Blogs are for Those Who...

I heard a professor once say that blogs are for people who want attention which may sometimes be true-but that is often misunderstood as "all of the time" :). I have also heard that blogging allows people to release their withheld emotions. Instead of screaming at somebody who has consistently frustrated you, you can write your thought down which will allow you to extinguish your emotions. This theory is most likely also true for some people. I have once or twice even written a blog while emotionally peaked, so I can vouch for this to be a legitimate reason for blogging. Blogging is important--and most essential--to me for another reason though. Blogging gives me the opportunity to give information to people in a feasible way: it's simple, it has high potential, I can stay better hidden (which is hardly true), and I will not be as easily rejected. I blog whenever I feel I must; not during a specific time, nor do I stress about a certain amount per month. I blog whenever I have an interesting idea or point. I blog because I enjoy it; it is fun. Blogging is an attempt by me to help those who I will never meet in person. This is why I choose to blog and why I choose to write.

My Paper on Public Education- 12/6/11

Public (High School) Education

            America, like any other society, has imperfections that a number of us recognize and have a desire to change. Since we are all born into differing circumstances and beliefs systems, our priorities on what needs to be renovated often differ. From my experiences, I have seen that some of our most significant, and hidden, problems originate from our years in the public educational system. All the way from elementary school onto high school, American laws and expectations have shaped public schooling into an institution based on conditioning and propaganda. Throughout the years, we have had bills such as No Child Left Behind passed that have forced teachers and administrators to rethink their methods. Like any other issue, it is essential that the majority of Americans first recognize that problems exist in our educational system. Our education is crucial because it is the bridge that leads us from child into young adult. I will make an attempt to divulge the ideals and misinformation that public education tends to teach, whether they do it purposefully or ignorantly.

            In the U.S., every state had passed education laws by 1918 that required children to go to school either when they reached the age of 16 or until they completed the eighth grade. This means that we are forced to go to school for at least eight years, (not including kindergarten). Many would argue that it is important for children to attend school because they need knowledge to survive and it gives our youth responsibilities. It is feared that if we aren’t forced to attend school then many children would choose not to do so. This may be the case but is still one that has not been proved, but instead suggested. This is also assuming that what children and young adults are being taught is important information that they can carry onto their adult lives. John Dewey, an education philosopher, called this “progressive education”  which refers to our country’s attempt to make public learning relevant to people’s lives. Now it is true that we learn fundamentals throughout schooling such as how to add, or read, or how specific processes function. In our society, it is necessary to know these things and that is why public school is there to teach it. The problem is not necessarily what things we are taught, but is instead how we are taught them and what we are not taught. In a history class, the teacher will tell us how something was without any possibility of refuting it. We aren’t given the opportunity to question it, and if we do, we are out-casted. Typically, our history teachers will tell us how communism was bad and failed; and how Karl Marx is evil because of his demonic system. We aren’t taught that communism can in fact be a decent system if it is done properly. We aren’t taught that it may in fact be even fairer than capitalism. According to our mentors and educators, capitalism is an un-bias system that gives each of us equal opportunity. That would include minorities who are brought up in ghettos without the advantage of having a decently funded schooling system. Also, most of what we are taught in public schools is forgotten because we store it in our short-term memories. We take hundreds of tests during school and must memorize specific definitions or facts in order to get a good grade. These good grades are essential because they are what get us into a good college--which eventually leads to a good career and financial success. There is a void in public education when it comes to imaginative thinking. There are also no classes that teach us how to think more effectively or efficiently. We don’t learn how to challenge beliefs or systems that we have been installed in. Instead, school continues to feed our ignorance as it gradually shapes us into what society wants us to be. I complain about how public school teaches us how to conform and how to be successful; but maybe that is what we should be taught. If we conform to norms and become agreeable, then we will have simpler lives without as much conflict. We can take advantage of the opportunities we are given and strive for an ideal life without as much suffering as possible. Also, if we want to be financially successful then public education is very effective. It is true in America that we must be well-educated and work hard to become wealthy and powerful. The argument I have is that we are being tricked into live full of unhappiness. Financial gain will only bring us happiness for so long; until we decide that we don’t like who we are and don’t enjoy what we are doing. We also need to realize that an ideal life is impossible and that it shouldn’t be our goal. Classes need to be less black and white; but if people don’t care, then maybe public education is doing a good job.

