The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

Money and success main goals of growing up

By Ben Brown

Photo by Nicole Maselli/ The Lafayette

Joel Spring spoke on Tuesday about how the No Child Left Behind Act caused a shift in reasons why people go to school.
Joel Spring spoke on Tuesday about how the No Child Left Behind Act caused a shift in reasons why people go to school.

The holidays are coming so if you want to shop ‘til you drop, you better get a high GPA and a job that pays, at least according to Joel Spring.

The Professor of Education at Queens College and Graduate Center-City University of New York presented a Brown Bag lunch discussion on politics in American education on Tuesday in Oechsle Hall. Spring, the author of many books on the politics and the globalization of education spoke candidly on how American education has become consumed by consumerism.

“We just educate people for the workforce,” Spring said.

Gone are the days when people went to school for ethical, moral and religious reasons. Today, skills and money are the name of the game. The most common response Spring receives upon asking students why they are in school: “To get a job.”

“Very seldom do I hear ‘to learn,'” Spring said.

Spring attributed this shift to rigid test-reliant school systems to the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), denouncing it as a failure.

“There was no research proof that this was going to work,” said Spring. “Politicians said this would save Americaneducation.” Instead, the Act has made conformity an imperative, forcing teachers to teach to tests and introducing mandated textbooks.

“If you go to school, someone is trying to shape your mind to make you think a curious way,” Spring said.

According to Spring, this attitude has had a detrimental effect on children.

“[There is a] complete change in the concept of childhood,” Spring said. Childhood, he contended, used to be about playing, creating and growing, but now is about being prepped to succeed in a competitive world. To supplement his lecture, Spring showed a series of power point slides. One slide showed an ad with a baby in the sprint start position.

“We no longer have a protected childhood. When [a] baby is born, they are prepared to run the ‘economic race’ to get a job,” Spring said.

According to Spring, over 50 percent of parents surveyed rate their local schools better than national schools—living in blissful ignorance of the detriments of the economy.

According to Spring, industrial consumerism and the media has led us to believe that a good job will lead to positive experiences.

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

If you wish for your response to an article to be submitted as a letter to the editor, please email [email protected].
All Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *