On Education

Buckle up readers. I’m rolling up my sleeves and getting out my big brain-guns for this post. It’s about to get passionate.

In my AP Lit class today we watched the following TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

Sir Ken Robinson speaks of, as he puts it, bringing on the revolution in education. The education system in America is flawed. Very flawed. Implemented with the best of intentions I’m sure, but flawed nonetheless. Reforms have been made in attempts to improve the system, over and over again, reform on top of reform all on top of a broken system. I’m all for fixing what is broken, but at some point one must consider if it is even worth fixing anymore. At what point is the point of no return? In some cases it’s for the best to simply start from scratch…

I love to learn. I hate school.

Public school is awful. At least for me. Truthfully, I don’t know anyone who thinks standardized learning and testing is a fair and efficient process. I drag myself out of bed every single day and work my tail off in classes I can’t see the point in taking; and earn myself a number or a letter as my sense of self worth and identity. As I am not a straight “A” student I am consequentially worth less as a student, as an employee, as a citizen than someone who is. All because I am not equally skilled in Math, Science, English, Art, Foreign Language, and every single required course I am forced to take. I have strengths and I have weaknesses.

If we didn’t each have weaknesses, how could we ever find our strengths?

Unfortunately, according to public education, I am not an individual. I am simply one of many minds to be molded into the same mind as one another in the batch that is the class of 2014.

This system is what makes the members of our society think they have no talents. Everyone has talents, but not everyone is allowed to discover it. Our passions are crushed, shattered and destroyed in the wake of standardized education. You want to dance? You want to major in English? You want to be an electrician? A nature guide? Too bad. At least, that is what public education says. This education system is set up as if there is linearity in life. Doesn’t the education system watch Doctor Who?

“People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but *actually* from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint – it’s more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly… time-y wimey… stuff.” – The Doctor

Life never goes according to plan. Life laughs at your plans. Life does what it wants. Yet, the school systems insist on putting each and every one of its vast many students on the exact same path: College. Not any college! The Liberal Arts, Performing Arts, Sociology, those are all just a joke apparently, just there for laughs. Apparently no one can make a real career out of that. Apparently the world needs nothing but “real jobs” like doctors and engineers. It’s not like all human communities run on a diversity of abilities. Oh wait- they do.

Dear education system, I sincerely apologize that you don’t appreciate a world with plumbers and electricians. Sincerely, every person is priceless.

After High School it is frowned upon to do anything but go to college. So, let me get this straight, students go through twelve years of school, then are encouraged or even shamed into going to at least two-four more years of school. Then students become employees and get a job that may or may not be in their field of study, but it doesn’t matter anyways because said students were probably pressured into studying something “practical” that they have no real fondness for. This new employee now proceeds to endure his/her job for the rest of their life. Sounds bleak.

The hard truth is school gets in the way. School shuns my creativity, stunts my growth as a person and crushes my spirit. Not because I don’t want to learn but because I am not allowed to learn what I enjoy. I am not allowed to experiment, to explore. No one is. How are 18 year olds ever supposed to make life changing decisions when all we’ve ever known is the daily drag of struggling through classes we hate or sleeping through classes that are too easy. What do we know about life? About our talents? Passions? Strengths, weaknesses? Not enough.

The education system has one goal: Get students into college with a cruel number and letter system. Well, school got us there. Now what?

Suddenly when our grades no longer carry any weight we have to ask ourselves: Who am I? Maybe then, we will have the freedom to find our own answer.