Is Education Making Kids Less Smart?

Is Education Making Kids Less Smart? More and more studies and articles are coming out every year saying that our education system is plummeting downward and each year it is only getting worse. In particular, it is the nation’s high schools that are falling behind and not a lot of effort is being put forth to change this hopeless and vicious cycle. Most people blame the students saying they are not yet disciplined enough to care about his or her education and others say the teachers are only interested in being there to get their paycheck. The truth is that it is a lack of effort put out by both the students and the teachers. So how are we going to fix this problem and what should we do to improve our education? As part of my investigation to this question, I have reviewed and analyzed two essays that I will introduce to you today. These articles are titled “What High School Is” by Theodore Sizer and “Reforming American High Schools –Why, What, and How” by William R. Daggett. Both of these essays explain and inform you how high school really is and how our education system is failing as a whole. After reading both essays, it raises the question can our high schools be saved from absolute failure? In “What High School Is” Sizer explores the ideas, thoughts, and reality of what goes on in a student named Mark. Sizer points out some flaws in our education system and he shows how students don’t take their education seriously. The purpose of Sizer’s story is to expose what really goes on in high school and he also tries to enlighten parents of high school students with facts of what his or her child might be doing on a daily basis in school. The author declares that high school is just something that everybody goes through and on many occasions in the story it can be seen that he makes an average high school student sound nonchalant and uninterested in his education. Sizer recalls that “taking subjects in a systematized, conveyer belt way is what one does in high school” (623) and that process has not changed over the years. Overall, Sizer proves that the subjects are being taught but he is afraid they are not being learned. In “Reforming American High Schools – Why, What, and How” Daggett explains why we need a change in our high schools by identifying the problem first and then determining what it is that needs to be changed. Instead of stating the facts on what some high schools are doing wrong, Daggett follows the examples of schools that are excelling in the education system. He gives examples on what prestigious schools do compared to an average high school. Organization and framework, along with determination, were some things that Daggett says that can be added to average high schools to make them achieve higher goals. Another improvement can be made between the relationship between the students and the professors. The better the relationship with the teacher and student, the more beneficial it is to the student and most importantly, the student’s grades. The final part of Daggett’s article is how we are going to make this change towards a brighter future in our education. Creating a new environment, creating a plan, and managing this change is all part of the big solution to solve this education problem.
Although Sizer and Daggett both display problems with the high school education system, Sizer displays the many problems of education and explains why we are failing while Daggett comes up with the solutions to our nation’s high schools. Sizer believes that the problems lie with the students and he blames little on the teachers. Sizer thinks that the lack of organization of classes and the lack of interest by the student are two big causes of failing students in high school. He also declares that many students see high school as “the day-today- routine”. (619) Sizer states that kids get bored and tired of this routine and that’s where they develop a lack of interest. Also, Sizer says that the “subjects come at a student like Mark in a random order” and with this random order follows the lack of focus on each subject. In Daggett’s article he says less about how bad an average high school is and instead he focuses more on what exactly high performance high schools are doing. He gives more solutions on things we can apply to an average high school to make them better. Daggett elaborates a lot on ideas on how we can better our high schools by following exactly what high performance schools are doing. Daggett focuses on finding the solution to the high school problem rather than just looking at the problem itself. Daggett also believes that “relationship framework” (5) was important because he thinks that if a student has a very good relationship with teachers and the school, then the student will embrace and embed more knowledge into their lives. With such big changes in high schools, Daggett states that schools need to look forward onto change rather than be scared and intimidated to try new things. Finally in Daggett’s article, he says school’s need to create a plan and manage the change in order to ever move on to a bigger and brighter future. I believe that both essays couldn’t be any more true to the fact that our nation’s high schools are lacking in some sort of way. From my own experience, I can agree with both authors when they say that high school can be improved in many ways. Both authors agree that relationships between the students and the teachers should be improved. Also, both authors can agree on the fact that organization of high school courses are needed in order to improve the focus of students’ attention better on their work. Sizer and Daggett both explain what high schools are doing wrong and why our high schools need change. As a student, I believe that many improvements can be made and we should always aspire to be better especially in our education. Our schools can be saved and students will always have a brighter future through the use of schools and college. I hope all schools can learn to do better and I hope that this change will better the lives of everyone.

Works Cited
Daggett, Willard R. “Reforming American High Schools –Why, What, and How.” International Center for Leadership in Education. 2004. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.
Sizer, Theodore R. “What High School Is.” Comley, Nancy R. et al. Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2010. 613-622. Print

Cited: Daggett, Willard R. “Reforming American High Schools –Why, What, and How.” International Center for Leadership in Education. 2004. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. Sizer, Theodore R. “What High School Is.” Comley, Nancy R. et al. Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2010. 613-622. Print