There needs to be a change in the American Education System. Current curriculum being used in schools is not practical, necessary or applicable to today's technologically advanced society, and information that can be easily accessed online.
It's no use to continue to teach, memorize, and test students on something we can search up online in seconds.
Material that needs to be considered necessary, and worthy of "grading" students on should consist of Environmental Sustainability, Social/Communication Skills, and Economics. We should focus on how to better todays society and the future, and teaching with an emphasis on real-life issues and how to make a difference in the economic system, as well as a positive change to the environment.
If we teach children what is applicable to the real world, and allow them to chose all their classes starting from 9th grade, we coul see a immense decrease in the number of student dropouts in high school.
Sure, it teaches you how to write MLA style papers and how to do basic trig and algebra. Sure, it gives you a place to go and be under adult supervision while your parents are at work and you are in some of your most rebellious stages of your life. And sure, at least in Washington State, it teaches you the material needed to pass the PSSA tests. But as for personal growth as a person and becoming a contributing member of society, its absolute rubbish.
One of the biggest things that high school robs you of is the ability to explore your own thoughts and form your own opinions. High school is so structured and has so many rules and regulations about what teachers can teach that it is turning our students into little narrow minded clones.
Let's not try to fit every child into a box, and allow their grades to become their future.
Instead, we need to celebrate the creativity and hope that teens harbor, to start creating a globalized, modern, and peaceful approach to the future.
It's important to teach a class about how the next generation can be open minded, respectful, articulate, and well informed of the current condition of society; and make that the core of education.
So in conclusion, the education system should allow students to choose the majority of their classes, this way children will be informed of real-life situations, actually enjoy school, and look forward to making a difference in the future.
