My Thoughts on Education Today

[Beginning note: My good friend Seth Byle gave me the kind permission to reference him by name; you can visit his Facebook page here or his YouTube channel here]

I had a rather interesting discussion with a friend of mine named Seth over Facebook. His original post stated about how he realized that the eighteen years he spent in school were much of a complete waste; most of the things he learned he'd never use in real life. He went on to say how ridiculous it was that people put so much emphasis on a high school diploma, a simple "slip of paper" that only holds importance because "idiots in society" imagine it to be so.

It was after a few comments that I decided to jump in; I have a very strong view of education and it was a subject I'm rather passionate of speaking about. A friend of Seth's made an interesting comment at the beginning of the discussion that caught my eye; it concerned the role of government in regulating an education curriculum. To quote him directly:

“...public schools are propaganda re-education camps. You graduate, then only to find yourself buried under student loans for college and then have a hard time finding a job. Welcome to 2013 my friend. What ever happened to plain, honest, hard work and getting a chance to prove yourself...paper is just that…paper...with dozens lined up right with you. I know how it all goes…times are rough...but keep your head up man...you have time to get where you want to be. Just remember…persistence alone is omnipotent.”

As far as the government's role in regulating education, I believe this should fall under the old "laissez-faire" interpretation; even though the term is generally associated with economics and describing how a capitalist society should function, the main principle of the "hands-off, let it be" government role should apply directly to educating future generations of Americans. I made my thoughts clear in my first post:

“I do agree that education should not in any way, shape or form be government-regulated. The government does not decide what society learns through institutions; it's the people who decide what should be taught and learned. That's the great thing about America; there's the freedom to learn whatever you like, to build your own philosophy and learn about what's important to the individual. That freedom is taken away only when the government decides to have its way with teaching generation of young people...”

That sums up my opposition directly. The responsibilities of educational institutions should fall not just on the individual States, but the people; the American people as a whole should have a say in what should be taught in the classrooms of pre-schools, kindergartens, elementary, middle, high schools and universities. We should push forth the freedom of choice, to decide individually what you want to learn for yourself.

Seth responded with a very interesting thought:

“It's not just public [school] vs. private [school], it's the whole form of education in general. The whole idea of kids spending hours a day locked in a prison, forced to do mind-numbing work is just a bad idea to me. I believe that the entire format/concept of school should be changed, and it shouldn't start so early in life, nor should it take up so much of your life. This is just inefficient. School should be just a spoke on the wheel, and not the whole bike.”

I agreed with his claims and clarified my thoughts on my view of how education should work in the post following the response:

"I believe the best school environment is this: it's very important to teach the core values of reading, writing and arithmetic; those come in handy throughout life, even if you don't realize it at the time. Once the children have that under control, then allow them to freely pursue any other interests they're passionate about. It makes learning more fun and hands-on. You're right; I think school is now reduced to a strict, by-the-book routine of 'sit in a classroom, take long notes, listen to a boring lecture, then go home and do five hours of homework.'"

I still hold truth to this belief. It's common knowledge to see that nobody wants to do what doesn't interest them. And from what I've seen, even in my private education upbringing, students are generally detached to learning because certain subjects don't interest them; yet, they still have to learn it. Many a time have I heard "Ugh, I hate this class!" or "Why is this important, I'm not gonna need to learn any of this!" This matter has two guilty parties: the instructors and the students. Yes, instructors can do a better job at making the material engaging and interesting, but it also takes motivation on the students' part to actually engage themselves. I addressed my sentiments at what I perceive as the lazy entitlement attitude amongst kids in the classroom:

“And I feel like there's no incentive to work in school anymore; teachers just keep giving out the answers, and it makes the students feel like they're entitled to get the answers easily and not have to work to find them. [Actually having students do the work themselves]; That instills the mindset to work to find and receive what you need, which is very important in everyday life. I think schools today are the breeding grounds for entitled kids.”

I've always worked hard for my grades in school. While I saw other kids copying and cheating off one another, I took the extra time to really look through and read the information and gain a comprehension of the information. Some kids thought I was crazy or stupid to do such a thing; to them, looking for the information was a waste of time when they could just get the answers from a friend or get the teacher to "tell" them. These very recent reports on student motivation from the Center on Education Policy really shed a light on how students are perceived as unmotivated.

Also as a great reference, another friend of mine (a very well-educated young man, might I say) posted a video on YouTube detailing problems he experiences in education and the inheriting and learning of information as it pertains to the current generation. In his own words, "my generation doesn't know a damn thing." Seeing those type of attitudes in action, I too feel a little bit entitled to bash the lazy attitudes persistent in the kids of my generation.

Now I refer back to my post about my views of education, just so I can clarify further. I believe in teaching the core principles of reading, writing and arithmetic; they're absolute necessities for having citizens in society function. All three core courses teach comprehension, logic, problem-solving and the training of motor skills. But once students have those core values instated, they should then be free to adapt their three R's of learning and pursue their interests and prepare for whatever career they desire. That freedom is part of the democratic republic that has made America what is has been since 1776.

This is why I am a big proponent of "hands-on" education; it efficiently trains you better for a career than a classroom environment does. The film school that I'm currently attending for college focuses their curriculum on this; there are hardly any classroom sessions where you sit and listen to a lesson for hours at a time. They teach you what you should know, but the rest of the learning is in your hands as the student, in this example, learning how to make a movie and setting out to make one. It's also teaching me about cooperating with other people of the same profession and working as a team in order to achieve a common end. This is where incentive, motivation and commitment come in on the students' part; teachers should not have to "baby" students and "hold their hands" (as one of my former high school teachers so eloquently put it). Students themselves should have the passion and the drive to take care of their own affairs and continue their education; they chose that path, now they have to walk it themselves. While the "hands-on" teaching/learning technique may differ by career or degree program, it is nonetheless vital to instilling important lessons into passionate students.

All in all, it was an interesting discussion and it's inspired me to share my thoughts on the education process in America, since it's still a current issue in debate around the nation. Please, leave any thoughtful comments; we can start a discussion in the comments section, if you'd like.

Have a blessed day.