Pulling It All Together: Education Philosophy
Directions: You will be writing a two page paper addressing your views on education.
To do this, you must answer the essential question, and follow the essay format. You
must have an introduction paragraph, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Your essay must
include at least TWO QUOTES in each body paragraph. At least one quote must come
from “Two Kinds,” “Brick in the Wall,” and Time article “When Will We Learn?”
Essential Questions: Pick one of the following to answer in your essay OR create your
own and have it approved by me.

For several decades now, those who deal with education have been concerned
with the decline in literacy rates. Questions they wonder are: How to increase
student interest in literature? How to prove the relevancy of reading in the real
world? How should reading be taught?

A big debate in education centers on what should be taught in school. Should
students have what is considered the “well rounded” education where students
are exposed to a wide array of content to broaden their horizons, or should
students have an education that begins to specialize in certain fields once they
enter high school?

The drop-out rate has increased to staggering numbers in recent decades, while
interest in the value of education is declining in our country, despite the
increasing demand for an educated public in the work force, what are some ways
that education could be seen as more important to a disinterested student body?
Essay Rubric (25 points each category):
Organization: Student previews all arguments in introduction; body paragraphs
follow the previewed order; arguments’ support is logical for the topic sentence.
Mechanics: Student has little to no grammatical errors, spelling errors, or punctuation
errors.
Paragraph construction: Paragraphs are logical, they follow the correct format as
outlined in notes
Quotes: Student has included at least 2 quotes in each paragraph; student has included
quotes from correct sources; student has appropriately documented sources
Interest: Student has worked to include a catchy attention grabber and closer; student
has created an argument that is valid and appropriate for the essential questions;
student maintains a scholarly tone and doesn’t create a “rant fest.”
NOTES: What to include in each paragraph
- Introduction:
1. _____________: usually first sentence; gets the reader interested in the essay. Can
include ___________________________________________________________
2. _______________: states your belief or argument. Must be __________________
3. _______________: lists topics that will be addressed in your paper to support the
validity of your belief on education. These are the _________________________
__________________________________________________________________
- Body Paragraphs:
1. ______________: Should be the arguments you previewed in preview
statement, IN THE ORDER YOU PREVIEWED THEM. Sums up _________
_______________________________________________________________
2. ______________: Quotes from your research, sources read in class, or
literature to build your case for your belief.
3. ______________: Ties your quotes in with your topic sentence.
- Conclusion Paragraph:
1. _______________: Remind the reader of your education beliefs.
2. _______________: Remind the reader of your arguments for your beliefs.
3. _______________: Leave the reader with a thoughtful idea about education.
This can be a ___________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Trust – teachers and students
-Best Teachers
-Focus on learning many languages
-Heavy focus on science, technology, math
- 3 teachers in one classroom
- Keep the same teacher – get to know the
students
- First name basis
- Cooperative education – where you learn
together
- No tests
Relaxed environment – no shoes
-
 relaxed environment
 mixed-ability grouping
 Trust: students and teachers
 Focus is not on test performance
 Cooperative learning
 Several teachers in classes
 All teacher’s have to have a master’s
degree
 Keep the same teacher – builds trust,
learn your weaker points, consistency
 Multi-languages taught
 First name basis
 Don’t start school until you are 7 –
stronger relationship with parents, brain
is better developed
 Shorter school days
 Families actually talk about school and
care!
 Work on relationship with teacher
 Show more responsibility in behavior
 Show more respect to others
 Work harder
 Write letters to board of education, your
governor, representatives and senators