The Essentials of a Good Education
Ravitch argues that schools should not only focus on the basic skills (mathematics and reading) and should teach students a full set of liberal arts and how important for them as they are prepared to be good citizens in the society to learn music, languages, history, art and up-to-date tech issues.
The author used claimed that there are good schools teach music, languages, history, art and up-to-date tech issues. She also claimed that the most corrected way of measuring the student’s level of knowledge and skills would be through interactive programs and shared activity more than a mere class-based test.
Ravitch said “the tests stifle the very creativity and ingenuity that our society needs most” (Ravitch 112), which was much emotional and convincing to me.
Since this message is for curriculum and teaching methodologies makers it was more of a scientific, being for faculty members—it was practical, and being for parents were emotional and motivating.
Ravitch used a sarcastic yet scientific and convincing wording because her message is guided for authors of the curriculum and teaching methods, faculty and parents.
Yes, she did, for example; when she was arguing about the opposite claim to hers which is the using the regular ranking and rating. She said “Anyone who truly cares about children must be repelled by the insistence on ranking them, rating them, and labeling them.” (Ravitch 112)
Yes, she made assumptions, and I totally agree with them. From my experience as a father of an Irvine School District student, Yes, whether parents are educative or not, rich or not, they will always expect a lot more from the school other than preparing for English and reading and math tests. They want their children to be taught music—at least one instrument, Languages—at least of these very common ones like French or Spanish, they want them to have so many (field trips) to have a Hands-on experience and do experiments with sciences, history and art they are studying.