The American education system is in shambles. This seems to be the consensus throughout the country, and yet, no one has yet come up with a solution that is economically, socially, and/or ideologically viable for all parties involved. Part of the problem is that, despite knowing that something is wrong with our education system, people aren’t quite sure what that something is. There are many small problems with the system that statistics often point out, problems such as teacher pay, class size, and lack of innovation. However, there is one, overarching flaw that is rarely mentioned: the lack of emphasis that the American system puts on truly seeking knowledge rather than just grades. Everything in the classroom is focused on grades, an intangible thing, rather than really trying to learn something interesting or useful. This leads to lack of motivation in students, lack of innovation in teachers, and lack of funding for education in general because it is just something that has to be done, not something that is cherished.

    An example of this ‘education is nothing but a chore’ mentality can be seen in most any classroom containing students beyond first grade. Before this, children are rather like little sponges, wanting to know everything. Unfortunately, this attitude slowly fades as students make their way up the educational ladder, until, by high school, most are sick and tired of it, and are simply slogging through the system in the hopes of either jumping ship as soon as possible, or catching hold of the much lauded light at the end of the tunnel, also known as college. What happens to these students? How is it that by the time a majority of children reach the end of their school career, they have lost their love of learning? The short answer is that the system provides for very little flexibility or creativity, and instead forces all students into the same, square holes for the same amount of time.

    Teachers, the men and woman meant to keep the passion for learning alive in their students, far too often are coconspirators in dowsing the flames. In part, this is because the system treats them much as it treats the students, putting them under so many constraints that it is extremely difficult for them to provide their students with interesting learning experiences. It is nearly impossible to take an in depth look at any point in history when the curriculum calls, for instance, for the class to cover all of world history in one year. This is a very difficult task, and in order to do it, the world history teacher must rush through every unit, leaving no space for discussion, interesting tangents or connections, or projects that might allow for creativity and the accumulation of a deeper, broader understanding of history and how it effects and connects with the modern world. This ‘typical world history’ class might account for the number of Americans who either know very little about history or believe that studying history is useless because it is the past, and people should focus on the present. Without a deeper comprehension of history, people cannot understand the domino effect that events can have through history, the ways in which people can learn from the mistakes of historical figures or events, or how history really does repeat itself. Without the leeway to allow their classes to dig deeper and make connections, teachers cannot make students understand the value of a concept such as history, and when they don’t understand the value of a subject, students aren’t motivated to learn it.

    For students who have their sights set on the Holy Grail that is the university, a subject doesn’t always have to have value in their eyes for them to learn it. Often, all that needs to have value is the letter that the teacher awards them at the end of the class. While this keeps some people in school, and makes them go through the class and study the subject, is it really the right way to do things? When students are motivated only by the value of the grade that a class awards, and place little value in the actual act of learning, of gaining insight and knowledge, does this not produce adults who do not see the true value of education, and who have no motivation or desire to seek out truth, see logic, or make connections in their world?

    The big question is how to fix this problem. How does one make people see education as important, and the quest for knowledge and insight an integral part of growing up? How does one take the American education system, and turn it around so that students like to learn, and want to learn, and teachers are able to teach them so that they do these things? One of the first things to do would be to put more money into the education system specifically to keep schools up to date with current technology, and teachers up to date with how to use the technology. How many times have I heard of a school spending thousands of dollars to buy ‘Smart-Boards’ for their teachers, only to have the teachers never use them because they have no idea how the Board works, or how they can utilize them to enhance their classes? Technology can be a wonderful tool for creative teaching, but only if the teacher knows how to use it creatively. The next step would be to focus more on training teachers both in their subjects, and in being flexible. In my junior high school, for example, it was quite the stretch to believe that the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade science teachers had any real knowledge of science. The only work done by students was copying definitions out of books (up to three times for the same list of words), completing fill-in-the-blank worksheets, and watching Bill Nye the Science Guy. Of these, only Bill really made anyone interested in the class, and even then, he got a little old by the time ninth grade rolled around. The teachers were inflexible, either because they had a strict curriculum they had to stick to, they didn’t know enough about their subject to teach in any way but by the book, or a perhaps combination of these two. Schools also need to start later for high schoolers. Countless studies have come to the conclusion that teenagers aren’t getting enough sleep to function properly, and that, at that age, they naturally tend to stay up later and sleep in later. Despite this, high schools around the country continue to start at 7:30-8:00 in the morning. Many students are too tired to really focus well, and sitting in a small desk all day does nothing to help. That is another thing that could help students: getting them out of the classroom. Sitting for six hours a day is not conducive to learning, or energizing students. It makes them sleepy, bored, restless, and many other things, but focused is not one of them. In ancient Greece, Socrates would walk with his students, talking to them and asking questions. This would be an excellent strategy to take up in the modern world. Getting kids out of the classroom, even if its just to walk around campus or to a park, can throw everything into a whole new light. In one of my classes, we would sometimes sit together in a circle, on top of desks or on the floor, and the intimate, unusual arrangement lead to wonderful discussions, and a feeling that you can ask anything without fear of shame or being shot down. Another example of how this can make classes more interesting and kids more excited about a subject is an exercise my math teacher did with us. He hid eggs around the campus, and then split us into groups, giving each of us a ‘treasure map’ that we had to follow in order to find the eggs. The catch was that the map gave directions in angles, some of which went right through walls, forcing us to use trigonometry to find a way to get to the same place that we would have gotten to if we were able to go through the wall. Not only was this lesson extremely fun, but it showed all of us how math, a subject in which is often labeled as ‘having no use in the real world,’ could be used outside of school.

