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Sarah Ross

New Concept of Real Education

The current school system is not what it is supposed to be and should be changed for the

greater good. Ever since we can remember, education and the school system has been about the

same. Everyday of public school is the same as the last. Nothing has changed. Sure, they try new

things and new courses, different required classes; but over all, nothing is different. What has

changed is the students and teachers attitudes. Students no longer want to go to school and

teachers no longer are allowed to teach the way that they want or think they should. They are

instructed to do exactly what the system tells them to and the system decides what they should

and shouldnt teach. "What once was the standards movement was replaced by the accountability

movement. What once was an effort to improve the quality of education turned into an

accounting strategy." (Barlow, 70). School should not be a place of job training but a place of

true education. The system should be a tool for students to learn to think for themselves and

become good people as well as good citizens, and should be teaching and encouraging the

students future plans and goals for a well lived life.

School has now become a place to teach kids to get jobs. They are programmed to go from

grade school (elementary) to middle, to high school to college and then a job and working for

their whole life until they retire around 70 at a job they most likely do not enjoy.

When I was younger and thinking about what I wanted to do when I grew up, I thought

that I should choose something that I loved to do and find a way to get paid for it. I thought that

businessmen and plumbers loved their jobs, but as I got older I noticed most dont enjoy what
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they do. School has programmed us to follow the system so that they can have people to fill in

jobs and slots of work. Students used to want to attend school and get a good education, now we

dread it. We should be looking for something new to benefit the students that are in schools

today. The system is screwed up and to fix it we must make a new education system that teaches

what we currently need to teach. A lot of people want the school system to be about job

preparation. I believe if students are taught how to think rather than what to think, they will

naturally be ready to take on work and study on whatever career they plan to take on. School

should be more than just grammar, math and work ethic; yes, these things are essential but they

should not be the main focus of a childs learning.

Often students are easily discouraged as they dont always grasp concepts in the time

frame allowed by the system. This can instantly make one feel like they are not able to learn if

they cant learn quickly. Einstein once said, Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by

Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Live Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid. School is not

programmed to teach students to become good people and think for themselves or how to be

successful, but to give them opportunities to learn algebra and learn that the mitochondria is the

powerhouse of the cell. That does not teach any student the skills that they need to possess or

what they should pursue. Kushy writes, We are not graduating students with the required skills

so that they may be contributing members of our society.(183) not necessarily meaning that the

only way to be a contributing member is to work. These required classes everyone must take to

get a sheet of paper saying, I graduated! are nothing but raw judgment from authority telling

them that they can add numbers and use correct grammar; good for you, you can pass a class!

But what did you learn? Some might think We should have a system that teaches kids to work
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in jobs when theyre older. Sure that might be true, but students can do that in college if they

choose to go, if they do not it is not the end of the world. Following the line down from school

to school to school to work to retirement does give us people who work and forms us as a

functioning society. Take a restaurant for example, you give money, they give you food. As we

give and take, our society and jobs work naturally. School should not be a source of plucking

kids out of school and right into a factory to work. Working and contributing to the society

should be something you enjoy doing.

The things we should be teaching our students is things they want to pursue, the current laws

and Bill of Rights, how to pay bills and taxes; language arts classes that teach not what to think,

but how to think. New thoughts and ideas are not sprouted from teaching the same things every

year for every new century, but from things like poetry and books that make you think. We

should be teaching current news stories and what is going on around the world to keep the

students informed and spark ideas on how to improve the world. Someone might think that this is

a little extreme or different, but that is the point. Different is good, change is good, dont be

afraid of change. Sure, some students like school, they like the way its running; but the system

can still be better, being content is not the same as enjoying. The more freedom you give your

students, the more theyll want to do. Have you noticed that if you tell someone to do something,

they subconsciously dont want to do it anymore? Less tests and more discussions. Less grading

and more learning. Some may believe that the current school system is working just fine and its

too much work to change it; however, the future of our country is determined by every new

generation and it is worth it.

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Bibliography

Source 1: Kushy Jr. Carl S. A Teachers Open Letter On Our Failing School System.

Education 1112 (1990) 181-186 Professional Development. Web. 25 Jan. 2017

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Source 2: Barlow, Dudley The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How

testing and choice are undermining education. Education Digest 76.2 (2010) 69. MasterFILE

complete. Web. 25 Jan. 2017

Source 3: "Differences In High School Graduation Rates Across States." Gifted Child Today 39.2

(2016): 74-75. Professional Development Collection. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.

Source 4: Matthew Lynch, Education week, 10 Reasons the US education System is failing

Aug 27. 2015

Source 5: https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/58/understanding-the-american-education-system

6. White, William F. "Divergent Thinking Vs. Convergent Thinking - A Gt Anomaly." Education

111.2 (1990): 208-213. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.

(together vs apart)