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The purpose of education is not only for the provision of vocational preparation, it is for the cultivation of civic & political agency, otherwise known as participatory readiness

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U.S. Students have a right to civic education. Although it is legally recognized, it's underdelivered.

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"Above all, preparing students for civic and political engagement." (Allen 1).

"'Students.. are entitled to learn in public schools the 'basic literacy, calculating, and verbal skills necessary to enable children to eventually function productively as civic participants capable of voting and serving on a jury"' (2).

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These quotes establish Allen's main thesis & its legal grounding. The first quote sets the essay's overall claim: saying that the purpose of education is civic and political readiness. The second quote adds as evidence that supports this claim(as layers from Campaign for Fiscal Equity advocated for this), tying civic preparation with democratic duties. Connecting the two quotes, they show how civic preparation is both the normative goal and the legal requirement of public education that should be enforced in order to give students experience beyond vocational training for jobs.

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The vocational paradigm is very big in the U.S., but it isn't sufficient because it underappreciates civid and liberal arts education, which are 2 important aspects that allow for a democratic system of government to function.

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"The dominant policy paradigm attends almost exclusively to education's vocational purpose: the goal is to ensure that young people, and society generally, can compete in a global economy" (2).

"Today, these technologically oriented, vocational approaches to education and the problem of inequality leave almost no room for the civic alternative" (4).

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The first quote captures the dominance of vocational thinking: Education is mostly used as a catalyst for competitiveness. The first part of the quote underlines how this paradigm pushes other aims (especially civic ones) to the margins.

The second quote extends Allen's critique of the vocational paradigm, briefly mentioning how vocationalism doesn't just dominate, it completely squeezes out space for civic goals, the main goal of education. Allen points out that when schools double down on STEM programs or curricula that get you ready for jobs, humanities and civic education get cut. These quotes reveal how vocationalism narrows the horizon of education. This undermines the democracy/ civic participation itself by crowding out civic preparation. This is important because civic participation is what makes a democracy function, since being able to have alternatives, being able to collaborate with others, is essentially what makes a government function.

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Inequality stems from political choices, so education should foster political equality.

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"'Inequality,' as Joseph Stiglitz argues.. 'has been a choice' (2).

"'Today's world economy is the product of explicit decisions that governments had made in the past'" (6).

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Both quotes represent inequality that stems from politics rather than just being technologically inevitable. Allen insists that the root of inequality stems from policy and institutional decisions. This supports her call for civic education since if inequality if political, then the solution requires citizens who understand politics that are able to debate and demand change.

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Education must cultivate participatory readiness through civic agency.

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"Citizenship [is] the activity of co-creating a way of life, of world-building" (8).

"The ideal civic agent carries out all three of these tasks—disinterested deliberation, prophetic frame shifting, and fair fighting—ethically and justly" (9).

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The first quote broadens citizenship beyond the legal status of being allowed in the U.S., as it is "world-building", which is a shared act of constructing a society. Allen uses this to emphasize active, creative, and collective participation. The second quote identifies the skills of civic agencies, which deliberate fairly, reframes cultural values, and advocates ethically. Although these may seem as "soft skills" that everyone should have, they are core values of democratic life. Together, these quotes demonstrate Allen's concept of participatory readiness which prepares students not only to work but to engage in political life.

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Protecting civic education calls for better political equality and justice.

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"Few among us pay adequate attention to the fact that almost all of our state constitutions guarantee a right to education. We pay even less attention to the fact that we have a right to civic education" (15).

"Defending the right to civic education...would benefit not only individual students but also society as a whole, advancing both political equality and distributive justice" (15).

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The first quote shows civic education as a right rather than a given choice, which shows neglecting it would mean being legally and politically negligent. The second makes the claim cleaim: protecting/advocating for civic education causes for political equality and distributive justice. Civid education is legally mandated, demoacracticlaly essential, and leads to social transformation.

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The main claim of Danielle Allen's essay What is Education For? argues that liberal arts is essential in order to further education and advance it in order to cultivate and advance students' civic and political agency/participation. Above all, education should foster for "participatory readiness", which equips students to act as capable citizens in a democracy. Allen begins by using a case in the past which affirms that students have a right to civic education, which requires skills for interpreting ballot initiatives and serving on juries. This legally demonstrates that civic preparation is essential for schools, as it causes U.S. students to participate more politically in the future. Consequently, she critiques the common belief of the vocational paradigm. Ever since history can remember itself, U.S. education has continued the emphasize and fund for STEM programs and workforce readiness, treating global competitiveness and the workforce to be its main goal. While this idea may seem to reduce inequality, Allen argues it is insufficient. Drawing on 2 researchers that she mentions, Joseph Stiglitz, and Dani Rodrik, she shows that inequality is the product of political choices, not the outcomes of technology/the workforce. Therefore, the solution to inequality doesn't lie on advancing the workforce, but in preparing citizens that are able to self-govern, debate with others, and participate in political systems, all outcomes of liberal arts training. To achieve this, Allen enforces and teaches us of participatory readiness, as she defines civic agency as "world-building" since it requires 3 forms of action: disinterested deliberation, prophetic frame-shifting, and fair fighting. These means are achieved through liberal arts (social studies, literature, etc.), which gives students experience in interpreting arguments, understanding different perspectives, & engaging in debates. Educating students of these roles ensures that ordinary citizens can contribute to shaping society by more participation. Finally, Allen urges that protecting civic education is a constitutional right and democratically needed. Defending social studies, humanities, and civic programs against cuts advances political equality and justice. In short, education is best used when it doesn't just prepare students for the workplace, but also for the responsibilities of a democratic self-government, meaning liberal arts are important in order to make this happen, as it serves as a foundation of democracy.

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In order to make this project, I had to understand the text thoroughly. I believe I read the text at least 2 times, googling all the words I didn't understand. I searched the internet to see if my understanding of the text (the thesis, claim, etc.) was the same as others or as what google said. As soon as I realized that it aligned, I started drafting my map. I started analyzing each paragraph and seeing if it had a claim, served as evidence, etc. After this, I had to find a website/app to make the argument which led me to Padlet. I split the Padlet into 4 main categories: White (Main thesis), Red (Subclaims), Yellow (Quotes), & Blue (analysis). I used the arrows to show the correlation between each color and to tie everything back to the main claim. Completing this daunting project taught me to use my time well and the longer I spend in a writing process/project, the more focused I am, leading me to finish more work. I hope to continue diving into this mindset for the future in order to get my work done (specifically in writing classes) quicker and more efficiently. Along with this, I also learned how to efficiently scan a text, otherwise known as scanning/standardizing the text. This helps me a lot because it gives me a clear understanding of the text, which gives me a better time writing the essay, or doing the project given to me. I hope to use this in the future (for my writing classes) so I can understand and use the text to the maximum.

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Danielle Allen's claim is that liberal arts education is essential for education systems

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Danielle Allen highlights the need for liberal arts in education.