Separate Subjects, Same Substance

Almost nothing is one hundred percent original. That might not be the most novel

statement ever made, but it is an important realization. The two topics discussed in this

essay are on different subjects, but within these topics are similar points that each author

share. This only goes to show that similar items can vary exponentially, and the most

diverse items share a multitude of characteristics; it all depends on the way people view

the items.

One essay in this comparison is “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s”

by Carl Singleton. This article explains Mr. Singleton’s believes on how to help students,

parents, and teachers alike in improving our educational system. In “Sex Ed” by Anna

Quindlen, she gives her experiences and views on sexual education inside and outside the

school. These writings have extremely obvious differences, so this paper will touch on

the similarities connecting them.

Both papers state, without the prerequisites, no other solution will have much

effect. Mr. Singleton states, “I don’t claim that giving F’s will solve all of the problems,

but I do argue that unless and until we start failing those students who should be failed,

other suggested solutions will make little progress towards improving education. (131)”

Mrs. Quindlen says, “I happen to be a proponent of such programs [sex education at

school]; I think human sexuality is a subject for dispassionate study, like civics and ethics

and dozens of other topics that have moral components.” Additionally, she states “… I

am not in the least convinced that that information alone will significantly alter the rate of

teen pregnancy. (271)”

 In respect to Mr. Singleton’s essay, this is the difference between learning to drive

a car and driving out on the road. The procedures taught while learning to drive only act

as a foundation to show what one will encounter while driving, left and right turns, one-

way streets, and so on. Actual driving is expecting the unexpected: others not giving the

right of way, not checking their blind spot while merging, not keeping the proper distance

to “suggest” a change in speed, and other troublesome habits these drivers have. The

most shocking piece is that those are the same drivers that have “earned” their drivers

license. The connection in Mr. Singleton’s statement suggests that without knowing

which students have that foundation of knowledge, other programs cannot find and help

them. They inevitably disappear into the sea of “average” students in the same manner

bad drivers become the typical drivers.

Mrs. Quindlen’s essay shows that “teenage pregnancy has a lot more to do with

what it means to be a teenager than with how someone gets pregnant. (271)” Without

knowing the true meaning of sex and the repercussion of its effects in real life, any

information on the process will not be effective. For instance, someone who knows

everything about building cars, and how the components work together will not

necessarily be a good driver. Knowing how the vehicle works is only one component in

driving. Knowing when to perform an action, that is, developing intuition and how to

cooperate with other drivers, are essential parts of the driving process that are not

included in exclusively knowing how the vehicle operates.

In addition, both essays imply that leaving the children in these different, yet

similar states of ignorance will cause them extra hardship and pain when they receive an

unexpected reality check. Mrs. Quindlen insists sex and its effect on what people, young
men, will do or say to get it is a basic life fact that must be taught at home by the family,

not in the classroom (272). Teaching that information during the teens will prepare them

for situations encountered in adulthood. Without teaching this to teenagers, they will not

be prepared to work with others and maintain their own wellbeing in the process.

Mr. Singleton said, “Sending students home with final grades of F would force

most parents to deal with the realities of their children’s failure while it is happening and

when it is yet possible to do something about it…” In light of that information, a child

could graduate at their normal age, or graduate later on. In the former, that young adult

might think they have the abilities necessary to continue with life, when in fact, they are

technically illiterate. In the latter, that student, which may have graduated one year later,

can successfully attend college, graduate, and successfully continue with their lives. With

that, one can conclude that passing the child up might protect their self-esteem, but it will

cripple them; they will have lost much more than they have gained. The sad truth is that

the children hurt in Mr. Singleton and Mrs. Quindlen cases would have passed through

their safest and most important learning period before learning the most relevant

information they need.

If this paper was successful, then its readers should form their own opinions off

these conclusions. From “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s” by Carl

Singleton and “Sex Ed” by Anna Quindlen, one can gather that the basics alone do not

guarantee success in the actual application and that remaining ignorant of what is going

on and why, primarily leads to unnecessary and self-inflicted harm. Whether or not I state

my opinion, the purpose for this paper is the gain of the reader and I hope I accomplished

that in the comparison of these different, yet similar topics.

 Works Cited

Singleton, Carl. What Our Education System Needs is More F’s. Boston:

Bedford / St. Martian’s, 2003.

Quindlen, Anna. Sex Ed. Boston:

McGraw-Hill, 2006.