Are you forced daily to swallow the numbing pill of mundane
curriculum? Are its contents filled with ceaseless lectures and assignments
that leave you with a bitter after taste? Do the pill’s side effects include a
common case of senioritis and you’re not even a senior? Or even worse, the mere
thought of school brings you to uncontrollable chills. What is more, you blame
the change of seasons when in fact the closer you advance towards that excuse
for an educational establishment you irrepressibly cough and sneeze, sometimes
simultaneously. Yeah, me too—shiver.
I’m sick, sick with a chronic illness; an affliction that exacerbates as I age.
The malady thrives within the walls I am mandated to attend. Indeed, for twelve
incessant years viruses and germs bombarded my being and continue to as apathetic
teachers augment, dull futile homework assignments proliferate, and
standardized tests stymie a teacher’s imagination. As the federal and
state governments inject their impersonal academic standards, creativity in the
classroom diminishes. Teachers, notably, lose passion and voice for their
subject when they are compelled to manipulate their syllabus to specific
requisites. Not to mention, the tests are marginalizing to the learning process
and stifle student individualism.
My Grievances
Lately my patience for public school education has taken a
nose dive. In English, for instance, my class has been reading The Great
Gatsby. For the past week
or so my peers and I have received a reading quiz over a chapter we have read
independently. The routine itself minifies my interest, but the fact that the
quizzes are designed specifically to imitate the Standards of Learning (SOL)
format exasperates me further. Not to mention, almost everything my teacher
assigned this year means to prepare us for several SOLs. For example, every day
before the Writing SOL we corrected grammatically incorrect sentences. Then, we
composed persuasive essays that required rigid elements to ensure that we meet
Virginia’s standards. Even the atmosphere of each class is subtly suffused with
the dry air of preparing for the SOL. All the while, one day I witnessed AP English
students in the same grade as myself under the same teacher performing a
Socratic seminar about their research and thoughts about the death penalty. Now
which class would you rather take?
Oh but that’s not all. History class has cultivated personal
resentment as well. Each period is usually and mainly comprised of teacher
banter and humdrum power points. And recently, while making notecards for a
test, I noticed on the SOL pages of my history textbook that the power points
and tests literally copy the standards word for word. Well, I benefited because
I knew exactly what letter to choose on multiple test questions. I yearn,
however, for more than regurgitation from my education.
The ambiguity of tests and the “choose the best answer”
concept, too, have irked me tremendously. To illustrate, on another history
test the question had a chart that stated the way WWII veterans returning to
America were received and inquired the way Vietnam veterans were received.
The chart stated:
Veterans of WWII returned to a grateful
and supportive nation.
The choices I was caught between were phrased along the
lines of:
Vietnam veterans often faced indifference or hostility from
Americans.
Vietnam veterans faced universal indifference or hostility
from Americans.
I chose the second option because the universal verbalism of
the WWII veterans’ return prompted my assumption that the test sought a direct
contrast. Unfortunately, to my demise I was found incorrect and my deductive
reasoning failed me.
I knew that the Vietnam War was a highly unpopular war and
so I automatically eliminated the choices that contradicted that fact; but, I
was considered wrong based on the difference between “universal” and “often”. What exactly does universal mean anyways? Everyone including their
grandmothers ostracized them? The answers are so vague that there is hardly a
distinction between the two choices. And I had to ask, isn’t it more important
for me to recognize that Vietnam veterans were treated harshly not the amount
of mistreatment they faced, which is uncertain anyways?
By the way, I noticed in the subsequent test that the same
question was included with others that were commonly missed on various tests. It,
however, was rephrased and made more specific.
My Point
Anyhow, I intend to convey that non-fact based test
questions or answer choices teach students to coincide their thinking with the
person who develops the test. In other words, if you interpret information
differently you are wrong. Has someone forgotten that we are all human?
We have disparate DNA, brains, upbringings, experiences, opinions, and inferences,
yet we are expected to align our thoughts with other humans in order to be
considered right. That sounds pretty
bogus to me.
