Hello to all Americans who care to listen,
This is the first of many blogs to come that are going to point out the issues that are destroying America day by day. I warn everyone now that these blogs are going to be very blunt, honest, and controversial. I am going to start this series off with the problems and major issues in the American education system that are truly destroying America's future in this world. These issues must be fixed now, not in a few years or months. The reason for this is because as we sit idly by doing nothing, generations of American's are being ruined every day by the very system that claims to be inducing mental stimulation and the development of students. The blame for this problem does not reside solely on the education system however, the complete failure and collapse of the families in America are also to blame.
First off, as Americans we take for granted the education system that people across the world would die to have the opportunity to attend. Children, at an early age, are introduced into kindergarten where the main goal of the "teachers" is to teach the children the alpha bit, the classical number system, and how to tie your shoes. But let us be honest for one minute here. What really happens in kindergarten? Parents drop there children off to be baby sat for half of the day, where the best thing that happens (according to the children's account) is snack time and recess. Children learn at an early age through this futile process that the only thing they have to look forward to is the times where they get to have "fun". Of course it is extremely important for kids to have time to exercise by running around and being kids, but is this the only thing that they should be taking from there time at school? Children learn through their early introduction into public school that school revolves around "fun" instead of learning.
The next step for American students is the elementary school education. The children at this stage in their education are abruptly introduced to homework. The children's homework assignments are given to the children to give to their parents who are supposed to guide them in their effort to complete the nightly assignments. Now here inlays a major issue. How many children can be trusted to remember to give their parents a sheet of paper that most of them can barely read. Most children at this age, once released from school can only think of what snack is waiting for them, and what they are going to do with their friends. Now for the papers that do make it home to the parents, how many of these parents are so exhausted from the days work that they do not take the time to sit down and spend time mentoring their young child's mind and thought process? How many parents think it is the teachers responsibility to "teach" their child and not their own responsibility? Now granted, there are parents who do take the time to sit down and help further their child's education, but I am sad to admit these parents are in the minority. The issue with this is that the first years of a child's education are the building blocks for everything they will learn until their education is complete.
The next major step in the education system is high school. Now as an American what are the first couple thoughts that pop into your mind when you hear "high school"? Prom, parties, sporting events, rules, rebels, "NERDS"? Once kids are introduced into the catastrophe referred to as high school things really start going to hell. The most important thing that these students are faced with is establishing their position in the social pecking order of the school. These kids are bombarded with sports, clubs, and a social life. These students, now on top of all this other clutter now consuming their life, must try to gain somewhat of an education. The biggest issue of all, is that the education they are receiving is teaching them to all think the same exact way. The students are not taught to think on their own, they are taught to achieve average grades on standardized tests. Where is the ingenuity in this, where is the creative thinking? Why are all the students treated as cattle, being mind branded to pass the ACT and SAT? When will the students be encouraged to learn and think for themselves? How many students in high school have you talked to that have said they like school? High school has become a social hang out for students who are supposed to be learning. The students are placed in class rooms where they have to raise their hand to get an agenda book signed so that they can use the restroom. These students often give little thought or effort in their studies and can barely keep their mind off of what they will be doing in the coming weekend. They are required to attend school for eight hours a day, where their education becomes more of a burden and a chore then a privilege. If the student does not want to come to school let them stay home. They do not need to be placed in a class room where they will learn next to nothing and hinder other students who actually want to learn. Requiring students to attend school places a negative connotation on the process of learning. This negative connotation makes the student feel that they have to learn, it deters them from wanting to learn and having a desire to learn. High school destroys any work ethic and discipline that may still reside in the student in regards to education for a majority of the students that attend high school.
The next step in this long road of education process for many students is university level education. When I entered college I had a conversation with a young man who came from India. In this conversation I asked him what he looked forward to about college the most. He replied that the thing he most looked forward to was learning everything he could about science so that one day he can solve the energy crisis this world is now faced with. When is the last time you have talked to an an American college student that gave you such an earnest and heart felt response in regards to learning? American students pour into college to have money leeched from them, while they party and give little to no concern about their studies. Also, many of the students that actually do care, are not chasing their dreams of achieving the degree they want because they feel it will not make them the most money. How many college students that are products of the American education system are simply striving for the highest pay check they can get? And where does this thought process come from? This thought process comes from high school and their educational building block years where they are never taught to learn, simply to obtain good grades so that they can get into college so that they can get a job that will pay them six figures plus a year. These students give little care to actually learning and bettering themselves. This attitude is simply fostered more in college. For those of you that have attended a university, how many professors knew your name? how many professors did you have that would actually take time to help you? How many professors did you have that actually cared how you did in the class, or where you simply just another statistic to be added to their tenure?
In closing the American education does very little to enhance a students mental abilities and instead hinders them from achieving the highest potential they are actually capable of. This must change my friends, and we must be this change. We must come up with solutions to turn this problem around before America truly is crippled by our very own educational system. Where are the next brilliant minds like Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein? Are they being buried in the educational system? that's for you to decide.
