2nd Draft
Throughout our lives, there is one thing that almost everyone has heard at different points in their life, and that is how important it is to go to school and get an education. Sure, school is important, but is it really all that necessary? The highly-structured environment, the enforced curriculum, or the forced class readings? Maybe this school system of attending for twelve to thirteen years is not the best system for the youth of America. As John Gatto asks in his article on how public education cripples children: “Do we really need school? I don't mean education, just forced schooling: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year, for twelve years. Is this deadly routine really necessary? “ Is it? As a recent graduate of this type of school routine, I think I can answer with a truthful “No”. First of all, why does school have to take, in it's entirety, such a long period of time? In elementary school, we are taught the basics of math, English, science, and history or some other type of social study. In middle school, those basics are taken and expanded upon, with math becoming algebra, and English class becoming “Language Arts”. Then, we reach high school, with all the classes that are necessary and many classes that are not. There's really no way to avoid schooling taking up such a long period of a child's life, but honestly, a couple years could be taken off by taking away the enforced method that schools use today. Instead of forcing a student to take Geometry, or Physics, the student should be able to ask him or herself what they plan on pursuing as their career later in life, and take the classes that are best suited towards that career. At some point, in I'm sure almost every student's education, have the following questions been asked: “What is the point of this? When am I ever going to use this in real life?”. These questions, in my experience, usually come up during history, science, and math classes. From a teacher's point of view, this plan might also work in their favor as well. Instead of teaching twenty to twenty-five students, with some students that don't care about the class, the teacher is left with the students who care, and want to the learn the subject being taught. Instead of part of the class being alert, and the other part goofing off, or sleeping, with this plan, the students who want to learn the subject at hand are learning in a productive environment without distractions. Also, there is less stress for the teacher, with a smaller class. Going to school is necessary, despite what I've said before. However, it could be done in a better way. Maybe a better place for the question as to why school is necessary could be applied to college. Everyone needs a degree to be successful later in life, right? But why does the road to getting a degree have to be so repetitive? As Mark Edmunson says in his article on modern college students, “ I don't teach to amuse, to divert, or even to be interesting.”. Okay, Mr. Edmunson, no wonder you seem to worry about evaluations. As I've said before, school should be more suited for the student's interests and what they might want to do later in life. Instead of all these classes that seem more like review (i.e. College Algebra, Earth Science), college students should be taking the courses that are more suited for their majors, or future majors. School can be a great place to be some times, at other times, it can be a total drag. There are ways to improve the learning experience for everybody, so that everyone can benefit from it. School doesn't have to be a place to be bored at for a long period of time. It can be a great experience for all who go there. |
Reflection
After rewriting my paper with a radical revision, I found it much easier to write about if mandatory schooling is necessary rather than enthusiasm in the classroom. I still have things to touch up, as well as expand upon. Things like me being a little repetitive in places, or grammatical errors. |