An education on education: students give opinions on the pitfalls of the school system

With a history that dates back to the early 1600s, American education has grown from a Puritanical religious upbringing to an all-encompassing schooling that covers subjects that range from astronomy to foreign language. Now, however, students and teachers alike seem to feel the true purpose of education has been forgotten.

“The goal of education is to teach children to think for themselves and give them the necessary tools for it, not just get a certain number on a test,” senior Kellie Chiou said. “There is a huge stress over four numbers on the SAT that seem to define how intelligent you are.”

Senior Angie Chang said, “I don’t think it’s an accurate method of measuring a person’s intelligence or abilities. People study specifically for standardized tests because it’s so different and you just have to memorize the tricks on how to pick the answers.”

It has become conventional to use standardized testing as an indicator for school budgets, which has led to false reporting of scores and various instances of cheating.

“I think our current schooling system places far too much emphasis on standardized testing,” Chiou said. “Some schools, even if they make huge progress from the previous years, still get cut funding simply because they didn’t meet standards that the state wants them to meet.”

Recent articles have revealed a growing dissatisfaction among teachers, who have expressed uncertainties about their job market. This is largely due to extreme budget cuts, most prominent in neighborhoods with lower salaries.

“Teachers are seriously undervalued and appreciated for the job that they do,” Chiou said. “Right now, since teaching is seen as a ‘lower’ position, the brightest students aren’t interested in going into it even though they are probably best fit for the job.”

This mindset, which is spreading among the younger generation, could lead to crippling consequences in the teaching profession.

“Fewer and fewer students will ultimately study education,” Chiou said.