A Nation At Risk

Abstract:

A Nation At Risk: The Imperative of Educational Reform was a report by the National Commission on Excellence in Education on the Unites States educational system and how it needs to be improve. The study, done in the 1980’s, reported that education in our society was eroding from mediocrity that was threatening the future of our Nation. The Risk is that we live among well educated and strong competitors. We are falling behind other countries because our educational foundation is breaking apart, due to the many conflicting demands placed on our teachers and schools. The article went into the different indicators of the risk and different hopes and frustrations of our nations people. The Commission of Excellence defined excellence in a few different ways in terms of the individual learner, school or college, and society, saying that all three need to be committed to achieving excellence. The article suggested that in order for education reform to occur we need to create a learning society, where educational opportunities are extended beyond classroom walls and into every place where an individual can develop. There are numerous tools at hand and if these materials are used it will create opportunities and choices for everyone to learn. Before the article presented all its recommendations it demanded the commitment of all of society in order for these recommendations to be successful. The Commission recommended a strengthening of content, more rigorous and measurable standards and higher expectations, more time spent on actual learning, improving teacher preparation and respect for the profession, and lastly, holding educators and officials responsible for providing leadership for achieving these reforms. With all that said, they made special comment to parents and students and a final plea to all to implement their recommendations.

Reflection:
I thought a lot of the information was out of date, considering this research and article was written in the 80’s. I do still believe that our Nation’s education system is at risk in a lot of ways but I feel we have improved since this article was written; possibly even because of the article. No Child Left Behind is a perfect example of the article recommendation of holding educators and officials responsible for leadership in achieving reformation. Overall, I though the article was pretty good and brought up some good points. I also thought it was very outdated and needed to be revamped in order to be relevant for out time. One part that I thought would be everlasting was the word to the students. This paragraph suggested that the students themselves are the only ones fully in charge and capable of changing their futures. By putting in more effort and working to their full capacity, they will create their own futures and “control their destiny.”