True Education Flaws

For decades, authors and critics have written about America’s educational system’s flaws, but to this day these problems are still present. Why aren’t they being fixed? Why aren’t our students fully prepared to go on after high school? Although many people deny the existence of problems in our education system, the problems are very real and directly affecting students’ futures. The problems facing the education system are all related to depriving students of “true education”. Many authors have given their definition of “true education”, but I believe everyone has their own definition. The first author/critic we read from in the Education chapter was Francine Prose. While Prose does not directly give her definition of what “true
By reading more challenging books, we learn more and more effectively. Reading for entertainment all the time would be and is very harmful to a student’s education. Even when a teacher does assign a challenging book, it is still not analyzed for its independent literary value. Prose puts the blame on teachers and the education system for depriving students of valuable literary knowledge. Prose didn’t have a definition of true education, but she pointed out a major problem in the path of a better education. Ralph Waldo Emerson was the next author with strong views towards our flawed education system. He believes that a student should be free to make their own decisions for their education. Emerson also writes about the balance between “Genius and Drill”. Genius is when the student can develop their own ideas about things to grow their knowledge, and drill is the opposite, where the instructor has control of what the student learns. Emerson’s definition of true education was a balance between the two. Too much Genius, and the child may develop incorrect thoughts. Too much Drill, and the child may not be inclined to think for themselves. An
Not all students are equally prepared for success. There are various reasons a student might be set a disadvantage. Some of these reasons may be discrimination, economical issues, language barriers, or location. On the issue of discrimination, James Baldwin said, “Now by this time the negro child has had almost all the doors of opportunity slammed in his face.” Students with bigger problems than school may not be motivated to achieve success in school. A student that struggles to keep food on the table probably won’t think about doing his math homework. I believe not that there are problems with our education, but rather in our education system. Right now, how we are taught by receiving information then being tested on it. Although people may not like this method, it is the best to keep student honest and on track. There is no other way to see where students are at efficiently. Without tests, the learning would be all genius and no drill. The system is meant for no student left behind. Of course, that is not possible due to the many problems. The most a school can do is to be supportive and provide engaging teachers. The rest falls into the hands of the student. The education system can’t control what a student does outside of school activities, but it can still have a hopefully positive influence at best. I believe that is why the problems haven’t been fixed. The system lacks