Not to bash the teachers because they are just products of
this standardized test culture. And there have been moments in those classes
where I have enjoyed myself. But those have been when we have open discussions
or watch interesting videos that go in depth about what we are learning about. Why
can’t there be more of that? History and English are my favorite subjects but
the emphasis on SOLs and the stale learning environment it produces has fueled
my bitterness towards the classes.
Ultimately my frustration is rooted in that questions that
are based on opinion are treated like there is a right and a wrong. Or the
answer choices may be partially right or wrong, which then assumes that the
only person's opinion that matters is the test creator’s. I, on the other hand,
find it marvelous that we all perceive and conclude diversely. That is what fundamentally
distinguishes us from each other and makes this a beautiful world. The
educational standards implemented by the government, however, suppress the
foundation of humanity in conforming us to an ideal concept.
Consequently, students resort to working the system. We formulate
strategies and adhere to the doctrines of the authority in order to make the
grade. Thus, we lose our individuality and become grotesquely alike in our
thinking and beliefs. We then agree with the authority, never questioning them. Therefore, like in the movie The Wall
we, as students, fall into the meat grinder of education and evolve precisely
into the uniform student we ought to
be. Somewhere people have confused indoctrination with education.
The Solution
Instead of emphasizing tests schools should be fostering
creativity, instilling a love for learning, and encouraging individuality.
Educators can do this by utilizing their curriculum to harness essential skills
that can be applied throughout life or more specifically any career path. For
example, skills like communication, accepting failure, overcoming challenges,
listening and respecting different viewpoints, collaboration, thinking logically,
and promoting honorable character. Overall, schools should focus their
intentions on presenting mechanisms by which students can apply their knowledge
and proficiencies.
Moreover, teachers shouldn't shun or dismiss ideas that can
be substantiated with evidence. In areas that are opinion based a teacher
should declare that an idea is plausible, or not plausible. That then permits a
student to either provide better or additional proof or explore different
ideas. Telling a student they are wrong
just because "I said so” or “they said so" instills inadequate
feelings, belittles their ideas, and forces them back into the meat grinder.
Tests are critical to many subjects but in matters of
opinion the right or wrong concept is simply perverse. Often times the questions
and answers are confounding, murky, and lack clarity. As a result, tests become
not a mechanism to determine one's comprehension, but to determine one's ability
to test. Understanding testing strategies and the ability to read questions
fast and bubble in answers will never serve a purpose in entering the workforce
or general life application. In addition, this accentuation on testing just
intensifies student stress and foments cheating. Ultimately, this communicates that
the end justifies the means. Integrity is forgotten in the pursuit of an ‘A’.
How's that for spawning conscientious citizens?
What is more, if a student learns differently or cannot
handle the amount of work that a higher level class entails they should not be
subliminally punished. Meaning, they should not be penalized with drier
curriculum, worse teachers, and more standardized tests. I would love to take
AP classes in order to reap the academic perks that I am lacking in honors
classes. I, however, wasn't prepared to take them this year because I struggle
with anxiety and my learning style is often slow and meticulous. Regardless,
all levels should be promoting critical thinking--that doesn't have a right or
wrong, and employs student zealousness for learning.
My ideas may be a bit idealistic but if schools were allowed
more freedom, there was more school competition, and better teachers were
rewarded with better pay, the possibility of implementing these notions seems
significantly more attainable. Unfortunately, the money in standardized tests
is more attractive to many schools and unions continue to put the teacher's
needs before the student's. Change, therefore, will require someone to oppose
the lures of easy money.
As students age more begin to hate school and resent the
inevitable pressure it creates. We can have both challenging coursework as well
as engaging, interesting material but it will necessitate ingenuity on behalf
of the educators. Fostering individualism, an avidness for learning, and
enterprising attitudes is obtainable, but educators must actualize it. Chiefly,
students embody the future so educators must inquire, “Are we championing
individuals or manufacturing another brick in their wall?”
Want to contact me? Email me at oliviascott97@yahoo.com
Haven't seen The Wall? Watch the education scene HERE
