While I do agree with Isaac that
our school systems have flaws and need to be fixed I feel that there does exist
freedom for kids to explore things they are interested in. I will use this post
to explain the experiences I’ve had going through a public education in
Virginia but I’d be shocked if a majority of the country isn’t similar in most
of these principles.
First I do
agree that there is a large emphasis on reading, writing, and math in the
school systems but they are the foundations that allow for a deeper
understanding of the subjects. Through readings young children are able to
acquire a basic vocabulary and learn how to gain empathy but observing these
fictional scenarios. In elementary school when book reports were assigned any
books could be chosen and this allows for some creativity and exploration of
different genres. Also I feel like as I got older the emphasis started on
subjects began to be diverse. We had an art class, music class, and physical
education class that we would go to once a week as well as have your basic
history, science, math, and English times. A basic introduction was established
and maintained (as well as I can remember) everyday and never was day solely
devoted to math or reading or writing.
Going into
middle school I feel like the opportunities grew immensely as I was given the
chance to pick my own classes for the first time. During my sixth grade year I
was able to join chorus, band, take an art class, or change classes ever nine
weeks and learn all sorts of topics. The core classes remained the same but
having the freedom to choose what interested different people allowed everyone
to develop an identity. Electives continued with allowing for a diverse
schedule until 8th grade where my county provided the opportunity to
go to different high schools to study different subjects in specialty centers.
There is a specialty center for the arts, engineering, technology, foreign
languages, leadership, and the one I attended was for math and science. In
these specialty centers certain classes would only be offered to those students
in the program but it allowed those to really learn what they were interested
in. The core subjects were required but once again electives allow for unique
interests to exist. My school offered, sports marketing, art classes, a chance
to learn athletic training or trade skills like being a mechanic as well as
many other classes. For me diversity existed and as long as I took the required
classes, the rest of filling out my schedule was to my liking.
The final
point that you touched on that I agree with is about teachers and professors.
Boring teachers will exist wherever one attends school and in reality there is
no sure way to eliminate them. Also one teacher’s style might not fit everyone’s
personality and that’s all right. The best way to combat this problem is
through teacher evaluations, which in most university settings already take
place. The education system isn’t perfect but it never will be, we have to
continue to develop and encourage students to take electives that are interesting
and the market for jobs will take care of itself over time.
There's no doubt that a wide variety of offerings are the key. Isaac points out, though, that some pressures are indeed forcing some shifts and refocusing of priorities, which puts pressure on the electives to make room for testing and other things. Overall, though, I think there's plenty of variety for those who find it, and extracurriculars too are a great way for students to explore this.
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