by Gabbie Curry
It was in middle school when I decided that I officially loathed school with a passion. I detested going to classes since I didn’t feel like learning anymore. Half the time, I just watched movies or took a nap on the desk while performing averagely on the exams. I suppose it started when the homework became overwhelming to a point it intervened with my life aside from school. Yet simultaneously, it could have been when the schools' expectations intensified as they pressured us to become successful, which only became one of the main contributors towards my resentment. It was surprising to me at first, considering that, at the start of my educational journey, I enjoyed and performed excellently in class. The noticeable repetitiveness of the curriculum, copious amounts of homework, or it was my peers referring to the school as a prison that influenced my opinion. It wasn’t until I thought about it, but it dawned on me that while we are gradually getting deeper in our educational path, everyone will eventually hate it.
When children start their educational journey, it is usually with the enjoyment of learning. They are eager to run to the classrooms and pay attention to their teachers. Making friends their ages is just a bonus. If every generation began with loving school, where did the eagerness to learn disappear to? When children are asked, “How's school?” or “Did you like school today?” Their eyes light up and they will immediately answer yes with so much joy as they repeat to their parents what they’ve learned. However, that eagerness to continue down the educational path does not stay in one for long. Excluding some circumstances, at some point in time, everyone enjoyed going to school to learn, but what stopped it? What extinguished the flame that burned for learning? What makes a child in primary or secondary school go, “I don’t want to do this anymore” When students are burned out, it removes their motivation to continue. The one to eliminate that joy of learning is none other than the education system itself.
There is no such thing as a perfect education system. It will never be able to get rid of any flaws or mistakes since everyone has different opinions and morals. Although the system may not be flawless, it discreetly promotes their students to gain this perfectionist mindset, discourages individualism and creativity, limits the methods of learning, filters a person’s intelligence through standardized testing, and bases education off memorization amongst numerous other things. To fully grasp how defected it is, one must first understand the origin and goals of the education system.
History of Education Education
In the 1600s was not a priority. Taking into consideration that foreigners were recently settling in Native American land, the colonials were vaguely emphasizing the importance of school. When there were rare occurrences of school, only the wealthy were educated. Although, they normally taught children purist and religious values. Close family members were the teachers, as well. The first school's purpose was to, “provide religious oriented instruction to the upper-class children” (Whitmer). However, in the 1800s three individuals had influenced and set the foundation of the familiar, modern education system by removing the religious biases. Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, and Harry Barnard were the ones to do so, hence commencing the education system that prepared students to become workers while teaching them the traditional academic disciplines. As time progressed, simultaneously the curriculum was being polished as they started to teach children critical thinking skills, whilst having them learn “traditional academic learning combined with vocational training learning which would produce better prepared and understanding and participate in community life" (Whitmer).
In addition, the compulsory education laws also had a leading role in ending child labor and requiring every child to attend school at least by the ages of 6-16 years. In 1852, the laws got more serious when it required every city or town to offer primary school to children to focus on grammar and basic arithmetic. However, the parents who refused to send their children to school were fined or stripped of their parental rights (“Compulsory Education”). The modern education system has not changed since then. The state still makes it mandatory for minors to attend school, and it continues to prepare the students at an early age to go out in the world, become workers, and contribute to society by stressing the importance of doing what they are told. Withal, children who struggle with following directions are frowned upon and seen as misbehaving. In some cases, it is true, however, the system presses the importance of following instructions to the T. Yet, they scratch their heads when students do not portray leadership characteristics or qualities. Leaders are not born through following directions but exploring ideas and discovering ways to solve problems. Leaders develop their core values and beliefs on their own. However, leadership is a quality that students will have to learn by themselves. When kids graduate from high school, it comes as a shock how they expect to be told explicitly what to do and how to do it. Regardless, they are told to be creative, something the curriculum did not have time to teach.
