In Modern America, The Student Seems To Have Little Say

In modern America, the student seems to have little say in his or her education. Instead, groups of arguably outdated men and women gather in government buildings to decide the future of millions of students they will never meet. The topic of education in America has become the sort of issue everyone feels at liberty to remark upon -- the stranger who rolls their eyes at your major and my grandfather who complains about â€Å"those damn unions† share the same sense of misguided zealotism. Luckily, no one is taking my grandpa’s discontent seriously. However, there are men who use their powerful positions to speak out against institutions they do not understand. In the case of Wendell Berry’s â€Å"The Ecological Crisis as a Crisis of Character,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦Nevertheless, many scholars like Bishop support specialization, feeling it enriches the academic environment and needs to be implemented in a stronger fashion. Attempting to address the â€Å"disease of modern character† (Berry 34), Berry names specialization as the contagion. In Berry’s society, specialization appears profitable as a system but fails the individual; a specialized society is complete, but a specialized worker is lacking vital skills to function in a holistic or independent manner. Specifically, Berry questions â€Å"educators who have nothing to teach, communicators who have nothing to say, and medical doctors who are skilled at expensive cures for diseases that they have no skill, and no interest, in preventing† (Berry 36). Berry initially accuses college graduates of contributing to the degradation of America, but goes on to say the larger problem stems from less educated members of society like industrialized workers and salespeople. As an environmentalist, Berry’s concern over specialization stems from a fear of technology being produced and peddled without thoughts toward the future -- â₠¬Å"ingenious but shoddy† (Berry X) technology. For example, take a coal plant worker with no knowledge of coal’s effects on the environment or the body. Berry says the coal plant worker lacks â€Å"variousShow MoreRelatedThe Narrative Of Briton Hammon1583 Words   |  7 Pagesprotagonist is captured twice. The captivity section of the narrative also takes place partially outside of North America. These differences would allow for an interesting discussion in class comparing pieces that we’ve read with this particular narrative. It is similar enough that students would be able to relate it to other pieces from the class, but there are enough differences in the story to have a discussion that distinguishes itself from others. 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I my opinion this book did not seem important to pre-service teachers, but after further thought and reading, I conclude that this book is valuable to not only pre-ser vice teachers, but to anyone that is involved in education because it provides reasons why we should not try to adopt China’s education system. When the book began it discussed Chinese education. Their education system did not seem relevant because