The Progression of Our Education System

As mentioned in one of my earlier blog posts, the issue of a corrupted education system has significantly contributed to further division and racial segregation in our communities over the years. When discussed previously, education was said to have caused this by latently training and pushing students towards financial competition as adults. However, there are also other reasons as to why education has caused such a separation in our society and also a setback in our country– these include the bias in what is being taught and to whom it is being taught.

Censorship and bias in education has been a controversial, yet widely-debated topic in America. To be put simply, these two factors are the removal of certain topics and evidence in American history because of them being too violent and damaging to our minds. Apparently, these truths ruin our impressions  of American nationalism with its exposure of our country’s historically cruel deeds (“Censorship in Schools and its Effects on Our Children”). For example, history textbooks rarely convey, in full detail, the torture methods used on African Americans in slavery during the Civil War, yet they elaborate on the greatest achievements of our founding fathers and other male, white figures. The overall fact that the schooling system primarily expands on America’s greatness rather than its concealed past, is enough to contribute to the social divisions that exist amongst students. Somehow, in elaborating on the achievements of so many male whites and the oppression of African Americans (or other minority groups), some students may feel more entitled and higher-up than others who are of different races. 

“The Re-Segregation of American Schools”

To further elaborate on this point, racial segregation in the education system is found in a majority of public schools along the U.S. coast. Despite being found in so many schools, however, this form of discrimination is more often acted upon by students in southern states where prejudice is prominent, due to the fewer existing minority communities. It is in these areas that some teachers tend to treat students unfairly due to their differing races and favor other students who appear to be Caucasian. Educational bias can also be found in the overall employment methods and priorities that staff receive in the school– apparently, teachers employed at schools with many colored students are “less experienced… and have less access to things like Advanced Placement courses” (Quinlan). Even after years of progress and court cases regarding desegregation of U.S. schools, our education system remains divided amongst its peers due to the different ethnicities and backgrounds of its students. With this in mind, American citizens should be more aware of ways to reform schools’ teaching methods and their mindsets, in order to maintain the ideals of liberty and equality for all.

The Setbacks of Ignorance

After the 2016 presidential election, a sense of ignorance has especially expanded in several Caucasians and Trump supporters who feel entitled to their privileges as superior people. Despite the possibility that discrimination could have already been a core value to them, these individuals now have a representative openly advocating for and supporting them in these racist ideals. Unfortunately, this lack of compassion and tolerance for each other’s ethnical differences is one of the main factors contributing to the social unrest and conflict in America.

Hate crimes increase as people protest against the establishment of mosques.

Following Trump’s victory in the election, a large number of hate crimes towards Muslims, Jews, and other minority groups have sparked throughout the country. In a CNN article titled, “‘Make America Great Again’: Hate Crimes Post-Election,” Yan describes several incidences regarding Trump supporters verbally and symbolically targeting minorities. One instance includes the sending of letters to several mosques in California. These letters not only address Muslims as “vile, filthy people” who are “children of Satan,” but also advocate for the mass genocide of them (Yan). Overall, as much as Trump is “saddened by the vitriol hurled by his supporters against minorities,” there have been a total of 867 hate crimes in the ten days since the election, and the sense of resentment towards those different to us continues to grow (Southern Poverty Law Center).

To conclude, one of the reasons America remains divided amongst its citizens is due to the intolerance and close-minded characters of so many people. The U.S. has been considered a “melting pot” for centuries now, yet some (such as Trump’s supporters) still fail to accept the mixture and integration of others’ varying cultures and backgrounds. When Trump and his followers proclaim things such as,  “Make America great again,” they are hoping to erase the progress we have made towards achieving equality for all– instead, they aspire to revert back to a time when America was predominantly controlled by white, male individuals.

A swastika is painted on a playground in Brooklyn, NY.

With this in mind, the people who supported Trump in the election could have had white-privilege and felt entitled towards superiority over other races. Their ignorance and failure to accept a more liberal point of view are only some of the significant factors that prevent America from unifying as a whole.

Ignorance and its Defects in Society

Ignorance of others’ backgrounds has been one of the most prominent issues within our society, and has had quite a negative impact in our recent presidential election. It is through this particular debate that the American population has grown even more divided than it had been initially. In fact, one of the reasons the election ended in favor of a victor with such racist and bigoted remarks was due to the people he represented. Some of these people are what we would call “politically ignorant”– unwilling to understand others’ viewpoints and making uninformed/biased decisions as a result. Therefore, when it comes down to preserving the overall stance of America, we must learn to encourage empathy (not abhorrence) in people who already fail to grasp these cultural and ethnical differences. 