The Student’s Voice
Although the way students learn evolved through technology, the system itself has not evolved. According to an article titled, “The U.S Education system is failing,” written by a student from Basehor-Linwood Highschool in Kansas, is one of the many voices of the student body. Rylee Jones claims, “In a survey at BLHS, 87% of students said they did not believe that everything they were being taught at school would help them in the future. Those students also agreed that they felt they were simply being taught to remember things and forget them after a test. Students learn how to remember things for a test, but if they are simply forgetting them after then their grades on the test will not be a good reflection of how much they learn about a subject” (Jones).
Many might not take her opinion into consideration since she is merely writing on her school’s newspaper website, and she is still a high schooler, but what better voice is there to hear other than the students? Not listening to the student’s opinion is a problem the education system has now. They do not heed the students who are the ones on the receiving end. If the survey Jones took at her high school had 87% of the students claiming they are only being taught to remember facts until they take the test, shouldn’t this be a sign to the education board to begin polishing the system yet again? If the student body is admitting to not learning anything, then this defeats the purpose of education. The information they receive daily leaves the students unchanged and makes them devalue the importance of knowledge even more.
Standardized Testing
Not only do scholars depreciate education, but the way the system measures the student’s intelligence is faulty. As evidence to see if a student is competent enough to move onto the next grade, or to have them demonstrate what they’ve learned so far, they are required to take standardized tests. Testing itself is not wrong, but it should not be the sole determiner of a scholar's knowledge. In the book “Wasting minds” written by Ronald A. Wolk, he states, “The reason for the disparity is that the test scores don’t consider influences beyond the schools’ control. Such as poverty, health issues, and home environment” (Wolk 40). Wolk depicted many more people who did similar studies and pulled together the statistics to show that standardized testing is biased. One of the many people mentioned by Wolk was L. Scott Millie, who was an Exxon education foundation member. L. Scott Millie mentioned that he had found a correlation between the SAT scores and students socioeconomic background so close that colleges could even predict students’ outcomes based on their background (Wolk 40). This statistical information demonstrates the test biases towards people with a certain background. It all boils down to resources.
Students who are not fortunate because of their environment, will be less likely to perform exceptionally than the ones who have the opportunity. Wolk even introduces Stephen W. Raudenbush, a chair committee of education and a professor. One of Raudenbush's lecturers (named, “Schooling statistics and poverty: Can we measure school improvement”) addresses the issues with disadvantaged students. He states, “Evidence accumulated over nearly 40 years of educational research indicates that the average level of student outcomes in a given school at a given time is more strongly affected by family background, prior educational experiences out of school, and effects of prior schools than it is affected by a school student currently attends.” (qtd in Wolk 41). Which only addresses the problems of students' family, background, and home situations are not considered. Mental health of students can also affect their performances at school, as well. On some occasions, some might have to watch their younger siblings if their parents are at work, take on part time jobs to help pay bills, or they are just discouraged from learning, which is not considered when they are taking standardized testing. To add onto this, a study that has not been tested since 1942 has shown that students from progressive schools significantly outperforms their peers (Wolk 45).
If it is statistically and scientifically tested and proven that minors with a better background or better district will perform differently, then the importance of standardized testing should be diminished. Wolk, Raudenbush, or Millie are not trying to paint students who have health issues or a poor socioeconomic background as the ones who fail academically, but mainly pointing to the fact that they are just not given the fair number of educational advantages as the students with better resources. The children who are in unfortunate circumstances are less likely to succeed, but it is not impossible, just challenging. Hence, the school system should take this into consideration and begin to tweak and aim to make sure everyone is receiving the same knowledge and the fair resources that others gain. Although, the thing is, they think they are doing this already, but I disagree. In certain areas, teachers are not as passionate about teaching which affects the students' education and their mindset about school and their future. If teachers show disinterest in the subject they are teaching, the students will show the same results and show that attitude on standardized testing, or their performance in school.
Teachers' Roles
Some teachers have mediocre teaching methods, but of course this does not apply to all of them. They usually do not get enough credit for the time and dedication they put into teaching, whereas there are a few teachers who no longer care for it. Although, rather, whether they are good teachers or not, a lot of them do not adjust their teaching methods when it comes to individuals who do not comprehend their lessons. Teaching is draining, it takes time, patience, and energy to teach even three individuals. Educators do not have all the answers, and students fail to take this into consideration. It is understandable why many would not have enough time to help their students, which only prompts them to ignore kids in need or suggest they look for outside help elsewhere. Educators are on a tight schedule, so taking extra time to help certain kids will be too time consuming. Although, educators know the consequences of teaching and should be prepared for this.
