Needed : Change in education system

We need to change the way our education system in the United States works. My interest in this is obviously not political but it is motivated by the fact that I AM a student at the end of my 12 year stint in public education. For nearly as long as I can remember I have been a student in school, but it is only recently that my eyes have been opened to the short-comings of our system. The No Child Left Behind Act which forces schools to test us students annually needs to be changed so that it is effective in challenging us students. Our teachers, those who have dedicated their careers and their lives to the education of our nation are not, in my opinion, paid enough to do a job that may be emotionally rewarding but is difficult, both in the hours spent and the difficulty in teaching those who don't want to learn and that is the final problem I feel our schools face : Many students are just too lazy and unmotivated to WANT to learn or better themselves and we must change their attitudes. These are the problems I feel that we should, or perhaps that we MUST address in order to remain a great nation.

No Child Left Behind, which forces schools to use annual standardized testing, is not based on a bad idea. The idea that students must meet an educational standard before being allowed to graduate is a concept which I feel is beneficial to our country. The problem with this act lies wherein the states themselves set
the standard, the educational bar for us students amazingly low. This "dumbing down" of tests such as the TAKS test serves not only to force teachers to "teach to the test" all year long , but also creates problems in the attitude and motivation of our students. Our bright, gifted students are forced to study for and take a test that some believe a child could pass with eyes shut. Those other students, those that rise to the height of the bar only to find it beneath their neckline, are and will be unprepared for the rigors of college, and the real world. When our tests are this easy, when our standards are so low, when our system, in an effort to make a test that all students are able to pass, in reality creates a test that none need study for, that means that our "educational standard" is at an all-time low. All I can say as a senior is that I'm VERY happy I'll never have to take such a test again. However, as a future parent I hope that my children will not have to be put through the experience of these near worthless "tests".

Over the years, I have gained a huge amount of respect for my teachers. I see how hard they work, and how dedicated they are to their jobs, and I have even been inspired to become a teacher myself.
Right now I am hope to become a high school physics teacher because I have been so inspired by my teachers, especially in high school. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that teachers do a fantastic job, and there is no doubt in my mind that teachers deserve more than they are getting right now. The average salary of a high school teacher is hardly enough to live off of! Considering the enormous responsibility these people have as far as our nation is concerned, it is mind-boggling that we pay them so little! Not only do we need to pay these teachers what they are worth, we must also encourage more college graduates to become teachers We pay professional athletes millions of dollars a year to play a game while we pay those responsible for our education, and the education of our children, and indeed the education of our nation, an amount which they can barely use to support their families. It is my belief that all teachers should receive at LEAST an additional sum per year, and perhaps even more pay after undergoing additional training and certification.






Our final problem in our educational system comes from the motivation of the average student to better themselves. From what I have seen over my last twelve years in school, it has become increasingly clear to me that many American children do not grasp the importance of education, and are therefore unmotivated.
Time after time I have heard students complaining about failing a class because they didn't do their work, or wanting to drop out of an honors class
to avoid heavy homework loads. It is absolutely appalling how lazy the students of our country are. We would rather play than do work. We would rather take easier classes than hard classes. We would rather do the least amount of work possible without failing, and never mind that all these things will indeed contribute to some of us someday dropping out of college, or perhaps not attending college at all. Whatever or whoever is responsible for this apathetic behavior, whether it be teachers, or parents, or neither, or both is irrelevant. What is relevant is that we do something, anything at all to increase awareness of the importance of not just attending school but also LEARNING at school. I'm talking of these students, not the students that do want to learn, that do want to better themselves, but, like me, fear a country run by barely educated, apathetic people who care more about avoiding a little work than about doing their jobs. Whatever it is that we must do to stop this attitude in our children, I feel that we must do it at a young age, before it's too late, and these people who do not care and feel that they have no reason to care just give up, and drop out of school.



I believe that we live in a great country. But I also believe, and fear, that without some of these changes being implemented, our country will soon become like a bicycle left outside in the rain ; No longer brilliant, but lack-luster, and no longer great.