Critical Thinking? You Need Knowledge By Diane Ravitch

School is the beginning of our adventure through life. It not only teaches us the mandatory lessons needed but also ones that stick to us throughout life. Whether it was that one extraordinary teacher or the one everyone hated, students would still learn and use it to their advantage. Unfortunately, this was the mindset of teenagers/ young adult’s years ago; now the students of today aren’t understanding the value of their education and how far it can take them. In the article, “Critical Thinking? You Need Knowledge,” author Diane Ravitch discusses the education system and how it should be adapting to the times in order for it to fit the students of the new generation. At the very end of her article Ravitch says,” Until we teach both teachers and students to value knowledge and to love learning, we cannot expect them to use their minds well” (2009). She is right. Looking at today’s students, many have noticed that most of them don’t like going to school because they see it as pointless, while on the other hand the small percent that does value the knowledge can be seen having successful lives. Additionally, another group of students is those who value the knowledge but just aren’t taught what exactly what they should do with it or whether they should keep going. These people are starting to leave an impact on the economy involving college. Heather Schilling adds on to this when she writes about the anti-college movement where many Americans are beginning to question the value of going after a higher education (234). …show more content…
Many of the reasons that come into play with this decision is money, time, and careers. Most of the time college attendees are unemployed or in a low paying job which makes it difficult for them to pay off what’s needed for their courses along with adding to their debt. Also, when done with school many students don’t even go into the career types that they majored for. These points of course cause people to stray away from the idea of tackling a higher education. They begin to think what is the point of doing what they do if it doesn’t get them where they want to be. In her article, Schilling discusses this point exactly. “Coupled with difficulty of finding a job or being underemployed, the crippling debt accrued by many college graduates adds fuel to the clamor of dissenting voices arguing that a college education is not worth the investment” (Schilling 236). Students being unemployed, finding a job not of their degree, and falling into debt is, in fact, not …show more content…
In an excerpt from “School? A Student in A Community College Basic Skills Program”, Mike Rose talks about his friend Anthony. Anthony was in his late-thirties attending a college due to the fact that he was barely able to read or write because of a childhood injury that had caused brain damage. His whole life he has worked custodial jobs and wanted something better, different, so he decided to go back to school to not only better himself, but, to also better guide his daughter. Rose’s friend knew what was needed for him to finally drop his mop and pail for a better pay. This excerpt is an example of a student realizing the potential education has for them and how it makes everything better. Anthony was tired of being a janitor. He wanted to better himself and knew, immediately, school was the