I started school at the age of four. I don't remember much about those early years...just that my favorite subject was recess, I was the only kid at my lunch table who ate my fruit before dessert, and I always got really frustrated when things went wrong or didn't make sense. I was drafted into the Gifted and Talented program, but all I can remember from that was making pictures out of spaghetti. In fourth grade, my mom started homeschooling me, and I thrived. I was ahead of my public school counterparts in math, science, reading, and history, and I loved it! I loved being able to go at my own pace, which had always been faster than most of my classmates, and I loved what I was learning. Then I went back to public school.

My freshman year of high school was my first time back in the public school system. It had been five years, and I didn't know what to expect. I met some nice people, took some cool classes, and had some great teachers. I was a nerd, but I was okay with that. Unfortunately, that year was when I started to notice flaws in the educational system. Before the first day, even, I started noticing strange inconsistencies between the school and my previous homeschool experience. I met with my counselor who ignored the transcript my mom had typed up, disregarded the perfect score I had received the previous year on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, and wrote me off as a 'homeschool kid' who would come in to high school at a lower level than my peers. Had it not been for some of the brilliant teachers I had my freshman year, I would be even more behind than I feel public school has already made me.

I was signed up for Algebra B, a basic math class that many took in eighth grade. It was so easy, and I was bored every day of class. My math teacher, a man who has since helped me in many ways during my high school career, noticed this and offered to let me do an independent study Geometry class with him. Thanks to him, I was able to get back on track in math and finish high school mathematics with AP Calculus my senior year. Similarly, my counselor recommended that I take two study hall classes over Band and Spanish. My mom and I pushed for Spanish, and succeeded, but I wasn't able to sign up for Band. Luckily, my study hall teacher was the Band director! I talked to him on 'meet your teachers night' before school started, and as soon as he found out that I played piano and was interested in playing percussion, he recruited me. He spoke to my counselor, and I was able to forgo study hall for Band, and I am so glad I did. Band has become my life, and I can't imagine not beating on my bass drum every summer! It is an activity that I plan to continue even in college.

Now comes the bad part. This is where I pretend the American educational system is a solid object and I smash it with a hammer representing good sense. Don't worry, I'll try to sprinkle in some of the good things my high school has done over the years, but from here on out, they'll be few and far between.

On that note, let's start with a 'tour' of my high school. The first thing you might notice is the size; our building is small but very overcrowded with our estimated 3,500 students. In the front, to the left of the four main doors, are the words 'Thompson Valley High School,' and the school's street address. Some of the letters tend to go missing sometimes, but we all know what it's supposed to say. Upon entering the building you will step onto the tile floor of the small cafeteria. To the left is the front office and past that, the hallway leads to Spanish, Science, some French, and some English classes. To the right is the auditorium, one of the best in the state. Keep going and you will pass some Music, Art, JROTC, Business, English and various other classes, as well as the Campus Monitor's office. In the back is our recently renovated, but still worn parking lot, surrounded by the trailers we have to use as classrooms. Even further back is Ray Patterson Field; it is the district's football field, used by all three schools in our town, and is one of the nicest parts of our school.

Our school is dirty, moldy, cracked, and torn. It is better than many, but it definitely does not reflect positivity or encouragement. Our classroom walls are a dirty yellowish color that they say helps keep students focused, but I disagree. Did you know that the color yellow is proven to make babies cry? If I could change the walls of Thompson Valley, I would recruit the students in AP Art to paint murals depicting TVHS Eagle spirit, equality, and encouragement to learn. I believe that students will be more able to learn in a beautiful, fun environment. So much time is wasted with students complaining about our school's looks! Walking the halls and sitting in class, I always hear “our school is so ghetto,” “I wasn't gonna throw my trash on the floor, but there's already so much there anyway,” “maybe if we throw my pencil at the ceiling, it'll go through the moldy wet spot and stay up there,” and even stranger things! If our school was clean and nice looking, less time would be spent complaining, and more time would be spent learning!

Now that I have more or less covered the 'physical' flaws that have marred my education, we can move on to the inner workings. For me, extracurricular activities are a big part of high school. They help relieve stress, keep me focused, and make me want to work harder. Unfortunately, many of these activities are being cut and students are not being encouraged to participate in them. I was inspired by participating in the Future Business Leaders of America. Through FBLA, I learned many useful new skills. I practically forced one of my friends to join the next year, because I was hoping the effects FBLA had on me would help him; he is very smart, but was unmotivated and often got into trouble. It was when he started doing drugs that I got very worried. But FBLA changed all that! He got clean and started working hard to make it to the state competition. Activities have that effect! I have seen the same thing happen through Band, Knowledge Bowl, sports, and other activities, and now those activities are being taken away! Those feelings of frustration that I felt in elementary school when I didn't understand something are resurfacing, because this doesn't even make sense! Why would the school cut programs that help students learn and stay out of trouble? And the same goes for certain classes, too. Art, Music, Videography, and other popular elective classes are being taken away due to budget cuts. These are the classes that we use to unwind; they help us stay focused in the rest of our classes! Plus, students who are involved in Music and Art generally do better in class and on standardized tests. And yet, my school cut many of these classes after spending a lot of money on a media system that they rarely use.

And that is one of the biggest problems in our school system: wasteful spending. The school puts the important funds that could go a long way toward helping students into things that we don't want or need! Popular, helpful teachers are being let go so the school can pay for unnecessary standardized tests, but those teachers are exactly what we need to build a good foundation for our school system. But it is true that no matter how responsibly the money is spent, there is not enough. Many people resist raising taxes to fund public schools, not realizing (or perhaps not caring) that they wouldn't just be helping pay for lunches, books, computers, and other much needed supplies, but that they would be funding the future! I am honestly worried about our country's future workforce, and taxpayers should be as well! Many of my classmates can not even tell when to use the correct 'they're,' 'their,' or 'there,' let alone function in an efficient workforce. In fact, just last year a Senior in my 'Mythology and Science Fiction' class asked me to tell her the meaning of the word 'oblivious;' I commented on the irony of her question, and she proceeded to ask me what 'irony' is.

Now let's talk about AP classes. I support the idea of a set of classes designed for the students who want to move faster and who deserve to. I signed up for AP classes expecting a level of intelligence, commitment, and drive that I could not find in my regular classes. I expected an experience more akin to my years being home schooled. But no. It was on my first day of AP US History that I discovered why my school is known as the 'AP School' in my town. It is not because there are many smart, motivated students walking the halls of TVHS; it is because they will let anyone into a so-called Advanced Placement class. It is exactly like a normal class, but for more credit. There is nothing 'Advanced' about it. I am sorely disappointed that when I asked to learn more than was expected of me, I was given less.

We need to rebuild our school system from the bottom up; from the teachers to the textbooks. Unfortunately, our officials and their constituents are not behind this reform! In my opinion, this is greatly because it can not be done in only a couple of years. We live in a society where instant gratification is expected and preferred and a long-term plan, no matter how incredibly ingenious it is, can never be accepted as a good idea. So we need to start now! We need to make sure students are taken care of, academically and otherwise; we need to use the school's budget wisely; and we need to create an environment that encourages pride in learning and pride in ourselves! I feel as though the American public school system has hindered my progress, and that had I continued to be home schooled during high school, I would possess much more knowledge than I do now, after four years of hypocritical, barely adequate, public high school. I believe we need to look to our friends in Europe and learn from their school's successes. We need to get it together, perhaps try to mimic the ever-popular Charter Schools. We need to try something! Our greatest problem is that we talk about reform, or at least making some corrections, but we don't act on it! So let's get out there and do something! Who knows, we may even learn something from it.