My English class here at college forced me to research the education system and after reading and browsing the internet I have come to the conclusion that the education system is setting students up for FAILURE. A very good article that explains a lot is, "School Is Bad for Children" by John Holt. In this article he explains that while in school, your ability to critically think, problem solve, and be creative is greatly diminished due to an outdated curriculum that is taught using outdated teaching methods in a building that stifles the creative minds and frowns upon individualism.
Here's what's wrong:
1) You are passively taught that you cannot be trusted to learn on your own outside of school. Mandatory attendance proves this
2) It does not matter what you want to learn about or what your passions or interests are. You will sit quietly and remember what we tell you you to remember. And don't worry about remembering any of the information after the test that you are taught because once you take the test you don't need it anymore.
3) Don't worry if you got an answer wrong, you won't have to figure it out or put in any sort of cognitive effort to solving that problem. Just raise your hand, ask the teacher for the right answer, and simply remember it for the next test. and then forget it after you take the test!
4) If you have a bad teacher, they will continue to be a bad teacher as they have very little to no job evaluation throughout their whole career. Especially when they get tenure.
5) The most exciting thing in the classroom that you can interact with is the other students. Unfortunately, you will be forced to sit next to them in silence and only speak to them when it is allowed. (schools today highly underestimate what students can learn simply from interacting with others)
6) Your individual image means nothing and you will rarely have a chance to stand out. To make friends, you will be forced to be a part of a clique and naturally bend to that cliques philosophy and ideals.
7) Students that fall behind are left behind, that is why America has the biggest gap between successful and non-successful students.
8 ) Standardized testing will determine how smart you are as far as the education system is concerned. Whether or not you are a good test-taker does not matter
9) College is expensive as shit
What foreign schools do instead:
1) Start school at an older age and spend the first few years helping students discover their passions and find out what motivates them as well as work on social skills and how to properly engage with the other students and be respectful. This also dictates the majority of what they will be studying which makes them more interested in and happy about their studies.
2) Students who start to fall behind are given intensive intervention to help them catch up
3) Grades are not given until high school
4) Less homework, but it has been found that even though they have less homework, they spend more of their time on schoolwork. This most likely has to do with the last part of #1
5) Better teachers (most have masters and the job market is very competitive)
6) Teachers are given frequent evaluations
7) No stigma with choosing a vocational career path instead of college.
8 ) Very little standardized testing
9) College is free
My question is why? WHY???!! The education system is so important to a countries success. It helps students find their place in society and when people feel like they have a place that they belong in society, they are less likely to rebel or cause crime and will be more efficient when working at their job with leads to an overall improved economy. This leads to less poverty and a healthier country. Most of my peers arrived in college and just like me, have no idea what they want to study. I blame the education system. For the better half of my life, I have asked myself what do I want to do for a living when I'm older and to this day I still cannot answer that question. I understand the process of reforming a countries whole education system is difficult and costly, but it would be worth it. It just blows my mind that our country is aware of just how terrible it is and they refuse to make it a priority. There are so many problems that stem from our education system and we need to see reform in our education before America can start seeing positive changes.
Here's what's wrong:
1) You are passively taught that you cannot be trusted to learn on your own outside of school. Mandatory attendance proves this
2) It does not matter what you want to learn about or what your passions or interests are. You will sit quietly and remember what we tell you you to remember. And don't worry about remembering any of the information after the test that you are taught because once you take the test you don't need it anymore.
3) Don't worry if you got an answer wrong, you won't have to figure it out or put in any sort of cognitive effort to solving that problem. Just raise your hand, ask the teacher for the right answer, and simply remember it for the next test. and then forget it after you take the test!
4) If you have a bad teacher, they will continue to be a bad teacher as they have very little to no job evaluation throughout their whole career. Especially when they get tenure.
5) The most exciting thing in the classroom that you can interact with is the other students. Unfortunately, you will be forced to sit next to them in silence and only speak to them when it is allowed. (schools today highly underestimate what students can learn simply from interacting with others)
6) Your individual image means nothing and you will rarely have a chance to stand out. To make friends, you will be forced to be a part of a clique and naturally bend to that cliques philosophy and ideals.
7) Students that fall behind are left behind, that is why America has the biggest gap between successful and non-successful students.
8 ) Standardized testing will determine how smart you are as far as the education system is concerned. Whether or not you are a good test-taker does not matter
9) College is expensive as shit
What foreign schools do instead:
1) Start school at an older age and spend the first few years helping students discover their passions and find out what motivates them as well as work on social skills and how to properly engage with the other students and be respectful. This also dictates the majority of what they will be studying which makes them more interested in and happy about their studies.
2) Students who start to fall behind are given intensive intervention to help them catch up
3) Grades are not given until high school
4) Less homework, but it has been found that even though they have less homework, they spend more of their time on schoolwork. This most likely has to do with the last part of #1
5) Better teachers (most have masters and the job market is very competitive)
6) Teachers are given frequent evaluations
7) No stigma with choosing a vocational career path instead of college.
8 ) Very little standardized testing
9) College is free
My question is why? WHY???!! The education system is so important to a countries success. It helps students find their place in society and when people feel like they have a place that they belong in society, they are less likely to rebel or cause crime and will be more efficient when working at their job with leads to an overall improved economy. This leads to less poverty and a healthier country. Most of my peers arrived in college and just like me, have no idea what they want to study. I blame the education system. For the better half of my life, I have asked myself what do I want to do for a living when I'm older and to this day I still cannot answer that question. I understand the process of reforming a countries whole education system is difficult and costly, but it would be worth it. It just blows my mind that our country is aware of just how terrible it is and they refuse to make it a priority. There are so many problems that stem from our education system and we need to see reform in our education before America can start seeing positive changes.