There is nothing wrong with looking for help elsewhere, it is understandable that teachers may be preoccupied with their own lives and educating for so long can burn but that fire they had for educating. This is one of the many reasons why it is rare to find educators who have that passion for teaching, and even care about building relationships with their students. Some aren’t as determined to help each individual student to understand material fully. Moreover, the educator's teaching affects the students' learning. Teachers influence their scholars, and when most of them are pouring a lot of information into them, while expecting them to memorize everything without further elaboration, it does not help their educational journey. It is not the teachers' fault since they are told what to teach, but teaching tactics are vital if they genuinely care if their students learn everything about what is being taught.
Education Curriculum Priority
The education system is also responsible for what classes are prioritized over the others. It is evident that we can't expect too much from the system since they are made up of humans who also make mistakes. Many people may be coaxed by what is politically correct and the progressing social norms during that time to alter the curriculum based on it. Consequently, informing us that flaws are inevitable. Albeit, what they pressure and prioritize the students to learn affects each person separately. To take in consideration of these said individuals, Rylee Jones is an exemplary illustration that elaborates the effects of this by writing:
According to a survey of high school students by edadvocate.com, 86% of students want to go on to work a job in which they have an authority figure over them. When students fall into habits of depending on authority, it kills creativity. This also is setting students up to never be their own boss. Many college classes are also teaching students how to work for somebody else. (Jones)
Many would not be able to get past the fact that she is still a student, but is what she said not true? She superbly elucidates how the curricula the school prioritizes are the ones that end up resulting in students to pursue a follower mindset, which depends on authority. As new, young adults are being taught invariably to do what they are told. Following strict and thorough directions always makes a student reliant on authoritative figures when they graduate. They will be at a loss when their jobs begin to give them freedom or ask for creative ideas. Yet, following instructions is so stressed upon in the school system, it is a no brainer that these pupils are not showing signs of leadership or creative characteristics. As said before, the leadership along with creativity will have to be gained on their own journey. The only thing being taught is how to be a follower by relying on authoritative figures, and how to remember facts about education. For good measure, the classes prioritized are not any less important, but it makes the students wonder if what they are learning will be essential to their future. If they think this once, is it relevant? While the system is focused on cramming three years of science, math, reading, and history classes into the curriculum, there is no time for the students to consider their future and career path.
There is no indication or serious talk with each scholar to discuss their plans after graduation. Some students have not explored and developed any interest or hobbies, and they are suddenly expected to know what they want to do with their future with vague tips and information unless the students personally reach out to the staff for resources. Instead of students pursuing this vital information, things like this should be a mandatory class; helping students figure out their goals and aspirations in the future. School should be a place of creativity, freedom to help these kids explore, experiment, and learn about their interests, passions, and contribute to building up to their mindset as a person. School should be a place where students learn relevant knowledge and not repeated “elaborated” ones.
Education Based on Memorization
The education system is solely based on memorization. Students are handed heaps of information and expected to remember it long enough until they pass an exam. They are academically smart because they can remember facts. There is a fine line between learning and memorizing. When scholars do not perform well on the test, they viewed as lazy, incompetent, or their just not studying properly. Some teachers are kind enough to reach out and try to help their pupils, whereas many of them shrug and continue transitioning the class into the next unit while under the impression that all the students understand the material. Certain individuals are not confident or comfortable enough to speak up and ask for help, whereas some are different and do ask. Sometimes, which they usually do not mean to influence the student to think, but it discourages the peers. It makes them think that because they are not able to remember facts, concepts or regurgitate information on the exams, they are not smart. Our determination of intelligence is based on how much we remember what we are told. So, the question comes into play; Do students who are not able to remember the facts and concepts they are receiving make them any less smart?
