To all my fellow students,
Listen, whether you are from Ridgewood, Canarsie, Downtown Brooklyn, or Soundview in the Bronx we all can agree the public education system can be improved and reconstructed for the betterment of our students. A statement made by a New York Times editor expresses her ideas that “Our children are being forced into these schools year after year. Education needs to be improved. Every child deserves a quality education.” Funding from the government does not seem to help either. From the torn-up textbooks, boring material, boxed in a class where we cannot learn effectively, the communication break between teachers and students, it is all getting worse. According to a study done in 2015 that was presented in a Forbes article, of the 12 states that allocated more funding for schools in more unfortunate districts, only five — Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Wyoming — also funded education at a level of adequacy that enables students to receive the resources they need. Being told that there is only one path to success in contrast to the multiple ways to prepare us for the various choices that can shape our future. Unfortunate children being told they would not make it because of where they are from. Waking up to go to class to not learn anything, or on the other hand, studying to an end to get the grade we want but, in reality, we gain little to no knowledge.
I hope you have realized that our public schools claim to prepare students for the future, but I believe the system is stuck in the past.
How come objects, like phones, televisions, cars upgrade but a classroom still looks the same from decades ago and students are staying behind?
This system is built to make students develop like robots so they can work for their rest of their lives.
Sitting in a classroom for 8 hours of day, doing the same activities with the same set of rules, with only a 45-minute break.
The world is progressing, classrooms should too. Not every student is the same because they do not think the same and most definitely do not learn the same way.
With so many ideas, different gifts, and different dreams in a single classroom, but yet treat every student the same.
Imagine taking all of these different ideas to create an innovative future for the next generation but only limited options exist, with the same common curriculum classes that sounds like a broken disc.
How can a student’s success be determined by multiple choice and standardized tests?
I just wish schools would teach students more about the real-life world.
For example, how to do our taxes, build our credit, construct a resume, or buy stocks.
I am not against the common curriculum classes because that is the foundation of them all, but there are more lessons to this life that go way beyond.
However, I am not here to place blame and give my harsh critics on the matter at hand. So instead, I want to present a solution to my fellow students, former teachers, and future professors. If they cannot help us, then let us help ourselves. Let us make the system better by our own doing, making school competitive, fun, and engaging. Let us make this change together and build a community we can be proud to have and proud to be a part of. Let us teach what we can use to make the ones after us better than we were because that is what it means to move forward. Let us go the extra mile to not repeat our past mistakes and improvise, innovate, and adapt so we can be reassured that our future is safe in the next generation’s hands. We must start somewhere so it might as well be here,
Shoot for the stars and aim for the moon.
Sincerely,
Sisy Ruby Fienco.
