Nation at Risk was given in 1983 as a thrust towards aiming Americans in the right direction, yet again, for education. President Ronald Reagan, during a White House ceremony took possession of this “report” supposedly detailing the educational decline of America. Ragan discussed the mediocrity in the educational foundation of America. In this year of education, the realization that others are matching are surpassing the United States in education, came as a harsh reality. More and more, the country was performing an “act of unthinking, unilateral education disarmament”. We, as a nation, had forgotten the basic purpose of school. The demands of the school are too high for the students to reach and therefore setting them up for complete failure.
America’s position in the world, as an educational leader, was no longer secure. “Knowledge, learning, information, and skilled intelligence are the new raw materials of international commerce and are today spreading throughout the world as vigorously as miracle drugs, synthetic fertilizers, and blue jeans did earlier. If only to keep and improve on the slim competitive edge we still retain in world markets, we must dedicate ourselves to the reform of our educational system for the benefit of all--old and young alike, affluent and poor, majority and minority. Learning is the indispensable investment required for success in the ‘information age’ we are entering.” Giving people the opportunity and ability to empower and educate themselves will help to not only better themselves but the community and the nation. A decline in all aspects of education is upon us with students becoming “scientifically and technologically illiterate”. We must fix this problem without over emphasizing so much so that we end up hurting ourselves yet again.
There is hope that if the nation can commit to doing better and implement the ideas suggested for change then we can find ourselves knocking at the door of excellence. Finding and securing equity and quality, developing the talents of all to their fullest potential will allow us to eliminate the “minimum requirements” developed in past times that enable failure. Through an education reform we can create a “Learning Society” and secure our nation with education.
As an alternative, the second article read was ‘Nation at Risk’: The best thing or the worst thing for education? This article focused on the responses to the previous Nation at Risk and whether or not it was effective in helping change the education system. During 1983 there was an obvious outcry for a change with education, and something needed to be done. But it isn’t so clear as to how effective the original article/report was in doing just that. With bold statements, statistics, and claims to the decline of the nation in educational skills, scores, and success it turned a lot of people towards the negative rather than the positive, which it was intended to do.
In order for someone to be a part of the reform they were inherently a part of the solution, which lead many to see it as an all or nothing response. Many saw the 1983 claims as overstatements of the problems with education. There were many teachers who shouldn’t have been teaching then and now, but the difference is whether or not the change from then to now was significant to please not only governmental peoples but the citizens of America within the schools. Ultimately, there was no doubt that the education system changed, but we still have a long way to go to even match the goals and ambitions set forth in 1983.
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