There are three types of students. The one who can recall it enough to pass or recall exponentially, the one who is not able to remember even though they tried, and lastly, the student who can finesse the memorization. There are ways to stimulate memories. They can make up a song to go with the facts, make up scenarios or stories that match the correct answers or even cram until the last minute. There truly are short term memory hacks available. However, once they take the test and get a passing grade, the information they learned immediately leaves. They hold information until they don’t have too anymore. If the education system is easily finessed, can it measure the intelligence of students?
In the book, The Big Picture: Education Is Everyone's Business, written by Dennis Littky and Samatha Grabelle, they stimulate thought-provoking concepts and ideologies that make it hard for anyone to disagree with. They express the significance of learning, education, teachers, and most importantly, they ideally convey the importance of being a lifelong learner. Which, in their words can be elaborated as, “[l]earners who learn without textbooks and tests, without certified teachers and standardized curricula. Learners who love to learn” (Littky and Grabelle 3). And yet again, is another thing not thoroughly taught inside of school. There may have been some occurrences of the administration mentioning something along the lines, but even I am not certain if it is true. If I cannot even remember a time where something like this was mentioned, then it must not have been deemed important enough to be discussed. Oddly enough, learning and teaching is a life experience that will never stop. Once students graduate, they are under the impression that “It's finally over,” or “We’re done” is doing nothing but securing impending disappointment for them. If there are many more life lessons to come, it will never be over. To fully learn without relying on memorization is to ask questions and learn about the topic independently.
Littky and Grabelle portray the best mindset to have as an educator to truly accomplish teaching effectively. “I care way more about helping kids learn to apply knowledge than I do about presenting them with knowledge and finding out if they have memorized enough of the facts to spit them back at me” (Littky and Grabelle 6). When educators begin to adopt this mindset is when they have begun the journey of becoming good educators. This mentality can help maintain that lost eagerness and curiosity for learning in return. This is one of the sole reasons for people to resent school. At the beginning of our learning journey, the knowledge we were receiving was new and intriguing. However, when students go to a higher grade level, enter high school, and occasionally even college, the education has become so repetitive, the information learned is already familiar, and it doesn’t change anyone at all.
Passion and Motivation
In school when we are taught, we are presented with educational material, shown how to solve it, then the rest of the time is spent doing exercises and practices until a quiz or exam is handed out. We don’t learn how to identify the problem in a different form, instead, we see it one way and memorize the problem, analyzing how it looks and how to solve the solution. There is no explanation or reasoning behind why, either we accept it because we think it's just how it is supposed to be. Whereas, in real-life experiences, learning is far more different. When we learn, it is usually by experiencing it, making mistakes, finding explanations for it, asking questions, making connections, and lastly comprehending everything that just occurred. When we learn, answers are not always guaranteed, and when students who are used to having solutions are going to be frustrated and dissatisfied. This usually ends up being the process of learning and the outcome of it. Gaining new information is supposed to evolve minds. The thing that these scholars are lacking is what they had when they were younger, passion, motivation, and valuing education.
The thing that sparks education is the passion for learning. It is the passion for the discovery, the inner workings, and the comprehension. Nevertheless, that is one thing the school system had unintentionally extinguished. While they are too preoccupied making kids prepare for standardized tests, which results in students trying to outperform each other, overwhelmed with an immense amount of homework, they are too busy trying to learn facts and be at the top when they lose the passion and enjoyment of learning. When it is not necessarily interesting to students, the brain will not keep the memory. The board of education fails to consider that everyone's memory is different. Regardless, how engaging the lessons are, if the information is not being stored in the long-term memory, it is pointless, and they will learn little to none (Lebbe). Because of this, it is put under the assumption that students are not listening, and they have a short attention span. This is not the case, if memory is not stored in the long term, then it will be lost until students or teachers effectively do something about it.
