In the past few decades, American
education has slowly fallen behind other nations such as Belgium, Switzerland,
and Japan. The New York Times Editorial
Board attributes this to the lack of attention given to gifted students. These
young minds, the board argues, are the future of the nation, the driving force
behind innovation and scientific progress. Throughout the article, statistics
support their claim of fact that the US in behind other countries. Instead of
simply identifying the problem, however, they offer some recommendations on
amending curriculum and government funding to better support advanced students.
This article seems to be directed
towards those involved in education. Specifically, it appears to be aimed
towards politicians who have say over issues regarding the funding of schools,
and those in charge of schools or districts who have say in curriculum. Since
this piece was originally published in the New York Times newspaper, it is very
likely that many subscribers, a portion of whom are involved in education, read
it. Furthermore, since this paper is nationally read, there is a good chance
that it has been received by educators and politicians across the country.
This exposure is key to this
article’s purpose, which is to persuade those in power to reform the United
States education system to better compete with foreign nations in accelerated
learning. The reform that the article asks for will most likely take a while to
become reality, so while technically the authors didn’t achieve their purpose,
they may someday once their recommendations are actually applied to the
country. The Editorial Board of The New
York Times has a wide range of expertise among 19 contributors, in fields
from immigration to science, to education. This article was probably written
mostly through the guidance of Brent Staples, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology
and has been on the board since 1990.
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