System of Education Debate

System of Education Debate

Suppose education system of today’s generation provides adequate knowledge concerning both fields of science and humanities(specifically decent moral values), would not it be nice? In Robert Nielsen’s provocative essay on The Closing of the (North) American Mind, he emphasizes the fraudulent ways of the university system of education to encourage the students to become critical thinkers with decent moral values, the current system of education is failing to do so.

According to Bloom , “The quest should be led by the humanities- literature, philosophy and history. In the American system, in the first two years of study in a university, students are “required to take a wide variety of classes in different subjects, commonly known as prerequisite courses. . . . This is so you achieve a general knowledge, a foundation, of a variety of subjects . . . ”(Study in the USA). But the humanities are in poor shape to carry out the task after caving in to the demands of student “rabble” in the 1960s”(328). It was supposed to be that the field of humanities, as well as the field of science, are equitably considered by university school systems because of the fact that with this different subjects, one could broaden his/her knowledge and understanding about certain things, but because of the demands of student that occurred in the 1960s, the humanities did not have the vigor to engage in leading the education system.

Bloom also points out that system of education has a “relaxed academic standard”(328). Since the system has carefree academic standards, students will not have to worry about failing his/her grades and there is a big possibility that he/she will not learn enough knowledge about the subject. In this instance, the system completely failed to accomplish its main purpose to build critical thinkers.

Another point that Bloom emphasizes is that students that goes to university are ignorant and cynical to their own country’s history and heritage(328). The “revisionist”- a person who attempts to reevaluate and restate the past based on newly acquired standards- who maligns the character and ideas of the American founding fathers and distorts the recent history just to propose emphatically the contest between democracy and communism(328-329). As the youth’s mind is being infected by the “revisionist”, they become more apologetic rather than being proud of the fact that their own country is leading the democracy among the different countries because of its political heritage. Thus, instead of becoming critical thinkers, students treat themselves with inferiority because of these matters and feels mediocre.

Bloom’s view of the education system is very precise since it is mostly what is happening to the education system right now. I agree with the fact that the main goal which should be to teach and guide students for them