Public School Failures: Ways to Change the System

Education is what remains after
one has forgotten what one has learned in school"
~Albert Einstein

The decline of education in the U.S. is an important issue that everyone should know about. It affects all of us in a variety of different ways. It is a significant issue that deserves serious inspection, as knowledge is the key to success in college. Therefore, all U.N.M. college students should learn about an issue. It should be required reading for all college and high school students in the U.S.

The issue of the educational decline in the U.S. can be attributed to many factors. Points can be made as to which are more valid or which are less important to students. Leon Botstein's essay, "Let Teenagers Try Adulthood", is an exceptional introduction to the issue of public school systems in the United States. If young people are not inspired with what is being taught in school, their attention will drift to more interesting subjects. Subjects that they view as pointless easily bore students. If students are too busy with the stresses of peer pressure and social stratifications their attention will not be on school, but on social hierarchy within the system. Our schools teach one way and if you cannot learn by this method- you are just out of luck.

We continue to focus on out-dated teaching material and the same things have been taught in schools for years, while some may still apply there are many things that could be restructured more frequently. Teaching students practical vocational skills is also important to success in the real world. All of these issues need to be addressed in our society's public school systems. Students in the United States are showing us signs that the current system is failing them. Botstein's essay is an important piece of literature because it allows us the opportunity to better understand the dynamic going on in high schools today.

The high school graduation rate is a barometer for the health of the American society and a gauge for the skill level of its future workforce. The ability of America's youth to enter into society in a positive and productive manner is extremely important to the development of our society as a healthy whole entity. Statistical trends are showing a decline in high school graduation rates and respectively, an increase in people entering the workforce without a high school diploma. According to U.S. government reports, the estimated average high school graduation rate is between 71 percent and 74 percent (National Center for Education Statistics). This means that about one quarter of all U.S. high school students drop out of school. This number increases in the inner city schools and in areas where poverty rates are high (N.C.E.S.). We need to make sure our youth are educated.

Antiquated teaching methods need to be redefined. Botstein enlightens to this fact when he writes, '...we might construct new kinds of institutions, each dedicated to one activity, from science to dance, to which adolescents could devote their energies while working together with professionals in those fields.' (115). The idea of allowing students to work in an area that is appealing to them, with actual professionals is not only practical, but also highly logical. This type of vocational education would allow students that might not excel in certain academic forums, the chance to develop a skill that appeals to them on an individual level. Teaching children practical, real-life skills will help save our society from academic ruin. Extreme changes are needed to efficiently educate our youth and protect them in the ever-increasing world of specialized expertise and innovative technologies.

As young people seek to define their personalities and understand their worlds, they are often met with cruelty and social paradigms that are unrealistic and shallow in school. Individuality is shunned and conformity is praised in high school. Students need to be allowed to express themselves without fear of being socially shunned by teachers or students. This can only occur if we formulate a serious and affective strategy for changing old, outdated educational models. In our current high schools, 'Individuality and dissent are discouraged', writes Botstein. It is important that we foster individuality. Individuality is the lifeblood of invention and creativity. If we desire to create perfunctory automatons of our children, then we should 'leave well enough alone' and in doing so, we push ourselves further into some similar version of Orwell's, "1984" novel. If we desire creative, inspiring individuals, then we need to change the way we educate our children. High school can be the most damaging of all the levels of schooling and it is crucial that the social fluff does not take away from true education.

Social cliques and hierarchy are a huge part of high school. Labels are given to every type of 'group' within a specific high school. These labels intensely define the individual based on hobbies, sports, club memberships, residential locale, and friends. These associations are immensely important to teenagers. Being 'cool' is very time consuming for the average high school student. Kids tend to associate who they are with the people they are friends with in school (Adler). Social structure is a dominate part of adolescent life (Adler 145). We need to rethink this and delve into what is really taking away from education in our society today. Botstein mentions throughout his essay, various ways in which schools are 'taking away' from student's ability to learn effectively.

School life consists of paradoxical anomalies that infiltrate and burden the student. High school consists of the most intense of these social conundrums. Teenagers are is some limbo between adulthood and childhood. This places them is a perplexing situation that affords them little real education or job training. Botstein mentions that, "...the rules of high school turn out not to be the rules of life."(114). This intense priority of sports participation and rigid social cliques are not the major emphasis in normal adult life. It is often too hard to get students to realize that they are in a transitional phase that will soon change. Restructuring current school paradigms would lift some of the social stress from student minds. It is almost impossible to get high school students to realize that high school life is ephemeral.

The sole focus in high school too often is not education, but on social interaction within the group, or tribe (Embree 762). The lack of teaching vocational skills in high school is due to the strict government regulation, social distractions, and trivial class curriculum. Botstein writes, "We should entirely abandon the concept of middle school and junior high school. Beginning with the seventh grade, there should be four years of secondary education that we may call high school. Young people should graduate at sixteen rather than eighteen."

If the current school systems were restructured, we would have the unique opportunity to teach our youth a wide variety of different skills. We could provide them with academic knowledge as well as practical 'hands on' knowledge. A well-rounded education is important to anyone seeking to be a whole and complete individual. This can be done by incorporating some of Botstein's ideas into the current high school system. If we were to allow students the opportunity to participant in smaller, more specialized classes much of the social angst would be eliminated.

Others may disagree with this perspective, but you must remember that statistics and data are extremely accurate. Some might say our schools are fine. Yet, you cannot overlook the facts. The fact that drop out rates are consistently rising is proof to anyone that this is an important issue that needs to be dealt with. Botstein is correct, no matter what your view, our current educational systems are flawed and changes are needed (115).

Botstein also writes of ways to change the system and better education for America's youth. This is an extremely important issue for everyone living in our society. One such was that he continually points out is the fact that we should do away with the current idea of high school.

This essay is a key to opening the eyes of many people that perhaps have not considered education to be a complex highly important part of our community. Lowered test scores and high drop out rates are proof that more people need to learn about this issue. Therefore, Botstein's essay "Let Teenagers Try Adulthood" should be a required reading in all English 102 classes at U.N.M.

This would give students the opportunity of exposing themselves to this important issue. The fact the current high school formats are antiquated and out-dated should be a part of every college student's education. Through education of the issue, changes for the benefit of future generations can occur. If more college students were aware of this problem, it would help our society in the future. Therefore, all 102 students should be required to read this essay and reflect upon how changes can be made for the better.