Alysha Darnell

Mr. Gross
English 12A
8 December 2016

Unprepared: The Real Problem With Education Today

Americas education system is not only flawed, but deficient, especially compared to
how quickly our world is evolving to adapt to our fast-paced, technological demands. Many
reasons, including overcrowded schools, stagnant spending, and lack of teacher innovation
are all factors to this problembut the biggest is that high school graduates are not adeptly
prepared for either college or real-world life (Lynch 1). According to the U.S. Education
Department, graduation rates for high school seniors are at an all-time high: a total of 80
percent graduate in four years and are able to collect their diploma. However, fewer than
half of those graduates are competent in either reading or mathematics. Students are being
passed on to the next grade when their intelligence is not competent enough. As a result,
they fall drastically behind the learning curve (Lynch 1).
Nearly 60 percent of freshman college students every year are not prepared for a
collegiate education. This is due to the fact that students are learning more about how to
get into college instead of the skills they need to complete their certificates or degrees.
Instead of putting focus into developing the knowledge required for their field of interest,
they are prioritizing credit accumulation (The National Center For Public Policy and Higher
Education 5). Though the number of credits needed differs from state to state, if the
student does not reach the minimum, they are not eligible to graduate. Thus, in order to
reach the number they need, students throw in extracurriculars instead of putting the

effort into classes that might further them in their career, such as math and science. This
puts them drastically behind when they reach college and discover that they have not
studied enough courses to enter into their desired program (The National Center For
Public Policy and Higher Education 5).
This paradigm is closely related to how students are taught in Americaa process
known as the banking system. Information is plugged into teenagers brains in order for
them to recall it on their final exams, but the moment that those exams are over, all of the
facts and trivia they just learned is wiped clean from their conscious (Kaufman 1). This
system, penned first by educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, is only effective on a
short-term basis and does nothing to help the students suitably learn. Instead of developing
oral, communication, and problem-solving skills, they are transformed into robots, reciting
information without any comprehension of what any of it actually means. This system
meshes in with college preparatory, as both of them are only thinking of the goal in front of
them instead of the one ahead. Virtually, the students are not learning to prepare for the
future, and enter into it vulnerable (Kaufman 1).
Another education system is called the problem-posing method, and it focuses on
dialogue between two individuals instead of one feeding information to the other. Paulo
Freire prefered this method to the banking system, as it provides more interaction with
students and their teachers and prompts them to ask more questions and retain more
information. However, a method is not only about how the teacher teaches, but the way the
student thinksthus, the banking system could be beneficial to the student if it helps them
learn (May 3). Though true in a sense, the problem-posing method identifies long-range

objectives, and all areas of a students growth are subject to examinationwhereas, with
the banking system, only language and mathematical skills are looked at, and the course
work is based on a curriculum set by grade level. In the banking system, teachers are
responsible for what their students learn, but in the problem-posing system, the teachers
guide their students to become responsible for their own education. At a glance, the
problem-posing system is the most effective method to properly educate students, as it
creates a desire to learn and the ability to think for themselves (Freire 81).
The biggest problem with our education system is that our students remain
benighted going further into their lives. K-12 schooling is not about attending class and
getting good marks; it is not even about the exams. It is about taking that first step down a
road that is meant to lead to grander places. Unfortunately, for many young people, that
road is obstructed and ends too soon. They can not continue in their education because
they do not know how. Instead of focusing on cramming information, what needs to be
done is an instruction on how to move forward, so every student can reach the potential
they contain.

Works Cited
Freire, Paulo. "Chapter 2." Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum, 2000. N. pag. Print.
Kaufman, Peter. "Cram. Memorize. Regurgitate. Forget." Everyday Sociology Blog. N.p., 26 Apr.
2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.
Lynch, Matthew. "10 Reasons the U.S. Education System Is Failing." Education Week - Education
Futures: Emerging Trends in K-12. N.p., 29 Aug. 2015. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.
May, Todd. "Rhetorical Analysis of The Banking Concept of Education by Paulo Freire." N.p., 13
Dec. 2008. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
The National Center For Public Policy and Higher Education. "Beyond the Rhetoric: Improving
College Readiness Through Coherent State Policy." (2009): 1-14. June 2010. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.