A Nation At Risk

Abstract
The article, “A Nation at Risk, 1983,” states simply that the education of our young people is not what it used to be and that times have changed. The world has now changed to a global economy. The United States can no longer be at the forefront of industry simply because it has the most raw material resources. The new kind of resource is the people. The economy has changed from a goods economy to a service economy. It is no longer enough to have a few elite scientists to keep a country on top. Schools are concerned more about reaching the minimum requirement instead of putting the bar at the maximum requirement and letting students reach for that. The article also suggests that we promote as an important aspect of our culture the idea of lifelong learning. We have the institutions and museums to accomplish this goal we just need a shift in societal thinking. We have the ability to be better but the standardized test scores shows stead decline. The attitude of the public is that education is still one of the most important aspects of our lives as American citizens and what our tax dollars should be spent on. Education should be at the top of the nation’s agenda.
In the follow up article published 25 years later, it interviewed the writer and another influential teacher. The writer firmly believes that the article helped inspire the change needed at just the right time. The book was published as Reagan was attempting to cut federal funding for public education and privatize schools. Nowadays more money is being spent on education and more qualified teachers are in the schools. The other teacher that was interviewed said the book went too far and it was an unnecessary and sensationalized attack on the condition of public education.

Reflection
The first article was quite harsh on the condition of high school graduates. Besides startling numbers of students unable to do simple tasks as complicated math problems and writing a persuasive essay, the overall impression was that graduates were not ready for college or the work force. The main goal of education is to ready its graduates to meet the world and achieve relative success. Obviously that goal was not being met according to the article. I have no doubt some teachers felt threatened and abused by it. It is not a pleasant thing to read that other people have researched and called you out on not doing your job effectively. Change did occur and I suppose things are better now. I do know that more rigorous tests/ requirements for certification are imposed and not just anyone can be a teacher. This is not a bad change in my mind because I would not want a loosely qualified doctor to be making decision about my well being, health, and future. Just as important, a loosely qualified teacher could negatively affect a student’s achievement, goals, and future. Things may look different 25 years from now.