Heroes and Heroines in American Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Heroes and Heroines in American Education - Essay Example Today, the United States is still the land of opportunity for the common man. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world still would like to come to America and live here, centuries after the first European settlers made it their New World. And yet for young Americans, the heroes and heroines have increasingly been limited to what they see on television, films and those who excel in sports. This is due to the pervasiveness of media that has even taken over the role of educating the minds and ways of the youth, away from that of the schools and even to a certain extent, the family. Young people watch television many hours a day and even babies are weaned on cartoons. Likewise, Hollywood news and the latest victory of a Tiger Woods or a Roger Federer take much of the time and attention of youngsters. The way that young America is idolizing or making heroes out of actors and sports stars should be taken into a certain perspective in as much as the positive influence of empowerment is more often a case of make-believe (in the case of film stars for there is no sure way to tell the spin from the actual or the real ) and rarely goes beyond individual achievement (in the case of sports heroes, except probably with Michael Jor dan who was recognized not only a superb individual player but an outstanding team player as well). Real heroes and heroines on the othe