Pressure of Success
Students feel pressure to achieve and become successful. While they are under pressure, the school inadvertently influences the scholars to adopt a perfectionist behavior. Students have so much pressure to comprehend everything the teachers say, which causes them to rely too heavily on memorization. And when they fail to keep it stored, they don’t feel smart at all. It's hard sitting in a classroom with peers who seem to understand and get exactly what the teacher is saying. This leaves students feeling incompetent and it eventually leads to the loss of motivation to continue their enlightening journey. The school system may mean well, but when scholars get bad marks on homework or quizzes without many encouraging teachers to pull the individual aside, asking if they didn’t understand the material well, or just even trying to help them, it becomes disheartening to the pupils. The system needs to explicitly address that it is ok to make mistakes. That the learning journey is a part of making errors and asking a lot of questions. It will shift the students' mentality and see that a person's studies become a whole other experience when they are invested in it. If soon we could have an education system in which we didn’t have kids wondering why and how they were going to use this information in the future, kids who are comfortable with making mistakes and learning from them, then maybe the value of education would return.
Creativity and Individualism
Furthermore, a lot of the education curricula deactivates individualism in students and diminishes creativity. Forcing students to take a few art electives will not help the lack of originality. It is ironic since the focus in schools are the core classes. Children are supplementally inventive and more of an individual than older teens and adults. Mainly because they are too focused on trying to memorize facts and concepts rather than having time for creativity. Art classes may also be a requirement as well, but it is not really given much value or thought to. Even in art class, students are told what to draw, what to paint, what to sculpt. Art class being mandatory is a front since at the end of the day, more time, effort, and thinking is put into the core class. Homework also comes in large amounts depending on a student's class, which slows down the process of creativity.
Littky and Grabelle quoted W.B Yeats, a popular Irish poet and prose writer. Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire” (qtd in Littky and Grabelle 3). This is the literal epitome of the education system today. The system is too busy “filling the pail” which can be interpreted by the schools providing knowledge and material to the students. The pail representing students and the filling being the education they are obtaining. Whereas the “lighting of the fire” represents how the students utilize that knowledge. As Littky and Grabelle said numerous times, it's not about making them remember the information, but making sure they apply what they’ve learned to their lives. When students learn and never do anything with that knowledge, it sits there until the brain disregards that information to create room for more.
The majority of students do not realize or learn how to apply what they have learned to their lives or the situations around them. Then again, it is hard to apply trigonometry to the real world. To consider using the knowledge in school, one must think about the value of education. It was already mentioned that one of the many reason’s scholars may not be as anxious or inspired to learn may be gone is because their passion for education is not present. Education is intriguing at the beginning of the journey. There aren't many restrictions but the value of it dwindles as we get older.
The purpose of Education
Additionally, to know the value of education, the purpose of it should be addressed. It should be evident that the purpose is subjective. This is mainly because everyone has their own opinions on what an educated student would look like, and the outcome every scholar should be proficient in before graduation. Hence, the reason most schools may become specialize in specific areas (i.e., charter schools, magnet, IB [International Baccalaureate]). Regardless, if one were to answer what the purpose and outcome is, most of the society would agree with Willona M. Sloan, a novelist and poet who won many awards that explains this exceptionally in her article, “What is the purpose of education?” and said, “In the United States, historically, the purpose of education has evolved according to the needs of society. Education's primary purpose has ranged from instructing youth in religious doctrine, to preparing them to live in a democracy, to assimilating immigrants into mainstream society, to preparing workers for the industrialized 20th century workplace.” (Sloan). This demonstrates that the educational purpose evolves throughout generations. It is usually tailored to what is valued during a period. For example, in 1964 Margaret Ammons, an associate secretary of ASCD said, “[The purpose of education] has changed from that of producing a literate society to that of producing a learning society.” which is a way different opinion from the one society goes with nowadays.
