High School Research Paper Education System
Anne Belcastro
Mrs. Hunsicker
Honors English 12
24 April 2011
Let me introduce you to a student going to an American public school. She gets relatively good grades and is currently enrolled in two universities, mainly because she has yet to choose. She isn’t very athletic or gifted in the arts. She is in upper level courses and has never received a C or lower on any report card. She has no idea what she wants to do with her life but has settled for a major that of which she has no true passion. This describes, yours truly, Anne Belcastro. But, not only do I believe this describes myself but other students in Woodridge High School. Out of basic observation, I have noticed that a lot of other high school seniors have chosen a major that they think they can live with or no major at all. I believe the United States educational system does not help students thrive. In our system three specific characteristics stand out: importance of certain subjects, the fixation on certain types of intellectual ability and intelligence testing, which makes up what Sir Ken Robinson, PhD describes as the one-size-fits-all approach to education (Robinson 13-14).
One of the main issues I have found in the educational system is the picking and choosing of certain subjects over others. The system has created this check list for students to finish if they want to graduate. Rules like 4 years of English, so many years of math, ect. I’m not saying that those are unimportant classes, but it does get in the way of taking certain electives. For example, I was really interested in taking ceramics because every time I find myself painting pottery or making a structure out of clay, I’m completely engorged in it. But, to take ceramics, you have to take Art I and Art II. Now, with the rules making sure that I have at least seventy-five percent of my day filled up, it’s hard to get that class. If a student at Woodridge just takes one year of band their fine-arts credit is already completed. So,
Mrs. Hunsicker
Honors English 12
24 April 2011
Let me introduce you to a student going to an American public school. She gets relatively good grades and is currently enrolled in two universities, mainly because she has yet to choose. She isn’t very athletic or gifted in the arts. She is in upper level courses and has never received a C or lower on any report card. She has no idea what she wants to do with her life but has settled for a major that of which she has no true passion. This describes, yours truly, Anne Belcastro. But, not only do I believe this describes myself but other students in Woodridge High School. Out of basic observation, I have noticed that a lot of other high school seniors have chosen a major that they think they can live with or no major at all. I believe the United States educational system does not help students thrive. In our system three specific characteristics stand out: importance of certain subjects, the fixation on certain types of intellectual ability and intelligence testing, which makes up what Sir Ken Robinson, PhD describes as the one-size-fits-all approach to education (Robinson 13-14).
One of the main issues I have found in the educational system is the picking and choosing of certain subjects over others. The system has created this check list for students to finish if they want to graduate. Rules like 4 years of English, so many years of math, ect. I’m not saying that those are unimportant classes, but it does get in the way of taking certain electives. For example, I was really interested in taking ceramics because every time I find myself painting pottery or making a structure out of clay, I’m completely engorged in it. But, to take ceramics, you have to take Art I and Art II. Now, with the rules making sure that I have at least seventy-five percent of my day filled up, it’s hard to get that class. If a student at Woodridge just takes one year of band their fine-arts credit is already completed. So,
Cited: Bronson, Po. "The Creativity Crisis." Newsweek (2010): Web. 24 Apr 2011. <http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html>. "Interlochen Center for the Arts: Our Mission." Interlochen. Web. 24 Apr 2011. <http://www.interlochen.org/content/interlochen-center-arts-our-mission>. Robinson, Ken. The Element. United States: Viking Penguin, 2009. Print.