Q: "After reading 'Idiot Nation,' what are your first reactions to Moore's indictments? Choose one aspect of the essay’s claims against education in the US and respond in detail to it."
After reading just the first two pages of Michael Moore's "Idiot Nation," I was a bit turned off by his forthright tone; his language was tremendously opinionated. I happened to agree with a lot of what he said, though I'm sure some people found it offensive. I can only imagine the way the public reacted to his first few opening lines:
Do you feel like you live in a nation of idiots? I used to console myself about the state of stupidity in this country by repeating this to myself: "Even if there are two hundred million stone-cold idiots in this country, that leaves at least eighty million who'll get what I'm saying..."
Though Michael Moore's speech is incredibly blunt, I agree with many of the points that he made. For one thing, education is an incredibly valuable. It is truly what advances a civilization and allows for it to function. Without it, the future is somewhat bleak. Moore brilliantly puts himself into the mindset of a parents and pretends to write a letter to teachers across the nation. He states:
"Not only will you be largely responsible for her ability to make a living, but your influence will greatly affect how she views the world, what she knows about other people in this world, and how she will feel about herself."
And it's true! The education we are provided can determine the development and the achievements of our future. Without basic knowledge, how can we make positive, sensible changes for ourselves and for the world?
Moore and I both, also, share a disliking for ex-president George W. Bush. I am not very well-informed when it comes to politics, but what I do know I have learned from my father. He has never trusted or approved of any of Bush's decision's while in office. He, like Moore, found it ironic that many of the politicians who are angry about the fact that American education systems rank below those in Japan and Germany are also the people who refuse to fund better schooling systems in the U.S.
Michael Moore ended "Idiot Nation" with four suggestions to fight back at the education systems respectfully ("Mock the Vote," "Start a School Club," Launch Your Own Newspaper," and "Get Involved in Your Community"), and I thought all of his suggestions were really great and effective. I know this because when I was a sophomore in high school, my friends and I were interested in starting up a club to raise money for local animal shelters and educate people on the evils of animal cruelty. It was very successful and I think we really made positive contributions to the community and to our student body by raising a great deal of money and enlightening people.
I was fascinated by many of the statistics he incorporated into his work! I had no idea that during the 2000-2001 school year, 163 schools in New York City began the school year without a principal! I cannot even imagine attending a school without an authoritative figure in charge. It must have been so chaotic for the students and faculty. I also was intrigued by the fact that an experiment was conducted using five-hundred-and-fifty-six senior students from various prestigious American universities/colleges; the students were asked to complete a high school level multiple-choice test. According to the results, even the top students answered only 53% of the questions right. And 40% of the people used were unaware of when the Civil War occurred. Without a simple, basic knowledge of history, how are we sure that we aren't doomed to repeat it? This just goes to prove that American education is being put aside when it should be a top priority.