Although it may not apply to all, most high school graduates attend college to pursue their dream career, a chance for a high paying job, or because it is frowned upon to not go. Thus, signaling that it is not necessarily for the goal of expanding knowledge and achieving a higher education. There are numerous claims for the significance of education, but it will change continuously as society progresses, considering that, as social norms evolve, people begin to alter their views on the goal, and continue to have their own opinion on what a successful person would look like. To expand further into this, if it is looked at more closely, this generation puts a lot of merit in a successful career, a nice car, and a big house. Individuals will fill in more details and specifics according to their own life. Yet, it's usually what is aimed for and what's behind the students' motivation. This even inspires students to choose professions based on well-paying jobs. And to get all those things, higher education is usually the route they take. Nobody truly pulls students aside to discourage that way of thinking. Guidance counselors can only do so much with the number of students they have, so numerous people around the scholars should help oppose that kind of mindset. Without doing so, it allows millions of students to go under the impression that if they do not achieve those things in their life, they will not succeed. Scholars fail to realize that when those things are achieved, then what's next? There is so much more fulfillment to life than prosperity. Schools need to help their students understand that they are never finished learning.
Whereas for K-12, it is common to hear that the goal for schools is college prep and to help students become college ready. Albeit, what happens when they are “college ready” without knowing what major to pursue? What profession do the students want to specialize in? Despite this, they call a well-educated graduate a student who shows proficiency in three years of math, reading, science, and history along with electives of their choice. The graduates can answer, “higher level questions” and show critical thinking and communication skills. A student who could demonstrate all those qualities and competence would be a well-educated, college ready, asset to society. However, I beg to differ. Though some of the core classes may be beneficial for students, the true purpose of education should be “self-actualization” which is realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. A graduate should not look or pose like someone who has it all figured out, but when graduating high school, they should have had time in the whole school experience to know their interest, hobbies, and talents. Instead of cramming for tests and stressing, the time for exploration should be prominent during their educational journeys. Sad enough, opportunities for exploration of oneself are found during summer vacation or principally outside of school itself. The lack of exploration of students' talents and such follows them in college, which is usually the reason some students switch majors frequently.
This is not to say the entire school system should throw away all the core classes, but instead, magnifying electives, taking students on field trips, incorporating time where students find out their interest in careers, not just on their own time. If it was truly a college prep, then lending a helping hand to find their own passions would be the path, and link to assist students towards the path of self-actualization. The ideal goal would be to make individuals who understand their potential and who have the luxury to not be fully measured on test scores. Testing may allow colleges to make accurate choices with accepting students, but the element of choosing scholars based on their ability to take a test should not be the vital determinant to measure their intelligence.
Poverty and Education
Schools are funded based on the land they are on, so poorer areas have less funding compared to others. In poorer districts, the education system seems as if it is another world. The lack of authentic education is linked to violence, small number of teachers, and overcrowded classrooms. A school with attributes such as this is clearly not going to be at the same level as schools with better resources. And the ones who are in this type of environment are the workingclass citizens. A prime example of a town with these attributes would be Gary, Indiana, where the poverty rate is 35.8%, leaving 27,344 of 76,469 Gary residents below the poverty line. Approximately 80.1% of the total population of Gary are black people. (“Poverty in Gary”). With most of the Gary population in poverty, education resources and school funding are lacking compared to other schools. And as mentioned above, the students with a poor socioeconomic background are statistically proven to not perform as well as other districts. I visited Gary before because I have family there, and the poverty is so bad, it makes north side Minneapolis look like the suburbs. Just the way the school buildings look, anyone could tell there is hardly any funding.
However, there are new shopping malls and stores though. Money like that should have gone to the schools instead. It's a no brainer why parents send their kids to a charter school. And with the lack of teachers or resources, students perform poorly on tests, and show little to no proficiency at all. In short, it is the resources they are given. So, if attention isn't on these schools, is it truly fair to base their intelligence on the standardized then? The education system is failing students who are in poorer districts, but they give special attention to wealthier schools. Poor students and education are such a complex topic, this is not even the beginning of it. However, schools should consider the environmental circumstances of students and their mental health.