    Of course, the larger the class is, the harder such things as walking around or sitting in circles becomes, which is why one thing that everyone does have right is in calling for smaller class sizes. If a teacher is to engage students, the larger the crowd, the harder it is, and the greater the temptation to just give everyone a worksheet and say, “Do it.” One way to deal with larger class sizes is by splitting kids up into groups. However, this only works if the kids are responsible enough to work without a teacher’s supervision, so a teacher’s aid would be useful. They are not as expensive as full teachers, but still allow for adult guidance in the classroom. Even better are teacher interns, who can help out the resident teacher while learning to be teachers themselves. The best solution though is simply smaller classes, and the only way to have smaller classes is to give more funding to education.

    In the end, the best way to fix the American education system is to give teachers training and access to new technologies to enhance their ability to use them in the classroom; allow teachers greater flexibility in their curricula to allow for discussion, creativity, and connections; get students out of the classroom or even simply mix up the environment of the classroom; and shrink the size of classes. All these things, while not guaranteeing a rise in the value that is placed on learning, will help to at least get students more involved, and more interested, in what they are learning.

    I can vouch for these arguments because of my journey through both alternative school programs, and regular public school. I went to a Montessori school for my elementary years, and I loved school. The Montessori system places an emphasis on hands-on learning, allowing children to use things such as abacuses and ‘stamp games’ to learn math, and matching card games to learn words. With two to three teachers and up to three grade levels in each classroom, we were free to both move at our own pace in learning and free to move about the classroom. We could set up our work on little rugs that were kept in baskets, on small ‘floor tables’, or on large desks if we preferred. Everyone had a chart that listed the different subjects, and we had to check off what we had done that day, going down the list and making sure we had included our reading, math, writing, drawing, and other subjects. Whenever we got bored with what we were doing, the teacher would give us a new lesson, and we would then be able to use more of the materials in the classroom, and our knowledge of the subject would grow. The tantalizing objects that were used as learning tools were often enough to inspire the desire for a new lesson. For instance, until I had mastered the stamp game, and knew how to do addition, subtraction, and multiplication, I couldn’t touch the abacuses I really wanted to play with.

    When I reached seventh grade, though, I had to transfer to a regular junior high. Within the first year, I had decided that I hated school. I was bored, frustrated, and felt I was learning nothing. I was unable to establish relationships with my teachers as I was used to doing, and was restless from sitting all day. The way subjects were skimmed over with little detail bored me, and being quieter than most kids, and used to having to wait patiently for the teachers attention, I was quickly lost within my large, loud classes, where the students who called out the fastest or were the wittiest with their uncalled-on remarks gained the teachers’ attention. By eighth grade I was gearing up for rebellion, writing essays to try to persuade my parents to homeschool me. Instead, they told me about a high school program called International Baccalaureate. That is where I am today, and I no longer hate school, and am not bored and frustrated by my education. The IB program has smaller class sizes than the rest of the school, which has allowed a greater relationship with my teachers, and has also allowed for some of the unconventional teaching methods that my teachers like to use. Discussion and analysis are also encouraged, as are creative projects. In Physics, we just designed our own experiments. We all agreed that it was great fun, and made performing the experiment and gathering the data much more fulfilling. My history teacher knows all sorts of side stories about historical figures, has a chest full of fascinating movies and historical clothes. He frequently has us do ‘Socratic Seminars’ where we all sit in circles and discuss a topic we have been studying. Our Theory of Knowledge class is all about discussing controversial topics, allowing us to see other people’s point of views and how things are connected. It gets us to think about why people act and think the way they do, and how we ‘know what we know.’ Aside from these classes, we also have extracurricular projects that we do throughout the year, such as a research essay on a topic of our choice, community service, and activities that engage both our creative and active sides.

    With small class sizes, or multiple teachers in one large class, my teachers were able to develop relationships with each student, and find creative ways to teach all the students. I was able to enjoy my learning experience, and I believe that my early schooling in Montessori is the reason that I still enjoy learning to this day, despite my disastrous encounter with a more traditional school setting. That this encounter was so disastrous for me is an example of how destructive the large class sizes, inflexible and unknowledgeable teachers and repetitive, cramped environments can negatively effect a students view of school, and often their view of learning itself. No child should learn to see learning as a chore, but should have their natural curiosity nurtured and expanded, so that they learn all their lives, and end up contributing to the society as a whole.