Public School Reforms

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Public schooling systems today are hindering, rather than helping, the creativity and individuality of high school-aged students who are looking not only for their future, but for themselves as well. What needs to be changed in order for students to get the most from their high school education? Much research has gone into this, resulting in differing opinions, multiple methods of change, and thousands of other questions. Some researchers feel that too much class time is spent forcing students to learn advanced science, math, and language arts; others believe that these same classes should be the main focus of schools in order to increase intelligence. This begs the question of how to measure the intelligence of students in order to find what they need as an individual. Is there a way to measure how capable an individual is? There are thousands of different types of intelligence, so how does one label the intellectual capacity of anyone by using a number-based system? Those being tested by these defective methods are going to become the leaders of their country and must learn how to effectively do so. Education must be reformed in order to secure the future of the United States of America.

As time goes by, American citizens find themselves conforming to society and molding to the changes surrounding them. Why, then, are education systems remaining as they were hundreds of years ago? In his book The Element, Dr. Ken Robinson points out that the current systems of education were designed in “times that were dominated by the Industrial Revolution in Europe and America” (13). This refers back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, approximately 300 years ago. Basic skills in math, science, and language were essential for findin...

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...e the education that fits their future roles in life and current systems of education are not focusing enough on these subjects. Perhaps those in charge will see this. Perhaps they will reform how they educate their children. Perhaps they never will, but in order to succeed and keep from becoming a third-world country, the United States of America must find a way to modify education for the benefit of themselves, their children, and the future of their country.

Works Cited

“How Standardized Testing Damages Education.” 20 Aug 2007. n. p. FairTest. Web. 22 Mar 2011.

Lumsden, Linda. “Student Motivation to Learn.” n. p. ERIC Clearinghouse. Web. 6 Apr 2011.

Robinson, Ken. The Element. Strand, London: Viking Penguin, 2009. p. Print

Roekel, Dennis Van. “Reforming High Schools for the 21st Century-An Imperative.” NEA policy brief (2008): n. p. Web. 17 March 2011.

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