Hadeel Abuhamda

April 3, 2019

English 1101

Publication for The New York Times:Education sections

Education is definitely important in anyone’s life. A gift of knowledge can bring us to the top of our dreams. It leads us to the right path and gives us a chance to have an amazing life. Education makes people capable of doing new and interesting things that can go a long way to improving human living conditions and standards. The key of success for our future is education, and education plays a very important role in our society. But first let’s start with the problem of our current educational system. The biggest problem is, it did not motivate kids. Millions of kids do not know any purposing of going to school, except obligations. How should we take school seriously when half the teachers don’t take teaching seriously? I personally feel like I have been robbed for my education throughout my four years in high school.

What if your little brother or sister comes home from school one day and tells you that he or she does not want to go to school anymore because they aren’t learning anything. The teachers in their school doesn’t teach. At first, you might think they’re simply being stubborn and lazy, but really—think about your experiences at school—what did you actually learn there? In John Gatto’s article “Against School”, he argues that the American public-school system conditions children to be gullible, mindless consumers. Looking back at my four years in high school, I realize I agree with him. In my experience, high school teachers care more about how students were behaving than what they are learning. When I was in high school, I was thrown a textbook by my Global Studies teacher, Mr. Severin. He would always say…”read page 554.” Then go in his little corner, kick his feet up and go to sleep. Teachers like this that’s in our educational system truly need to go. That’s one reason that the educational system is failing. The teachers in the educational system need to motivate the students to do better.

Another reason I feel like the educational system is failing is because some schools are overcrowded. If you have a small class, it’s better for the students learning experience. A study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 14 percent of U.S. schools exceed capacity. My high school for example, has three different schools in one building. And if you thought that was enough, the part of the high school I attended brought another school. So, my high school was basically half a hallway. At a time where children need more attention than ever to succeed, overcrowded classrooms/schools are making it even harder to learn and harder for teachers to be effective.

In college, we have to read the material, and actually try to understand what the professor is hinting at, not like in high school where you can just be cool with the teacher, not do any work, and they will pass you. I actually have experienced that before; you just had to be friends/cool with the teacher, and they’ll pass you. This one teacher in my high school During high school, I did not have to study as hard as I do now that I am in college. Usually, I would be able to study the day before the test and score a hundred percent.

Our educational systems unfairness is holding our students back from reaching their full potential and holding the younger generations back from receiving the best education they can get. If education were treated as an investment into the future of a country, investors would not hesitate to do their part in planning ahead and securing the future of a nation. As adults, educators, lawmakers, parents, and lifelong learners, we are responsible for the education our children are getting. Some of these reasons are well-known and long-standing issues. However, others are new and even somewhat unexpected challenges. The nature of each issue does not matter. All of them are standing in the way of our becoming globally competitive.

Education is definitely important in anyone’s life no matter what age. A gift of knowledge can bring us to the top of our dreams. In my opinion, the educational system will never be close to perfect. We must make our voice heard. I believe that our education system is necessary to give children an education to hopefully improve their lives and their future.

work cited:

1) “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto

2) 390, et al. “18 Reasons the U.S. Education System Is Failing.” The Edvocate, 3 Apr. 2017, www.theedadvocate.org/10-reasons-the-u-s-education-system-is-failing/.

3) Cox, Abigail, and Abigail Cox. “The Current Education System Is Failing Our Students.” EdSurge Independent, EdSurge Independent, 9 Mar. 2018, edsurgeindependent.com/the-current-education-system-is-failing-our-students-b35614943541.