Education

My next topic is the education system in the United States. Education is very important in life, which is why the continued systemic failure of individuals under the current education system is an issue that needs to be addressed at this moment rather than later. While education is important, it is also vital that the individuals, be it children or adults, gain an understanding to the world in correlation with that education. The accelerated rate at which we are expected to learn the material and pass a test of that knowledge makes it nearly impossible to relate the material learned to uses in the real world. This issue is at the heart of the problem.

Standardized tests have taken what was an education system that taught values along with material, to teaching what material the government or elected officials deem as necessary to achieve a level of understanding acceptable to these authorities.  I find it absurd that these officials think that you can determine someone’s level of understanding by testing for an arbitrary piece of the over knowledge of a subject. Sure math and science are important, but the difficulty and expansive amount of material prevent rudimentary retention of this information. This leads to having to review certain techniques  yearly in order to comprehend the subject. Should we not focus on how to teach these basic techniques so that may learned instead of memorized, allowing for more depth in our education. 

Education funding is another important aspect in improving the education system. This funding is always the subject to cutting in order to make room for other projects or departments. While math and science funding are rarely reduced, physical education and arts programs are the prime departments for cuts. As important as math and science are the arts and physical education are just as important in shaping young minds. I would venture to say that I learned as much in four years of marching band as I did in four years of math or science. I learned what it meant to be part of group and how to conduct myself in a respectable way as a representative of our school. These life lessons are just as important as math and science knowledge that may never be used in life but these skills have been pushed aside in order to make room for the things that are tested for on the standardized test used to test aptitude. What aptitude are we testing for exactly? The ability to memorize and regurgitate information is not the most important skill that students need. They need someone to show the proper way to apply the material learned to situations that occur in life. Education is the backbone of our society and so much of our focus is on testing children instead of making sure they are prepared to live as productive citizens. Education needs to be our focus going forward and it needs to be overhauled so that our children are not being left behind.