Why The American School System Is Flawed

Americas school system is flawed, here is why.

Why Our Current School System Is Damaging

(1.) The Industrial Revolution brought forth the education system that we use today. The Secretary of education at the time, Horace Mann, studied hundreds of systems all across Europe to find the system he believed would be best for America. He decided the Prussia model would be best because it was funded by taxes, had mandatory attendance, and trained teachers. Many may not know this, but the Prussians used their school system to instill obedience to authority in students. In fact, a Prussian philosopher named Johann played a big role in forming their education system. He once said, "if you want to influence someone you must do more than simply talk to them, you must fashion them and fashion them in such a way that they can not will otherwise them what you wish them to will." In Mann's journal he openly acknowledged that Prussia were using this system for evil but he believed it would be helpful if used for "good". He advocated this model highly, leading it to become the one used in America.

(2.) Today's Schools rely heavily on

Grades

Authority

And irrelevant materials.

Our school system teaches students to memorize something, not understand it. Most students can ace all of their tests, but not understand any bit of the subject. Information "learned" in school tends to become forgotten, thus a waste of time. Students deserve to be taught how to understand the subject rather than to memorize it. The current system in place emphasizes way too much on grades, leaving students spending most of their time stressing over grades and the possible criticism they may get from peers. This leads to forgetting the "importance" of what they are studying.

Education should not be built around state rules and regulations. It should be built around what the student wants to learn, working with their creativity rather than destroying it. The current system in place creates generations of followers. It does not teach students to think with their own minds and for themselves. This system tells them what to think, how to think and when to think, this system is highly effective in terms of what it was created for, since it was created to produce workers, it produces workers, not business owners.

--- some things Elon Musk says about school---

"In fact, I think a lot of what people learn are probably there's no point in learning them cause, um they'll never use them in the future"

"Alot of kids in school are kind of puzzled as to why they're there"

(3.X) Our society pushes us to believe we must have a diploma, degree or ged to be important or have self-worth. We rely on others to supply us with money for building their dreams, when we could build our own dreams and supply ourselves. This way of thinking causes extraordinary and amazing people to fear disappointment, to fear their grades dropping for the reaction they may get from their parents, teachers, and/or peers. This school system is harming creativity which is vital for creation, without creativity we would never progress as a society. I was never taught how to buy a house or how to apply for a loan or how to start my own company or how to invest. The system meant to educate never educated me on my laws and rights or real-world experiences. We are told school and college are meant to "get us ready for the real world" but this system does the exact opposite. The only things we truly learn in school are authority is ALWAYS right, non conforming is bad and grades are important. we're all individuals and this is unfair to the uninformed teens, believing a hs diploma or college degree is actually a must.

(1.) The average student loan debt for college is 30 thousand dollars per student. "Shockingly", a recent study found that in the first two years of college, 45% of students showed NO gains in critical thinking. (3.) School shapes our mentality which in turn can ruin our life after school. They motivate us with fear, most of us study not because we are passionate about studying but because we are afraid of not getting a "good job" or that we will not be able to earn enough money. A common way to prove the motivation by fear from teachers are their comments "if you do not study you WILL fail" (4.) <a 2002 University of Michigan study revealed that 80 percent of students based their self worth on their grades, the lower their grades the lower their self-esteem. Research actually shows that chasing after perfect grades discourages creativity and reduces academic risk-taking > (3.) Learning must involve failure you can not learn unless you fail. When you were learning how to walk you fell over and over again, same with riding a bike, but eventually, you gained the knowledge to walk, ride a bike, speak, etc. We are taught failure isn't an option, causing many to fear to start a company or to fear doing something more productive with their life. Our grades determine who we are and how smart we are. If you get A's you are a good kid, you're smart and will be very successful. If you have F's you are a bad kid, you are unintelligent and will work a low-level job all of your life. (3.X) This is a horrible misconception. Many people have become very successful in dropping out of college and even high school. (3.) The school system is highly narrow with what they teach and how they teach, in fact, most of what they teach will barely ever be used. Just because someone is better at remembering things then you, doesn't make them smarter or more likely to succeed. Success is how you manage your money, relationships, and yourself, which isn't taught. Schools make us very dependent on authority. You aren't even allowed to use the bathroom as an 18 year old without asking. Your life is planned out from the first day of kindergarten to the last day of college. Becoming this dependent leads you to not following what you want in life. You start to look for someone else to plan out the next couple of years of your life. That's why you find someone to work under. This is why more people are becoming employees rather than employers.(3.X)<there are so many jobs that don't require a high school diploma, GED, or a degree> (5.) < (1. Customer service representative :annual salary of $36,859 (2.publicity assistant or publicity relations assistant :annual salary of $54,581 (3. Real estate agent :annual salary of $48,883 (4.Veterinary assistant :annual salary of $31,659 and there are so many more>