention the historical, social and political contexts that make their way into the debate but his theory is true to them as well. It is the point and the condition where highly important things are involved the previous example is the touchstone of ignorance of the American voter. Most of them still have no idea what occurred and they have been kept in the dark by the similarly ignorant press who knows nothing about the constitution. The greater negative thing is that they do not want to know and it is their greater folly.

The cultural literacy is very essential to remain integrated with the roots and it is the point the author stresses most. It should be recurrent theme of all lessons and courses that the coming generations know more and more about the life and times of the past ones and they should not remain oblivious to the values pursued by those people. This is very necessary for the continuity of the history. Learning the cultural background is must for the future generations.

The centerpiece of the authors’ position is that critical and creative thinkers are totally interconnected with particular contents. We are deceiving the youngsters as we fail to provide them with a common point of reference which is very important. Without such a frame of reference, to share and therefore enhancement of our culture would be a distant memory. Having a similar base of knowledge solidifies us all and straddles all the boundary lines. It is this common base which intersects all and is the breeding ground of a truly pluralistic society. The author supplies a lot of qualitative and quantitative evidence to back his point. His bibliography and relevant sources are of great significance and they are instrumental in a bundle of assistance. It is also the matter of common observance that the students who know the disciplines of history, art and literature are capable of understanding various concepts even irrelevant to these realms more easily. It is also the tribute to the author of the book that he has created the specific knowledge which should be possessed by all and sundry. He has taken this giant step in the hope that others would also contribute and the body of knowledge thus formed will polish the new generations very well on the subject matter.

In this book, E.D. Hirsch argues very well that the kids in America are not being taught the lesion they must imbibe for the safeguards of the cultural treasure which faces the grave crisis of extinction. He has come up with the list which is by no means perfect. However, it is very good starting point on which the author has treaded very well. The book seems to be the cry in the wilderness, however with each passing year it is becoming louder. Our culture in increasingly becoming the mixture of stars, scandals, and spicy news that knit us together in the relationships. These are things which have replaced our true cultural background and at once we have become orphan of our heritage which ahs remained our pride. We are swiftly on the way to lose the knowledge of our culture that really matters a lot for the right upbringing of our generations.

The point of the author is not to be missed and should be endeared as he rightly emphasized the worth of things which are invaluable. These culturally important things and their knowledge is the touchstone of the success of the American way of life. We know very well that the wisdom gained from the past can illuminate our future and it can provide thread to us all. In recent times, this gel no longer is the intersection point and in future we may feel directionless in the absence of the common cultural; background and way warding may occur. Knowledge of the background of the American culture is essential to move forward while keeping a vigilant eye on the past. The book by the author is revealing, fascinating, interesting and compelling. The findings of the writer deserve serious considerations. The writer of this great work has at least taken the essential step to point to the deficiency in the educational system and has emphasized most seriously how to make this anomaly right.

This work is an inspirational one as it is going to encourage many to prepare a full-fledged course of cultural literacy to keep the new generations informed. By adopting this way of life they would be able to take fair decisions for them and for their future generations and America would become a better living place than being imagined. The efforts of the author needs to be met with applause as he ahs not only put forward his concerns but has also come up with the basic course which should be in the knowledge of all. His primary is to make the people aware about the primacy of the cultural literacy so that people could take more refined decisions about themselves and for others. Press and electronic media should incorporate the cultural literacy, by doing so, it would be able to guide the public better and help them in discharging the constitutional obligations. The methodology of the writer to make his pint is convincing and the lucidity of the expression leaves good impression. We are not offended in any part of the book and it offers an in-depth analysis in case we do not pay heed to his request. The debit and credit sides of knowing or not knowing the cultural literacy are enumerated. On top of it, the curriculum for cultural literacy is provide, which itself is a great effort undertaken.

