Equality Begins with Changing Education
This piece was inspired by the lack of motivation in my school. As one person of many in my generation who feels this way, I wanted to talk about it because this needs to be heard.
Sometimes it seems that education isn’t about learning anymore. It has become another business to this capitalist world. We, as a society, are more concerned about passing standardized tests than taking true wisdom with us for the rest of our life. It is unnerving that students at the age of five start school and feel they aren’t “smart enough.” Making children feel this way creates a generation that doesn’t have enough motivation to continue education. The “common core” is not doing much justice to help children learn.
The mind-set that high school sets up for the next generation is that everyone should attend college. The message is that many will have better jobs if they get a degree. This changes the perspective of education and other forms of growing as a person. Maybe the setup of the school, where if a student doesn’t pass Regents, that student can’t graduate, creates this mentality. Although this may seem like an ideal way to see how far students have progressed, it puts too much pressure on them. They already have to worry about college and the SAT. Without adding these tests, there is enough pressuring them that can lead to failure.
When I hear people wondering about students failing in the United States, I think of my honors class. I see the honors classes getting more privileges and resources than the average classes. That’s a problem. It creates a status and a label that tells the average students they are not good enough to have this support. If schools keep providing to honors classes unequally, it sends a message to other students that their efforts are meaningless. Students should feel proud to be part of an honors class; this achievement should make honors students feel like leaders for their peers. However, honors classes should not make an average student feel belittled.
In the future, I hope schools will support an average student just like they support an honors student. I hope they will keep students motivated and focus on their growth over their test results. In a world where political issues like race and immigration can make students feel like they are already worth less than other people, I hope for school to be a place of empowerment. Everyone should feel like they are worth an equal opportunity to succeed and grow. Education can be that place.