The Greatest Crime of All
In the words on Jean Piaget, "The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men & women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done." And for that, our modern-day school systems have committed the greatest crime of all.
Our students sit in nice, straight rows, are told to raise their hands to speak, are given strict schedules & routines to keep everything neat. It's a crime.
Modern-day school systems haven't changed in over 100 years. That should be a crime. Why don't we treat it as such?
Our students are told every day how they should think & what they need to learn. But where's the creativity? Where's the individuality & the strive to earn? Competing for A's & being taught to the test. What happened to actually learning?
A lack of expression can lead our students to social unrest. When is a student supposed to learn what makes them special & intelligent if the modern day schooling systems won't let them?
Just because a student isn't great at math or taking tests doesn't mean they shouldn't be taught to be the best they possibly can be & how to invent themselves through expression.
Modern-day schooling has been accused of killing each and every student's value and creative initiative. They're forcing students of all sizes & capacities into cookie-cutter shapes. How can they all be expected to fit?
Things like common core & standardized testing need to be cut & removed for our expectations & standards. Our students are expected to fill in scantron forms year after year to measure each individual's intelligence.
\Is an elephant considered stupid just because it can't climb a tree?
Is a student considered stupid just because they don't meet these unrealistic standards created by men & women who've never been teachers?
Our school systems are outdated & there have been no major efforts to change anything. Change is what shapes our nation. What can build our nation and progress us forward.
The future requires the creativity, innovation, modification, & modernization of our youth. In the words of Prince Ea, "...while students may only be 20% of our population, they are 100% our future." Are we going to let modern-day schooling systems eliminate the creativity of our youth even though the 21st century depends upon the deviation of century-old standards? Of the initiation of imaginativeness & resourcefulness in the workplace?
The greatest crime of all would be seeing our students be left unprepared in a world that requires more of them than our schools would provide.
Our students are 100% of our future.
Let us pave the path for a brighter 21st century where creativity & individuality is accepted & encouraged.
I know I won't stop fighting for that.
Will you?