10 years later... by marija

10 years later... by marija - July 2022 Scholarship Essay

Throughout my 12 years of being in school I've heard hundreds of the same complaints from students about our education system. “We shouldn't let tests determine students' learning potential”, “we should be learning things we need after graduation”, etc.
Changing the classes highschool students need to take before graduation by replacing them with more useful classes would be beneficial to students in the near future. Students shouldn't be wasting their time taking useless classes like certain topics in geometry and algebra. High School students should have classes that teach them how to do taxes, how to buy a house, how to pay mortgage, health care, union, retirement and how to pay bills. There are extra curricular activities provided by some schools to help students manage money and invest in stocks, however those classes are not mandatory for students to graduate. Overseas schools have classes that teach students how to install household appliances and how to survive when money is tight. Which our school system has no type of interest in giving to the students.
Standardized testing should also be reduced to little as possible. Like state exams, regents, sat/act etc. In class I'm an extremely strong student. I participate, I do my work and my average is very high. But when it's time to take tests I'm completely lost, my legs start to shake, as well as my hands, I start sweating and start to pick at my nails. Teachers every year tell me that my test scores don't reflect my performance in class. Many students spend weeks pulling all-nighters studying for tests, making them sleep deprived and causing them not to reflect what they are capable of on the test they are about to take.
With these changes schools will be creating smarter and richer generations.