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When High School Is Bad

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Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live it’s whole life believing that it is stupid”. Schooling today is making their students, the fish, climb trees. I have felt this many times before. I especially feel this when I excel in certain classes such as Math and Science, but struggle in other classes such as Social Studies and English. I feel a connection with Holden Caulfield here, as he was excellent in English, but failed every other class. Society made him believe he was stupid and worthless, even though he possessed remarkable skills in English. Even though my performance is outstanding in some classes, one or two bad grades can damage my GPA, and I become perceived …show more content…

Phones have progressed in the last century. Our government, our minds, and our very way of life has progressed in the last century. But one thing that hasn't progressed one bit? The education system. We still sit in rows, nice and neat, facing a teacher, told to be quiet, sit still, and to raise our our hands to speak. We are lectured for hours and a minor slip up can result in a punishment. “School” is an outdated technique created about 150 years ago to prepare kids to work in factories. Kids back then were meant to think the same, and to be generic. Today, the world needs critical thinking, independent thinking, and innovative thinking. Students may only take up 17.5% of the American population (“Back to School Statistics”), but they are 100% of our future. If we all thought the same, how could the world progress any …show more content…

Doctors make hundreds of thousands because they save lives, but teachers make just a small fraction of that, regardless of the fact that they shape lives. Besides, doctors can only do what they do, thanks to their teachers.

Finland has done some things to change its education system. Their teachers make a good wage, homework is non-existent, the school days are shorter, and collaboration is encouraged, not competition (Sahlberg). It sounds like a radical change, and it is, but Finland’s education system has rocketed to become the best in the world (Zhao). Countries such as South Korea and Singapore took after Finland once they saw their success, and their education systems have boosted greatly in the rankings too.

After this thinking and research I know now that we must come together as a nation and reshape the school system. We must redefine what it means to be gifted, and what it means to be smart. Because whether you excel in Math and Science, English and History, or Art and Dance, everybody is a genius. But to achieve our full potential, and recognize this greatness, we must stop forcing fish to climb trees, and let them swim

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