Nature Vs Nurture A Debate On Education Since The Late...

External Help: Maurika Smutherman WSSU Writing Center (336) 750-8748 wssuwritingcenter@wssu.edu Nature versus Nurture has been a debate in education since the late 1600’s. The debate began with John Locke s perspective of children as â€Å"tabula rasa† meaning blank slate, when he stated that at birth we are all the same, but it is our unique â€Å"experiences that write the script of our behavioral repertoire† (Allen, Boykin, Jagers, n. d.). His theory states that an individual s experience and environment is what makes them who they are. This idea gave us the foundation for our â€Å"nurture† argument, even though at the time he initially proposed this idea, it was seen to be in direct conflict with ideals of previous philosophers.†¦show more content†¦As a part of our research, we developed a survey of ten simple questions. These questions were designed to determine whether the student’s environment has affected their academic success. There were many patterns found in the collected data. As a group, we hypothesized that nature has a greater effect on an individual s academic success and upon our analysis of the data we continue to believe that an individual’s environment plays a pivotal role in their academic success. Based on the survey results, it declares that 95%, a vast majority, of the class set agrees that their environment has affected their educational experiences and academic career. The reports of Valerie Lee and David Burkham, authors of Inequality at the Starting Gate: Social Background Differences in Achievement as Children Begin School, are shared in Joel Spring’s American Education and show that there is indeed a connection between family factors and reading and math skills upon entering kindergarten. Skills that have been listed in correlation with stronger reading and math levels include: â€Å"frequency of reading at home, ownership of a home computer, exposure to performing arts, and preschool attendance† (Spring, 2013). Many students in our testing set could read before kindergarten and had access to