Horace’s Compromise by Theodore R. Sizer

First published in 1984, the book is the first one written in series committed to the issue of educational rectification in America. To write this trilogy the author along with group of researchers saw more than eighty schools over a period of more than five years. The work ion hand has aroused immense controversy; however, it is inflectional document on the health of the American schools during the decade of 80s. In our times, it is most potent and astute commentary on the issues confronted by our schools and the expectation for their future. Theodore Sizer has one of most persuasive and venerable profiles in American education. He holds numerous prestigious posts in this domain. Horace smith is taken as mock but true English teacher at particular suburban high school. He is veteran educationist who knows very well the forces at work in education. He loves his profession and it is his pride. For him, it is a happy pastime and a very prestigious profession. It is rewarding as well as it pays in the long run. He teaches many students daily and even devotes time to schooling after the official hours. This shows that he is totally committed to the education and the right upbringing of the students. He also helps in the production of the school made plays which are also essential for the education of students and integral part of it. A man who has very lofty standard, Horace looks at his contribution as of a coach who must spearhead the intellectual grooming of his students. On to of it, he ahs ardent trust in the worth of writing. Owing to the very heavy and crushing workload, he has to make a compromise in case of grading the papers. He has to be in line with the fact that a high school teacher there is “a gulf between what would be nice and what is possible… a gulf not crossed by reasonable and judicious judgments” (20). The teacher here is the symbolization of so many other righteous teachers whose potential; cannot be exploited in tight way and up to the hilt. So the half baked measures are an important hindrance in this path. It is the outdated and still educational system which does not allow them to realize their potential and offers many obstacles to their path of refining the society more and more. In the fist part of the compromise, the author inspects the place pf the students in the American school system. He points out that the American schools are impairing the capability of the youth and are underestimating them. The schools and the educational system stress the vulnerability for the students rather than making them aware of their potential which is always huge. He said this reality in these words, “American high schools today too readily stress the vulnerability and inexperience of adolescents and underrate the potency and authority that young people can exhibit” (33). Schools should back and support hopes rather than Rather than encourage submissiveness, schools must raise expectations and should be the dynamic contributors to their learning and literacy. Schools should incorporate the ethnic and class diversity of students and should not forget that the values that are to be inculcated in their hearts and minds are the same. Size goes on to add that students must be vested with the devices to take their education seriously and it should be very important focus of their lives rather than lost in the meaningless things in which their drain their energies and time so much. In the second part of the book, the thro sees education as an initiative. He lays great stress on the skill learning by means of coaching, the worth of learning as a process of investigation and the locus of character development. He supports the leaving of conventional content guided course structure coinage. He has a trust in schools that focus on right answers with no matter how the student accesses it. In the round about words, it is more important for the student to reach the answer rather than answer it. For the writer the skills of reading, writing and listening are imbibed by the process of coaching and the encounter with such an actual eventuality. Theses skills should be the central focus of the educational strategies. Very intensive self questioning is of high value as it makes the student aware of the examination of the central values and the beliefs and lastly it increases their capability to reason. While acclaiming that questioning is absurd teaching to grasp, Sizer thinks that theta the goes teacher is not scare of the difficult questions coming from his or her students. Discussing and investigating the pros and cons of social and moral issues in the comparatively managed ambience of the classroom is integral of a well prepared secondary education.

Conclusion

Of the most primary onus of the American education system is to produce a genre of lot who is decent, informed and ready to participate in the process of socialization. They should be morally right as well. If they are morally on high ground they would be able to take the much needed important decisions essential in the society and the whole society would benefit from it and thus the chain reaction would start. The students must be inculcated with the decent attitude and the tolerance which is very much essential to live in the society. He looks upon the art of teaching in the same way as it is like a theatre. In the final section of the book, he focuses on the contribution of teachers in his road map for the educational revamping. He brought to our notice, “While the point is to have the students learn, the teacher has to explain, provoke, cajole, inspire, criticize, demand, love. He or she often has to be a ham and to love being one” (153). Teachers must be intelligent enough to innovate and should not be rigid in their methodology and should weigh heavily the requirements of individuals and also that of the whole of the class. There should be non basis of any discrimination among them. Such tendencies among the students should also be warded off. They should be well versed with an animate sense of humor so that students remain engaged and they are not bored to death while learning the most from lessons which would work to their advantage in future. Teachers and the students must converge on the aims of the class and the methods relevant to pursue these aims. Making a covenant in this regard is not very smooth. However, all out efforts should be undertaken to make a pact which clearly states the aims of the class and education. He also goes on to think that if this agreement is reached at the effects it would unleash must be ruinous for those who are trying to quench their thirst of education. “Failing to get agreement, and agreement on ends and means that forward serious intellectual activity, however painful, results in an empty school” (160). As far as motivation is concerned, the writer thinks that the gateway is to facilitate thoughtful optimistic incentives and to buck up student involvement rather than relying n the conventional system of rewards and the retributions. He also comes on the attributes of the teachers and those who almost love their profession and discharge their duties in the righteous manner.