A Student Explains What's Wrong With Our School System And Why We Mistrust Teachers

http://www.upworthy.com/a-student-explains-whats-wrong-with-our-school-system-and-why-we-mistrust-teachers-nails-it-6

I found a video, rather than an article, that was very powerful. It definitely reminded me of PARCC and all of the stress around it. A high school senior gave his opinion on how the education system is affecting our teachers and students. He expressed that high-stakes testing does not create the type of minds we want in our country. That education should focus on “creativity, appreciations, inquisitiveness” and that the testing standards presented to our students don’t leave room for these crucial things. If we are to prepare students to be life-long learners, we should not have only standards to base their success on, but other areas to see growth as a human rather than growth to a predetermined limit.

I like that our Common Core standards are focusing more on problem solving and attempt to allow students to learn deeper about a subject, but classrooms are still expected to complete high-stakes testing. This student addressed that this sort of testing creates insecurity within teachers and doesn’t allow them to do the things they were hired to do: Inspire those life-long learning traits. He stated that our nation is “producing workers-everything is career and college preparedness.” But if we turn our focus from this type of destination learning and put more emphasis on open-ended, less pressure learning then “the careers will come naturally”. It’s obvious that our education system is not perfect. There are so many variables, grey-areas and mixed interests. I think that the emergence of technology is helping to drive the education system to the way it should be. Allowing our students a hands-on, individualized, creation-based type of learning is the direction it looks like we’re heading.

I believe we discussed that in order for education to truly change, there must be a change in the string of things that go along with it. The colleges must change their ways, state testing must be adapted to show more than memorization, and teachers must be allowed to inspire and drive learning rather than show a percentage. He states “Standards based education is ruining the way we teach and learn. The task of teaching is never quantifiable….If everything I learned in high school is a measurable objective, I have not learned anything.” I agree that it is stressful to keep up with the demands, I’m sure you all can relate. I do like these points, but I also don’t have a solution to the problem. I think we will eventually get there, but there will always be flaws. I’m glad that there are people who care deeply about education and are willing to discuss these aspects rather than accept what it currently is.