My Vision of Schools in 10 Years by Nora

My Vision of Schools in 10 Years by Nora - July 2022 Scholarship Essay

The biggest change that I hope to see in education is the subjects that are being taught to students. In my personal opinion, I believe that some of the core subjects that students are required to take during some of their years at school are not adequate enough to prepare them for the real world. The most common ones are algebra, geometry, some language arts/English classes, etc. I am not saying that they are totally useless, and that kids should not have a basic understanding of these subjects, but I feel like they should not be required classes. Instead, they should be taken as electives for students who are interested. I want subjects such as finances, how to cook, how to maintain your car, processes of purchasing a house, government, and investing to be taught instead. Of course, they can be taken as electives, but it would be much more beneficial if they were required, so that every single student would receive the necessary skills needed to function in the real world. Too many students are entering the real world totally clueless of how to do important tasks, and that is truly sad and frightening. If they were taught important life skills from an early age, then they would be much more confident once they grow up and finish school.
Another change that I hope to see is the complete removal of standardized testing. I never really got the point of giving students big tests like the MCA, NWEA, etc. every year. The only thing I know is that standardized testing is mostly used to test how good a school is doing at educating their students, and it determines how much government funding that the particular school will receive. Although that sounds like a good concept, it also sacrifices the mental well-being of the students. Even kids as young as third grade are getting excessively stressed out because they have to study for their upcoming MCA or NWEA test. That is atrocious. They should be more focused on playing and just being kids. As for high school-aged students, they should not have to stress about a big test. After all, they already have enough stress on their plate with a lot of homework, regular tests, and preparing for college. Lastly, if a student doesn’t do well on their test, then it may totally wreck their academic confidence. They may believe that they are a failure in school, and that they will never be able to succeed. That is definitely not true, because standardized testing is not a way to determine how intelligent a kid is. So even though they may have good intentions, I hope to see standardized testing disappear from our schools in the next ten years, because they are not worth our students’ health and well-being.
The last change that I would like to see is the cost of going to college decreasing by a lot. It is absolutely disgusting that students have to pay an astronomical amount of money to get a higher education, especially one that prepares them for their future careers. I never really understood why college has to be so expensive, especially because most people only choose to attend college or university for four years. A lot of students are not able to pay for their tuition, so they are forced to take out student loans. That opens up the door to more stress because once they complete their education, they will have to spend the next few years or even decades paying off their student debts. Young people should not have so much debt because they are just getting into the real world. They first need to gain the experience and skills needed to deal with such financial obligations, so that they won’t be overwhelmed later. I do know that a few students are lucky enough to receive scholarships, but a majority aren’t so lucky and are left with the financial burden of their college education. College doesn’t have to be totally free, but I wish that one day, it won’t cost six figures to attend.
Even though I’ll likely be out of school in ten years, I still hope that significant changes take place in schools all over the United States and even the world. Every child deserves a quality education that will better prepare them for life. I have hope that one day, the governments will put kids’ best interests in mind, and will attempt to change the educational system so that every single one of them will benefit.