Flaws In Current Education System
Have you ever had a disadvantage in a class due to a broken textbook? Have you ever felt like staying in bed all day just because of a teacher you hate? Has a lower grade ever made you feel like a failure when compared to others? School systems in today’s society are like factories. Students are all put into different batches where they are then to be shaped and sculpted into products that meet society’s demands. Demands where everyone wants students that are different and innovative (anadiplosis). Unfortunately, our schools are leading us all to failure. Today, the school system is drifting away from the true focus of education. They are pushing heavy workloads onto their students which are leaving no room for any creativity. From an early age, everyone is told that an education is necessary for a bright future, but what they do not say is how flawed this school education system really is.
Old learning styles, not preparing students for the future, and arising mental illnesses are some examples of what is wrong with the education system. In school today, students are taught by textbooks. They have to read the textbooks, make notes, go home to study these notes, and then come back to write a test on it. This strict structure is killing all sorts of creativity. This strict structure is causing kids to limit their curiosities. This strict structure is denying many to reach their full potentials.
Not everyone learns the same way. Not everyone is able to read something and immediately understand it. Sometimes people just need to visualize the concepts or express it through forms of dance or drama. Take an example of an average B+ student who decides to switch schools in order to go to a specialized arts school where they focus on the creative side of things. There she learns core subjects like math and science through visualizing it by drawing, dramatizing, and even expressing through dance. At that school, she thrives. An average B+ student is transformed into an A+ student. She figured out what she was good at and turned that into her learning style. She became successful in a school who did not follow the old basic curriculum. Imagine what would have happened if she stayed in a regular school.
The old learning curriculum would have destroyed her. Schools are supposed to allow kids to open their minds. They should be able to reach their full potential and flourish with all sorts of new ideas about the world. Future employers value people who are able to generate new ideas. So how are we supposed to get a good job without these valued traits? Furthermore, the problem with the school education system is that they do not prepare students for their future. Schools do not teach students how to do taxes, how to buy a home, or how to pay off a loan. Instead, students are told throughout school that their grades are really important and so this creates the impression that since grades are the only things that matter, it is not important whether or not they actually understand the materials. Students become too focused on achieving a higher grade than their competitors that they do not even care if they are properly learning the concepts or not. The whole idea of school is to prepare students for the outside world. Schools need to teach kids the basic lessons required to survive out there. They also need to teach kids how to be good learners, how to understand what is taught to them so that they will be able to efficiently do their future jobs. The outside world admires those who are creative, who can communicate, and work well with others. However, students cannot show these skills because all they are ever taught are to follow instructions or memorize textbooks. For instance, speaking with my cousin who is currently in university, he says that school does little to prepare students for higher level education. Students wishing to go to university have a tough time getting used to the hard structure. He feels that schools can do more to help prepare their kids to gain a better understanding. Schools should inform their students on what the future holds and how important learning the concepts as well as getting good grades are so that students can get an idea of what to expect in the future.
In addition, schools do not have a healthy environment. A serious side effect of all the high expectations put on students is mental illnesses. Kids end up being so stressed for achieving good grades and getting into a proper university that it causes them to be unhealthy. The mountains of work (Hyperbola), lack of sleep, and pressure from teachers and parents cause mental health illnesses like depression or anxiety developing in kids. It really is sad to see schools be the source of mental illness. It is no wonder that kids have no motivation to come to school. An accurate example of this would be a girl I know who suffers from anxiety. She became so stressed out during a chemistry test that she started to panic which lead her to start crying. No one is supposed to panic or cry over simple things such as tests. This sadness due to a single test may lead, not only this one friend but others as well, to get depressed, which can cause them to dislike school, which can cause them to stop showing up for classes, which will end with them to drop out of school. Unfortunately, the education system is developed in such a way that it is causing students to be unhappy which should never exist.
To sum up, there are many flaws in the education system. Old learning styles, not preparing students for the future, and arising mental illnesses are not the only faults with the education system. If we really want our society to move forward as a whole, then we must do something about the education system, we must fundamentally change it. Kids should be able to discover the answers to their curiosities. They should fly freely parallel to birds and strive to achieve what they want for the future without having piles of homework to worry about. All in all, students should never be defined based on grades and instead be steered into becoming a better version of themselves. Improving the education system will not only help shape young individuals but it will also help shape our future as a society.