Teachers’ perspective
After interviewing eight people, all except one agreed to the education system being broken, failing, or messed up. Four of them were teachers and four were college students. The college students mostly complained about the homework, the repetitiveness of the curriculum, and the agreement of not learning anything at all. However, when I interviewed the teachers, it was such a shocking experience to hear the perspective of educators. Students cannot even begin to fathom how much teachers fought or choose to be in a classroom for students to be a recipient of education. Hearing all their stories made me come to a revelation of how much society takes teachers for granted. If it is not obvious yet, they do not decide what to teach, or the main curricula. To ensure anonymity to be on the safe side, the third teacher I interviewed was my elementary school teacher and she said, “If we truly try to make education equal for all, we will truly have to adjust an infinite amount of scenarios, and that will cost an extreme amount of money to provide, and that is why we don't have a good educational system.”
Which reminded me of how much changing the curriculum and making large adjustments to the education system would cost loads of money, and that is something some districts, governors, or mayors are not willing to make. It would be easier and cheaper to keep the system the way it is, even though that is not the best. In short, teachers are extremely limited in what they can and cannot change about the curricula, and what goes on at their school. Teachers are mostly the face of the school along with the students, but the one who passes the curriculums, rules and all the other things that students complain about is something that is far out of their control. There is an elevated risk of losing their jobs if they do not cooperate with the following rules or policies. Albeit the ones who can recover the educational system are the higher ups; the state that revises the curriculum every ten years. For students, they need to consider that even the teachers might not agree with the policies, but there is not much that can be done about it on their end. Educators deserve so much more, and hopefully in the future they will be recognized properly.
Conclusion and Solutions
Moreover, the education system will never be without flaws. Even now, the activities and courses that are in the schools today are still relatively new, but it is still not perfected yet. The system’s failure to help students learn without stressing memorization, it leaves scholars feeling as if they are incompetent if they cannot remember the facts effectively. The material being taught is also repetitive, which makes the information no longer stick, and gradually allows students to believe it is not essential for their future. Even at an early age, the system fails to produce independent individuals, or ones capable of utilizing their knowledge. But most of all, the education system is failing because it does not help students value it. Knowledge is a valuable thing, but nobody really realizes this unless it is taken away or no longer a privilege. Perhaps since we have “free education” it is desensitized, and the students never really know the reason they are in school unless they look at the syllabus. Even for college, people attend because it is usually insinuated that if students do not go, then they are not going to be successful. Colleges are usually flawed around money, but to have a higher education, to continue the journey is something people decide on their own. However, society fails to address that college is not for everyone, although it will make it a lot easier to get a stable career, but it is not the main component that relies on success.
Solutions will require a lot of people sitting down and talking about “common ground”—something much like what they attempt to do now. In lieu, they need to include students to represent their schools, and not just excelling academic students, but ones chosen by the student body. Not only this but allowing teachers to speak in board meetings for longer periods of time, too. Even the Montessori teaching method could solve a lot of these problems. Instead of instructing with lectures, handouts, worksheets, and lesson plans, a Montessori teacher offers guidance, but the child is responsible for his or her own individual learning. It teaches students self-discipline because that is the most realistic discipline associated with the real world. Nobody is going to be breathing down someone's neck (well, hopefully not) about being productive, so allowing students to explore ways around their brains and habits of procrastination will be a good preparation for their future. And if tasks are not completed on time, they are the one suffering the consequences of their actions.
Moreover, since education is stuck where it is at, who knows when it will change. But nothing is set in stone, anything can change. The education system is failing, but it has failed. If students leave college or high school with the impression that it was a waste of time, and they cannot recall the information they have learned, then the schools are failing their students. Knowledge is powerful and can change so many things. If it is desensitized and devalued by scholars, then the system is defective. But something like that can easily be fixed if there are people willing to do something about it. A successful educational system is not farfetched, it is nearby, if society detaches itself from the current one before it has failed.
Works Cited
“Compulsory Education Laws: Background.” Findlaw, 21 Jun. 2016, Compulsory Education Laws: Background - FindLaw.
Jones, Rylee. “The U.S. Education System Is Failing.” The Express, 6 Dec. 2020, www.blhsnews.com/opinion/2020/12/06/the-u-s-education-system-is-failing/.
Lebbe, Gauthier. “Why Teachers Need to Understand How Memory Works.” Wooclap, 4 Apr. 2019, https://www.wooclap.com/en/blog/brain-education/why-teachers-need-to-un…
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