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Christine Hu
Monique Williams
English 1A
2/20/2015
Education
is defined as the process of reviving or giving systematic instruction. Having
an education is one of the best and most important things in the world to have
in an individual’s skill sets. Being able to read and write is an
accomplishment that can allow a person to further their academics and continue
their schooling in hopes of having a future occupation that they desire.
However, the present education system is more of a factory; processing their
students to memorize and not think about the material in order for them to pass
the systematic checkups know as tests so that the school can be ensured their
government funding and school reputation.
Classes are being overcrowded with students yet are only given fifty
five minutes for instruction, teachers are usually outnumbered thirty eight to
one. It is impossible for one teacher to each individual child understand their
lesson when they can’t even finish their lesson on time before the bell rings
for the next period. There is such a disconnect between the students and their
instructor that when a minority of the students in class do not understand the
subject, the teacher as no choice but to move on in order to keep with the
curriculum schedule set but the school and the state. They do not have the time
to have a makeup day where they can answer a question or review the material
for better understanding. I remember back in High school when I use to take Ap
courses, we were always on a schedule based on when the Ap test was going to
take place. If we didn’t understand the course lesson that day then we would
have to learn on our own with no help but reading the textbook. We were always
pressured and reminded of the schedule we had
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to keep up with in
order to cover all the material by the test date. This is no way to teach a
class, students resorted to memorization and practice tests in order for the
material to get stuck in their head. The schooling institutions have the most
important job of all, educating the future; their every action and lesson will
mold the thinkers of the new generation.
The
academic system is constantly undermining their student’s capabilities and free
thought process, it is much easier for order when students are only focused on
passing a certain test in order for a better chance at their dream college
where they repeat the memorization process over and over until graduation. The
skill sets of creativity, opinion, and critical thinking is not utilized in the
education system because they don’t
matter when it comes to passing an exam that dictates the funding and
reputation a school will get. The whole mentality of going to school every day
for eight hours, only to sit in a classroom with thirty seven other individuals
listening to a single instructor going on and on about a subject that
comes straight out of their textbook does not stimulate their brain development
and thinking. The student become a
copying machine that will only memorize the information from their textbooks
and imitating what their instructor is writing on the whiteboard. Students being
institutionalized by a systematic schedule that dictates whether they pass
their class or not; leaves their minds with only good grades and test points as
their goal in the class. When they enter the work force and are faced with a
challenging problem that requires critical problem solving; they will shut
down. The school system did not provide them with such skills that would allow
them to project their opinions and lead to group discussion over the situation
at hand.
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Students are constantly under the pressure to
succeed and aim for a high paying occupation by everyone around them. When
students try to follow their passion and interest into a field such as the arts
or theatre, they are bombarded with criticism and discouragement because of how
society views which jobs are beneficial and which job will not provide. With such negativity how can there be dreams
of becoming an artist or a dancer when the support is not there? Most students
are unfortunately diseased by the fear of disappointment and embarrassment by
the adults in their lives as well as their fellow peers. The fear of
disappointing their parents or the people around them forces them to follow the
path others dictate them to follow with no enthusiasm and joy. As they reach
the end of their path, most likely a desk job at some company that does not
provide them with the initiative and inspiration to perform at their best; they
will regret having not pursuing their dreams and live out the rest of their
lives wondering what would their life been like had they chosen their own path
to walk down. This cycle of discouraging passions and interest due to how they
are looked upon by society will then result in a never ending cycle of
generation after generation dictating on what future their child should peruse
and accomplish. The regrets and wonderings will continue only to be
foreshadowed by the fear of consequences of taking a stand for an individual’s
passion or dream.
