Our School System

Part One-Why Our School System Isn't Working

    Albert Einstein once said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid"

    The modern-day schooling system makes the fish climb the tree. Not only that but climb back down then do a ten-mile-run. It turns millions of people into robots like it is fun. Teachers might not realize how many kids relate to the fish in einstein's quote. Trying to swim upstream, never finding their gifts, thinking they are stupid, believing they are useless. School has killed creativity, individuality, and it is intellectually abusive.

    Take a look at a modern-day phone then look at one from 150 years ago. Take a look at a car from today then from 150 years ago. They both look and function differently. But take a look at a school today and 150 years ago. They look the same. Neither has changed. 

    School was made to put people in factories. It explains why teachers put students in rows, tell us to sit still, raise our hands before we want to talk. We are given a short break to eat, then for eight hours a day, are told what to think. We constantly have to compete to get an A. A letter in which determines the product's quality. Hence Grade A Meat.

    I get it. Back then times were different. We all have a past. But the world has progressed and now we need people who think creatively, innovatively, critically, independently, and with the ability to connect with one another.

    But get this, every scientist will tell you that no two brains are the same. Parents with more than one kid will tell you the same. So why does school treat us like cookie cutters or snapback hats? Saying this, "One size fits all," crap.

    If a doctor prescribed the same medicine to all of their patients the results would be tragic, so many people would get sick. Yet in school, this is exactly what happens. This educational malpractice where one teacher stands in front of twenty or so kids, each one has different strengths, needs, gifts, and different dreams. Yet school still gives the same thing, the same way to each and every student.

    And the way teachers are treated is a shame. Teachers have the most important jobs on the planet yet they're underpaid. It's no wonder so many students are short changed. Teachers should earn just as much as doctors because a doctor can do heart surgery and save the life of a kid, but a great teacher can reach the heart of that kid and allow them to truly live. See, teachers are heroes that often get blamed, but they're not the problem because they work in a system without many options or rights. 

    Curriculums are created by policymakers, most of which have never taught a day in their life. They are just obsessed with standardized tests. They think bubbling in a multiple choice question will determine success. That is outlandish. These tests are too crude to be used and should be abandoned. Fredrik J Kelly, the creator or those tests even said it himself, "These tests are too crude to use".

    If we continue down this road, the results will be bad. If we can customize health-care, cars, and facebook pages, then it is our duty to do the same for education.

    Countries like Finland are doing impressive things. They have shorter school days, teachers make a decent wage, homework is non-existent, and they focus on collaboration instead of competition. The thing is their education system outperforms every other country in the world.