What Education Could Be by Nicholas

What Education Could Be by Nicholas - July 2022 Scholarship Essay

The education of youth has always, and will always be, an endeavor worth pursuing without heed of expense. Its role in the upbringing and growth of the next leaders of the nation is immense, however, it isn't always treated as such. The advent of standardized testing, strict curriculum, and school structure has brought down this formerly well-respected institution to just a mere shadow of what it should be, but hopefully, it can still be salvaged.
Standardized testing has corrupted the minds of school boards, teachers, etc. and has convinced them to only "teach to the test." Using an algebra class, for example, a teacher might teach students the Pythagorean Theorem, but only because the standard test's curriculum lists it as a required topic. In most cases, the teacher neglects to explain where this Theorem derives from or how or why this Theorem works. As a result, students simply try to commit this knowledge to memory without having a deeper understanding of the topic, often resulting in confusion or simply forgetting the knowledge much quicker. The easiest way to fix this issue is from the top. School boards need to stop promoting teachers to teach like this. It's frustrating and demeaning for students, and actively inhibits learning, all to make a school district look good with test scores, when, ironically, the test scores would be higher if the material was taught properly. If school boards are unable to do this, however, then the standardized tests simply need to be removed, as their negative side effects greatly outweigh their benefits.
Another unfortunate aspect about education is typical school structure. Students aren't allowed to move, speak, or even, in some cases, go to the bathroom. To top it all off, after about seven hours of school, students often have several more hours of homework to do at night. This all goes directly against the nature of what children should naturally be doing. Classrooms should allow collaboration, activity, games on occasion; kids need to feel free, even when they are at school. They can't learn when feeling trapped or imprisoned. Using the bathroom should never have an answer of "no." With school environments that are less like a prison and have more active, collaborative learning environments, students will not only learn better, but have improved mental and physical health, better social skills, and be more compliant with the comparatively perceived more benevolent school faculty and staff. Finally, homework needs to go. Seven hours a day (more if extracurriculars are factored in), five days a week is enough school time. Kids need time to be kids, too, to remain healthy and happy.
The school system in America has its problems, but it also has a good foundation, and hopefully it can be salvaged. The problems and solutions suggested here won't be easy to implement, but they are possible. It is possible to have a managed and controlled classroom without violating the freedom of children, it just depends on the willingness of the teacher. Just as important as the endeavor to educate children should be the endeavor to improve this education. This is for the future of America. This is for the future of our children.