There
are no more toys allowed in kindergarten. No puzzles, no paints, no games to be
played and explored. Some people believe that in order for the world to become
more successful and have increasingly intelligent generations is to focus only
on facts. So if we wipe away the color and take all of the imagination away, will
the children really benefit? Will they run our nation better due to their
impeccable education? Or are they
destined to be nothing more than robots? Another issue is that increasing the
already stressful education system is causing mental health problems for many
students in junior high through college. Change is necessary to help these
children grow up to be well rounded academically and emotionally.
Although
my early elementary school memories are a blur, there are a few things that
will forever stick out in my mind; the rainbow banner we painted that hung
above the window all sloppy with our fingerprints in every color of paint
imaginable or the comfy red rug in which we sat to tell our stories every day.
We could draw, we could paint, we could color and sing and explore the parts of
our mind we were still struggling to use effectively. I would build terrariums
of the ocean and cover them with every sea creature that I could think of- and
to imagine all of this gone is baffling.
I
am against the idea of taking the creativity out of learning, which seems to be
the essential goal. Who will be the inventors of the coming generations? You
can teach children facts and dates, it is an extremely important part of being
educated but it is not the only thing. Giving a student a textbook, especially
at such a young age where their childhood is in full bloom, the grass never
looked greener and sun never shone brighter in their small eyes that have just
began to understand the world around them. Fact may never change; dates of
historical battles will remain the same just as books cannot be unwritten. But
who will continue on and create more? Who will help us advance and inspire
others to build new monuments, write new books, create new inventions, add to
the New York City skyline? Common core can’t teach them how to be creative. I’m
not sure if expert memorizers that we are raising just to pass tests would make
valuable inventors or artists or writers or architects.
The
words that seem to be buzzing around in schools all throughout America are
“college ready.” Everywhere I go they calculate the newest numbers needed to
get into a decent school, everyday new standards of “college readiness.” I have
done my research and teachers have said that there is no time for creative
approaches at learning when there is so much to be done in order to be deemed
as “college ready.” I understand this and do agree that learning math, science,
literature, and foreign language are all important aspects of education. But
without creativity and without looking at things from different views rather
than just taking notes from a textbook, how can we ever be truly educated? In
Eleanor Roosevelt’s speech, “What I Hope to Leave Behind,” she states, “It is
almost entirely a question of education. There is such thing as going through
the world blindfolded.”
It’s time to take the blindfold
off, to teach children from a young age to admire the world around them, to
write or draw or express how it makes them feel, to just take time to
appreciate the physical world around us instead of sitting behind the desk for
hours trying to be “college ready” at the age of twelve. To me there are
several aspects of being educated: knowledge and curiosity. An educated person
studies not for the test but for life. They learn because their mind wants to
know, to hold as much as it can and jam little facts and ideas into every nook
and cranny possible.
Teachers and the Board of
Education should try to make time for creativity. Because they are directing
the future scientists, mathematicians, authors, poets, painters, doctors, etc.
but no matter their future career, they are directing the future of our
country. If equipping them only with ideal standardized test scores and nothing
more, they may be “college ready” but not necessarily prepared for life.
Another issue that I find awful
in the school system is the effect is has on teenagers and young adults. If you
have a free moment today or tomorrow or whenever, go to google and type in
“school makes me” and watch the results pop up. School makes me cry. School makes me depressed. School makes me
suicidal. School makes me want to hurt myself. The results are appalling.
Due to this concept of “college readiness” there is pressure like never before.
The pressure is suffocating all teenagers causing suicidal thoughts,
depression, and anxiety. The pressure to be perfect, ideal students is louder
than ever before. Some teachers try to motivate using threats such as “If you
don’t pass this test, you fail this class.” Incidents such as those create a
tense learning environment and discourages students from studying because
failure seems to an inevitable fate.
I also believe lack of
creativity plays a part in the issue of struggling, unhappy students. Not every
teenager understands chemistry or trig perfectly and if other classes aren’t
readily available how will they ever realize that their talent may not lie in
calculations of equations or in the periodic table of elements but perhaps they
can paint a beautiful picture or write an inspiring piece of literature. In the
words of Albert Einstein, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by
its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is
stupid.” We all have different talents and interests and everyone should be
admired for them. Passion and inspiration feed education, without the passion
there can be no progress.
Some teachers and authority
figure of the Board of Education may disagree and believe that putting all of
this pressure to be “college ready” is a positive thing. Taking the color out
of learning can help them focus perhaps. But to them I can only say think back to your education, to your passion,
to your favorite subject and imagine having never discovered it or pursued it.
Education needs change in order
for the coming generations to thrive. Teachers need to break the boundaries and
put down the textbook every once and a while and teach from the heart, from the
fire of their passion for the subject they teach. Learning is not about
standardized test scores. People all over the world do not fight for
standardized tests, the fight for knowledge. They fight because their minds
want to know everything there is to know. When the world came about or who
discovered what in history and what monuments stand for and whom were important
leaders in the world. We have the power, the opportunity, and the freedom to
learn. We must find a way to use it properly and to inspire our students and
remind them how truly blessed they are to be able to be educated not just
“college ready.”