Educators
in the school system need to establish a comfortable and free environment for
their students so they no longer have the fear of judgment thus allowing them to
express their thoughts and opinions with confidence and relaxed among their
peers. Most of a classroom’s schedule consists of the group of students staring
either at
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the
white board in the front of the room taking notes or listening to their teacher
lecture of the lesson. When students are faced with notes about the lecture
they automatically go into copy mode and are solely focused on what they put
down on their paper that they block out what the teacher is verbally lecturing
on. They are so occupied with jotting down every single word that when their
instructor tells them to just take down notes in their own words they shut
down, all their life they have been trained and drilled on copying notes from
the whiteboard or textbook onto their paper. So when they are told to take
notes in their own fashion, they are confused and lost on how they can take notes
in their personal way. It is because of the endless instruction from the start
of their education years that students are only prepared to copy their
instructors or the text in their textbooks and not have an inking as to how
they are supposed to incorporate their own distinctive way into what note
taking skills will more benefit them. In studies, there is such a limited and
constrictive way of how students learn and study because every student is
individually different, yet the school system treats their students all the
same way with the same curriculum and teaching fashion. The school administration
does not take into account of how each student operates when being taught a lesson;
they need to incorporate different techniques to benefit different students. Educators
should find a medium in which they can understand that one teaching technique
will not be effective towards students who have a different way of learning the
material such as the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. Each student
has individual characteristics that are unlike other’s personalities; so in
what way can the education system think that a solitary teaching approach be
applied towards their student population without any difficulty.
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There
are so many contractions in how students can express themselves freely in the
school environment and judgment from the adults and student peers that classrooms
are not capable of inhabiting a positive community for support and
encouragement until they address the issues they have at hand to solve.
We
as a society are always pushing for creation and invention to better benefit
the daily lives of the population yet the individuals who are capable of doing
such a thing are being told to disregard their imagination and thinking because
it will not lead them to a bright future. How can society determine the future
that each individual wants? They don’t, so instead they pick one mentality to
be used as propaganda that will motivate their citizens into dreaming of a
better life. The American population is driven by this propaganda, the
“American dream”, the dream that says if an individual works hard enough then
they can climb up the social ladder, become wealthy, and be recognized. This
dream is then reinforced by letting the population see how good it is to be
able to live the rich lifestyle when they see the elite such as celebrities and
politicians enjoying the extravagant items they can purchase on television.
This want for a better life, drives people to work hard so they can have enough
money to buy the objects they desire. And when they realize they cannot live up
to the American dream, parents will then instill how great it would be for
their children to be able to become a doctor or a lawyer and live that
lifestyle so they encourage them to get good grades and test scores so that
they can have the chance to achieve the dream their parents couldn’t. So this
sequence of events leads to endless dreams of people thinking they have the
ability to become more than just middle class citizens.
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It
is because of this cycle that in academic institutions, the arts and
extracurricular classes are not given importance on like the other mandatory
courses a student must take in order for them to be able to receive a diploma.
A diploma no longer celebrating their achievements such as the knowledge and
understanding of their education; it is only a piece of paper that acknowledges
how well they played the game that is the school system. How well they have
played the game of text scores, essay grades, and accumulative points earned. The
all-powerful game that dictates who fails and who succeeds in life; the piece of
paper that controls who will be able to move on to the next level education
that will lead them to a degree for their occupation. The degree that is used
as a bragging chip when mingling at a dinner party as graduates, a paper
stating which university that represents how well your educational level is
based on the college’s reputation and prestige. When did a college degree
become only a document used to show off to other people on how well your life
is going to be just based on the college the individual graduates from; a
degree should be a representation of how far an individual as come through the
sixteen years of schooling and how has that prepared the individual for the
occupation they will take on in their work field. A college degree is there to
prove that the individual in possession of the document is a professional that
has the right expertise and skill set in their field that will guarantees that
they can execute the proper capability and strength into their job profession
that they have trained for in the years it took them to get their degree. Yet,
we treat this important paper as a representation of how well they played the
game of school all these years; how well they were able to memorize the
information in their heads so that they scored high enough and had
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obtained
the necessary grades in order for them to pass their courses and gain the
needed requirements in order for the college they attend to deem them worthy
enough to be able to walk across that stage and shake the hands of the game makers
to receive the paperwork that insures society that the individual is ready for
the work force world; unknowing to the degree holder that they have just simply
fallen in to the trap that was set in place for them from the very beginning
they entered their first year of school.