            A great contributor to the deterioration of American public education is the rise of standardized testing. Since No Child Left Behind was passed in 2001, standardized tests—such as SATs and CAT—have dominated public education. This law requires schools to reach specific assessment levels if they are to receive government funding. In order to assess these schools tests are given that determine how well the schools are doing. Test results have greatly aided universities with deciding who they will accept. If we were to eliminate standardized tests then universities would be forced to higher their GPA expectations to an unrealistic standard. Also, test results have been an accurate representation of how well a student will do in the future. The most significant result of standardized tests is that teachers and administrators are more accountable for their student’s production. This accountability should motivate teachers to work harder and more efficiently. Although there is no empirical evidence that this theory is true, those in favor of standardized testing will use these arguments to support their legitimacy. When some teachers were asked if they felt they were more accountable, many believed that they wanted to be accountable; but not for something in which they barely had an influence on. Teachers aren’t given the questions for standardized tests and therefore don’t necessarily know what specific facts and definitions to teach. Teachers can be held accountable in other ways such as visual assessments. When we establish this “only one true answer” system, students aren’t taught how to think critically or how to question. They are instead taught that answers have only one solution which must be bubbled in. Teachers aren’t given the freedom to apply their creative teaching methods and are instead encouraged to feed answers into their student’s minds. Human beings are all different but these tests expect us to each grow at the same rate. These tests, no matter how un-bias they may seem, are also unequal. There are factors other than intelligence and work ethic that determine a child’s test scores. A child’s background and community are important to their success. This system allows those who are more fortunate to continue their prosperity while those who are less fortunate continue to be oppressed. It is also discriminatory against students who think more abstractly. Not everyone has a gift in math or reading skills; but that doesn’t mean that they should be discounted. The same issue arises with IQ tests where only one part of the brain is actually measured. Many also believe that setting high standards will improve the outcome of education; yet, young adults are entering college without basic grammar skills or thinking skills. When we arrive at college, we must develop a new way of thinking that differs from our single solution mentality. Knowledge isn’t something that is continuously fed and memorized; knowledge is something that we must learn by ourselves with the help of our teachers. We don’t remember most of what we learn unless we find it useful or significant. For these reasons, the effects of standardized testing have resulted into a worse, rather than more efficient, system. Since the arrival of No Child Left Behind, congress has increased educational funding from $42.2 billion to $54.4 in 2007. We have increased funding for a worse educational program. Despite its ill effects, public education has been causing poor mental health even before standardized testing became so influential.

            The most significant lessons we learn in public schools are not from our classrooms, but from our social interactions with those who we are supposed to be similar to. Usually, we will have a group of friends that we can often carry throughout our schooling careers (despite the occasional adding and subtracting of certain friends). Because of parent’s failure to be properly educated, these boys and girls have almost identical beliefs and expectations for one another. We will not see a boy act sensitive; nor will see a woman being aggressive or un-womanlike. If we act incongruent with public expectations then we will be made fun of, out-casted, or even physically harmed. If a student feels they are different than those around them, they will be forced to repress their feelings to make it through. Teachers don’t often help because they themselves are stuck in these beliefs. High school—which isn’t where behaviors originate but where they blossom—is our life for four years. We don’t know what is beyond it and therefore attempt to make it as enjoyable as possible. The absence of true knowledge is what leads to these stereotypes and behaviors. Teachers even sometimes promote “being a teenager” or “being a man”. This is where we learn how to act and who to be. We pack away all of our instincts, drives, energy, and genuine feelings to become more agreeable. Despite my complaints, this conditioning that we go through is in line with what we will deal with in adult life. We have to know how to hide certain feelings, because if we don’t then we will be unprofessional. Also, if we want to get beautiful women then we most likely have to act tough and manly. These are true and important to know if we have these desires. Public school also teaches us discipline by punishing us for any wrongdoing. If we don’t learn how to behave then we will grow up to be immature, and have a better chance of not living up to what we can become. Administrators typically do a decent job of asserting power and making students fear them. That is a similar relationship that many of us will have with our boss or bosses. These socially learned lessons are very accurate to what we will face; and high school allows us to encounter situations that we can learn from and apply later. Despite the legitimacy of those arguments , public education is still missing fundamental lessons that leave us without answers. Public schools don’t teach us that being different is natural and that we will be happy if get past other’s ignorance. We aren’t taught how to build a strong personal foundation, but are instead weak and insecure because of social pressures. There isn’t a class on how to be self-sufficient or genuine. College is where I was first introduced to the practice of “critical thinking”. School is where we become who we are going to be for the rest of our lives unless we are enlightened. It is difficult to find any person who is consistently joyous or content with their life; and I believe that public education is a clandestine culprit.

            I have continuously been disappointed by the attitudes and decisions of human beings, and by intensely looking at our society, I’ve discovered that public education is a massive contributor. Until about the 1840s, schooling not available for the poor; nor was it available for women--so these situations have gotten better. Still, it is important to recognize issues that still exist and that are contributing to the frailness of people. There are certain things we are discouraged to question, and as a result, we develop ill wills and non-definable diseases. Schooling is important and almost anyone can agree on that. It is also important that teachers know how (and are allowed) to teach properly. Schools are treated like prisons with locked gates and bells telling students when it’s time to go. It is a factory where students are on a conveyor belt without the opportunity to get off. The majority of us may see school as a necessary path that cannot be ideal; but that is a justification for not wanting or caring enough to change it. Human beings have extraordinary potential and if we don’t fix America’s schooling system then we will always be ill willed and weak.