Edward Said discusses the same issues of human ignorance towards those who are different to us in his book, Orientalism. According to (Lewis)‘s analysis on Said,  Said is said to have taken on a much more “anti-Western” approach in which he criticizes the European’s unquenchable desires for imperialism. To further express this point, Said uses the example of Flaubert, a European, and his encounter with an Oriental woman. As a foreign male who was “comparatively wealthy,” Flaubert was able to “speak for her and represent her” (Said). Said goes on to say that their gender/cultural differences were all “facts of domination,” thus enabling Flaubert to have control over her and even define her as a “typical Oriental” (Said). Both Lewis’ and Said’s discussion of Orientalism shows have people have developed a sense of ignorance and misunderstanding of other “inferior” races simply because they are different.

Donald Trump advocates his beliefs at a political rally.

Said’s book ties back into this election’s issue of “orientalism” and people’s ignorance towards those we do not identify with. For example, the majority of Trump’s supporters urged for changes in the American system that also happened to be racist and sexist. The laws they advocated for were due to their growing fear of Mexico stealing jobs, China and Japan interfering with U.S. commerce, and other countries contributing to the social unrest of America through their emigration and integration of cultural/religious beliefs. What these voters failed to do, however, was to actually empathize with those of different ethnicities and cultures. They were fearful of those different to them, and allowed homophobia and racial discrimination dictate their mindsets. As a result, the U.S. empire now grows even further apart under the influence of a president who openly encourages bigotry and sexism amongst his supporters.

Has Education Corrupted Us?

A corrupted education system in the U.S. could potentially place future generations under many risks, and therefore cause a set-back in the society everyone has worked so hard to develop.  A brief example includes individuals making uninformed and uneducated decisions that could affect many citizens overall; the list of consequences, however, can go on.

In modern-day schools, the majority of students are taught to believe that their sole purpose in life is to make money. No longer are they taught to think critically and be motivated in their pursuits for a happy future– students are now programmed through scripted teachings to grow up with the superficial idea that they must do what they can to be financially stable. As much as I hate to admit, my education has never formally addressed how to complete many of the fundamental tasks required in adulthood and life in general– these included cooking, having proper etiquette, and maintaining good morals. Instead, I have been constantly reminded since childhood to do well in school,to graduate, and to pursue a career sufficient enough for me to survive financially. 

The Basic Political Writings by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Centuries before such a problem emerged in modern society, Rousseau had already challenged the effects of education in civilization through the Discourse on the Arts and Sciences. In this passage, Rousseau argues that “it is not possible for minds degraded by a host of trivial concerns to ever rise to anything great” (18). As ironic as it seems, Rousseau says that not learning about the fundamental aspects of human beings (as we should be doing) is what causes our society to become regressive. Our judgement becomes clouded as we focus more on superficial and materialistic ideas, such as the achievement of wealth, and we lose sight of the sole purpose for living.
Similar to Rousseau’s idea of a corrupted education system, today’s schools also show how learning about the wrong topics could lead to our country’s downfall. Techniques of modern day schools now consist of standardized testing and memorization skills that train us to be “smart” enough to graduate. As we grow up, our mindless obedience to such learning strategies replace our abilities of critical and independent thinking. Instead of being inspired by our teachers to understand our true nature and morals, we have concluded, as students, that the purpose of school is to learn how to make money once we become adults.

Also, like everything else in society, the education system takes on a bureaucratic form. District administrators and advisors must follow the government’s requirement for learning standards, and go on to dictate what teachers should teach so that students can graduate. Unfortunately, these standards really only teach us one thing, and that is to have a particular career goal, to continue pursuing this through college, and to eventually grow up making enough money to support ourselves through our chosen profession.

A depiction of how learning has been corrupted by teaching standards.

Our economies may be able to flourish with wealth in the future, but our moral independence has vanished. Eventually, our country will consist of people with superficially programmed mindsets consisting of the same selfish goal– to look out only for ourselves and to trample over one another in the quest for personal wealth. The education system has deceived us as we no longer question why we learn the things we do and why they do not ever teach us to truly think for ourselves. 

The Effects of Diversity

Due to cultural diversity in America, different viewpoints and experiences have been encouraged in our society for us to freely express ourselves the way we are.  The U.S., for example, would not be the same without it being globally influenced by varying ethnic groups and values. However, as America expands its “melting pot” of an “empire,” dispute amongst social groups is sure to break out, thus placing this country’s citizens in a dangerous position of growing even further apart from each other.

