School Needs an Update

By: Joshua Green 

        Does 180 years sound like a lot to you? From the invention of cameras and automobiles to running water and electricity, almost every aspect of life has changed over the last 180 years.  However, one system in society that has yet to change is public education.  Over the last 180 years, schools have failed so many students and will continue this way if nothing changes. Schools strip creativity from kids and force them to learn at the same rate, crippling success later in life.

        One of the most prominent problems is that teens aren’t staying in school. A study conducted in 2021 showed 9.6% of teens drop out of school before college, and 40.9% of young adults drop out of college. 

        For the teens who stay in school, the education they get still isn't satisfactory.  Today in the United States, most adults have the reading and writing skills of a seventh grader. “The biggest problem I see with our current age-based system is that it stands in contrast to what we know to be true about children and their development,” says Marry Beth, an assistant professor at a college in Texas.

        Our school system was built around producing obeying factory workers. Today the need for these working styles is little to none. These days technology-based and creative problem-solving employees are most valued in the workforce. Another reason the school system is failing is because it is set up to teach every student the same way when not every student is the same. There are three learning styles: visual, auditorial, and kinesthetic. Visual learners learn through seeing, auditory learners learn from listening, and kinesthetic learners learn from moving around and doing. Teachers focus on one of these learning styles, so not every kid takes in the same amount of information. Different learning styles are important because it helps keep students engaged in the curriculum, making them want to learn, leading to more learning.

        Mental health is a growing problem in our society, and finally it is being discussed on a wide scale.  However, oftentimes the stress and mental toll the education system brings on its students isn't brought up. A study done in 2018 showed over two-thirds of college students experienced overwhelming anxiety, and we are starting to see stress in young children. Schools are trying to make a change, but it is hardly making a dent. On average, there is one counselor per 1000 to 1500 students, and with the caseload of school counselors this is hardly enough.

        Bullying has been a problem with school aged students for as long as school has existed, but with the growth of social media, cyberbullying has seen a dramatic increase. A study done in 2019 shows on average 15 percent of 12 to 18 year olds were bullied online or by text; another study done in 2022 showed 46 percent of 13 to 17 year olds experienced at least one form of cyberbullying. In just three years, cyberbullying has more than tripled. One of the reasons for this is schools have no way of protecting students once they leave school, but what happens off of school grounds can still impact that student's ability to do well in school.

        Funding is also becoming a problem.  According to the Century Foundation, K-12 public schools in the U.S. are underfunded by $150 billion annually.  Low budgets lead to unsafe schools. Inadequate funding means schools can’t hire teachers, making class sizes larger, which leads to classes being overpopulated and overwhelming for students and teachers alike.                          

        As time goes on, schools will continue to crumble apart and get more distant from the real world, and unless we do something, this trend will continue. If you think of anything from 180 years ago it will look different today. Now think of classrooms 180 years ago and think of classrooms today.  Classrooms almost look identical with few changes, like the implementation of technology in classrooms. If everything else has changed, then why hasn’t school?