Stanley Aronowitz, author of "How Class Works in Education: A Memoir", states that in today's system "schooling focuses on preparing students for state exams ("teaching to the test") and for jobs while education teaches students how to think critically and explore new ideas, whether or not they're related to a specific job path or a state exam." (pg. 48) The education system over the past years have implemented certain guidelines on the way in which schools teach which can lead one to potentially create the debate of whether students are "schooled" or "educated." Aronowitz argues that discipline and control are now the primary criteria of success, and genuine learning is sacrificed to a new dictated educational agenda. Aronowitz, also in his memoir, condemns the new dictated style of teaching in schools by proposing numerous methods to broaden the way students are educated and the creativity among both the teacher and the student. In my personal educational experiences, I have dealt with both styles of education that Aronowitz discusses in his memoir.
The teacher is universally labeled as the influencer, the distributor of information. Aronowitz wrote "As my analysis implies the fundamental condition is to abolish high stakes standardized tests that dominate the curriculum and subordinate teachers to the role of drill masters and subject students to stringent controls." (Aronowitz. 36) The role of the teacher in the students has been heavily disregarded. Teachers are no longer given the opportunity to "educate" students as they once were. Teachers must teach on a fixed system to ultimately prepare students for an assortment of high stakes examinations. Aronowitz also makes a great case when he states "If teachers were allowed to acknowledge student skepticism, incorporated kids' knowledge into the curriculum by making what they know the object of rigorous study, especially popular music and television, they might be treated with greater respect.
