My Two Cents: Education

When you were in school did your teachers ask you on a regular basis what you thought of things? Did they stimulate discussion? Did they ask for individuality? Or did they search for a specific answer that you could find out of a book and not out of your brain?

In most cases I'm going to guess the second option was what happened. If you got the first then what a lucky duck you are.

In my opinion, most of the problems in America can be traced to the education system. Critical thinking is not usually part of the criteria for high schools across the nation, so many Americans never learn critical thinking which is something completely essential in order to make our country work. People need to be able to think deeply in order to choose what they think is right for them instead of what those in power think would be right in order to stay in power.

Another issue with not being able to think for ourselves lies in competing world wide. Although we have some of the best colleges and universities in the world many of the graduates from those colleges and universities are not American citizens. Americans are slowly becoming the dumbest of the 1st world countries when there is no need for that.

This is a fairly easy problem to fix. All we would have to do is change our teaching style. Teachers would have to ask questions like "What do you think?... Please support your answer with evidence from (whatever)". It's simple. We also should challenge our students linguistically, mathematically, and scientifically. Most countries have their students study more than one language all through middle school and high school (or the equivalent of). We don't. Most schools split up their students according to their abilities and what they wish to do in the future. We don't. We stick the academically gifted with students who could care less about school and want to be athletes, artists, etc. This makes it difficult at times for people who are academically minded to be challenged accordingly and it makes those who just don't have the knack for academics feel stupid when they are simply gifted in other areas.

It isn't fair to either party, so why do we continue to do it?

This might sound crazy, but I think it's the people in power who keep it this way. The dumber Americans are the easier it is for them to be re-elected.

It's all a conspiracy!! ;)