The purpose of education is to create a better society for the current and future generations; it enriches culture, values, and encourages progress. With education being such an important factor in the progression of a society, one would think the institution would encourage free thinking, encourage progress and inspire their students. As Jean Piaget once said “The principal goal of education is to create men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.”; so why is our education system discouraging free thought?
Everyone has a moment in their educational career where the education system had a impact on them; either for better or for worse. These moments are clear in ones memory, as if it happened yesterday. My moment was in high school. It was toward the end of my sophomore year and my English teacher Ms. Reed was asking who wanted to join her advance english class next semester. Anyone who raised their hands she pulled them aside to talk with them about it. When she called my name I stood up in excitement; I was doing really well in her class and I knew that I would enjoy the advance class. As soon as she closed the door, she looked at me and plainly said “ you wont be able to handle the coursework so I’m not going to recommend that you take the class next semester”. My whole body felt numb and all I can hear is this voice in my head that said “see you aren’t good enough”. I looked to the left to see my classmates fooling around and I felt like such fraud; like I didn’t belong with them. I didn’t even fight the decision, she’s my professor so she would no better than me. My professor had no faith in me and this loss of confidence followed me for years to come.
What a horrible experience! Those kinds of teachers should be put in a box and stored somewhere safely away from students. You wrote the scene so well, by the way, that I felt just awful! You certainly can write, no matter what Ms Reed thought!