One of the biggest social concerns in our society today happens to be the debate on racism. As the country becomes more ethnically diverse, we begin to recoil into our social groupings. When we are unable to identify with each other, we become less united, and in some cases, even turn against each other because of how different we are.

Protestors argue for Alton Sterling’s innocence in a BLM movement.

Just last year in 2015, the shooting of Alton Sterling sparked hostile disputes regarding white power and prejudice towards African Americans. As reported through Shaun King’s article on NY Daily News, the country broke out into an uproar from violent protests and civil rights movements. King also points out that activist movements such as Black Lives Matter were “formed to protest unjust extrajudicial murders” and that they sought only to “highlight the ugliness and injustice of police brutality” through peaceful and anti-violent protests (King, 1). Unfortunately, not all forms of protest are peaceful. Instead, there grows a stronger divide between the black and white community as these two groups begin feeling more “entitled” towards behaving a certain way simply because of how they were treated in the past. For example, the reason in which the police behaved so brutally towards Sterling could have been caused by their entitlement towards “white supremacy” and authority as policemen. Through this abuse of power, these policemen provoked violence in African Americans, who also might have felt entitled towards behaving the way they did because of racist mistreatment in the past. Ultimately, history was repeating itself in America.

Civilians protest the Alton Sterling shooting outside police headquarters in Baton Rouge; July 9, 2016. (Photo by Brett Duke, Nola.com)

Because I am a young adult who was raised in an underrepresented community, I do support diversity and the path that this country has taken towards it. In fact, America being expressive and aware of cultural differences is definitely beneficial in that it allows us to be open-minded and respectful towards others. Unfortunately, I also believe that the promotion of too much individual thinking can lead to many disagreements. What starts out as a simple comment regarding racism or sexism, for example, can lead to an entire argument about cultural appropriation, feminism, “how racist that was,” etc. As I mentioned before, I am not advocating for the repeat of a conservative and homogeneous society– I am merely asking how America can resolve and accommodate to such diverse needs without breaking out into conflict once more.

 Diversity and liberalism has encouraged us to think freely, yet it has divided us further into groups of our own interests and ethnicities.

Is Modern America a Repeat of the Roman Empire?

Cesare Maccari depicts the Roman Senate through his painting, Cicero Denounces Catiline

In an excerpt from his book, “Annals,” Tacitus presents a brief history of Roman imperialism throughout the years 14-68 AD. The Senate, which consisted of Roman and Italian members, began debating whether or not to allow the general public to take part. In his first passage of “Annals,” Tacitus recalls the Senate’s argument that Romans “must maintain distinction of the Senate and the honors of the office” (Tacitus). To this, Claudius, the emperor, argues that the Senate must be accepting of others’ backgrounds and ethnicities– after all, everyone has contributed in one way or another and it is reasonable that they be apart of the “Roman imperial structure.” Unfortunately, as Rome conquered more territories, the amount of cultural diversity and conflict arose within its borders. Some people gained power and authority in the empire whereas others fell deeper into poverty and helplessness.

Today, America is considered to share the same problems as the Roman empire as a “melting pot.” It, too, had granted citizenship to many in the past years, and now consists of many people competing against one another to fulfill their own diverse needs. This issue is evident in the American government system, which closely resembles the Roman Empire’s Senate in that lower-class, working citizens are striving to be represented in political matters. Unfortunately, the American government is also similar to the Roman Senate in that it is dominated by and reserved for an “elite” group of people– it is often the upper-class white males who have priority when it comes to establishing laws and decisions.

Citizens protest the outcome of the 2000 presidential election.

This clash between the upper elite class and the general public can be seen through the Bush v. Gore election of 2000, in which the electoral college made the final decision despite the majority’s votes. Once again, because lower-class citizens do not have proper representation or a fair position in the government, they lack the same type of influence that other elite groups have in these political situations. In this case, the majority of Republican members within the electoral college had priority (because they were typically upper class) in making a decision that would affect the entirety of the U.S.

The racial and social divide that exists between the upper and working middle class is already one of the biggest issues in America today, and because of different needs between the two groups, political compromise is difficult. Similar to the Roman Senate of the past, the American government consists of elite politicians who do not advocate for laws that would suit the general public– rather, their goals include supremacy, control, and wealth over others. Once again, poorer citizens do not have a voice in government affairs because they do not fit into a particular criteria (in this case: high status and wealth). This group of people, which includes teachers, small business owners, construction workers, etc. are the ones who help America function the way it does– if this is the case, why is it that they do not have a say in matters that ultimately affect the entire population?  America’s growing diversity, which parallels that of ancient Rome, shows that we must be cautious and aware when it comes to making decisions for our country.