Do Public Schools Have Their Priorities Right?

Many students who attend public school agree that the experience is awful. They frequently voice their feelings of disgust in regard to the abomination that we currently cause public school. These students are not the ones that will become the “sheep” of public school. These are the students that will be frowned upon for their refusal to conform. These are also the same students who will eventually laugh at the hypocritical nature of the public school system and the way that it is set up.

Why I am Writing this Article

The big difference between the defiant students in school who speak out about the injustice that they face, and I was one of the “sheep” of the public school system. I was a pleasant student who graduated with a 4.0 GPA. I had a perfect attendance record. I also sat on the student council and had top-notch colleges inviting me to enroll. For some reason, instructors loved me. Students around me respected me but feared me.

I had so much power in the palm of my hand, and so many people with power catering to me, no one dared to upset me out of fear that I could destroy them in the eyes of the administration. I was considered one of the students who the principal knew better than I knew him, but only academically. Colleges practically filled my parents' mailbox daily for the last year I was in high school. My parents were elated.

The public school system did well for me, at least in their eyes. My notoriety in the public school system was quite disgusting because I was nothing special. I was obedient, and nothing more. This article is not meant to be spiteful against the public school system, or those who still stand behind their system of indoctrination. I am not writing this because of any academic failure because it would be pointless. I was valedictorian of my graduating class, and I faced very few academic failures. I even graduated two years early because of my academic success. Because of this, I am more than qualified to make the claims here.

Most Teachings are Random, Useless, and Meaningless

In class, too much time is wasted on topics that are completely useless in life. The overall quality of lessons is sacrificed on a daily basis for the sake of quantity. As a result of the academic inflation and the devaluation of information, the school system has turned intellectual ambition into apathy. Bright minds that are capable of limitless potential are thrown away, they slowly turn to gray mush and they cannot prevent their own academic demise.

In an effort for schools to be multicultural and “eclectic,” the class curricula has developed a shallowness and a disorganized structure. While the thought of teaching a global viewpoint sounds promising, teachers do not have enough time to integrate the topics into a cohesive concept, so students suffer from receiving a piecemeal education. These concepts cannot be built upon, leaving someone with a 12-year compartmentalized education.

Synthesis Between Topics is Neglected

A great example of this problem is the relationship between physics and geometry. The average student is capable of mastering both subjects, but public school systems are not able to provide the connection between the two. Failing to synthesize the two leaves both subjects without a purpose, and the effectiveness of both subjects suffers.

This synthesis is neglected between all subjects in the public school system. This is why many students look back and have such vague memories. These memories are filled with random, meaningless, and useless facts that they are unable to apply to their real life. It is like having every piece to a car engine, but they are all sitting in a worthless heap in the yard. You have no clue of how to put them together to make them a functional, usable engine.

To make matters worse, most school subjects are not composed of real knowledge. For example, history books are filled with purposely created inaccuracies and distortions of the truth for the sake of political correctness.

It amazes me that a great majority of the population can actually function on a sixth-grade level, which is essentially what is required now to graduate high school. The reason these students suffer living on a sixth-grade education is that most of the knowledge they have gained has been forgotten. The topics that are typically forgotten before graduation are history, algebra, biology, and physics. Given the way topics are taught, teachers who focus on these subjects may as well teach to empty classrooms.

The Majority of the School Day is Filled With Wasted Time

The primary purpose of educating students is to create an independent, competent, focused thinker. A person who is capable of using their knowledge to make a difference in the world. A person who has a great sense of the world around them and can be successful in the world.

So if the purpose of educating is to create a successful, independent thinker, why are pep rallies, football games, basketball games, proms, crazy hair days, and sex education such a profound milestone in high school?

Wasted Time Could Be Focused on Real World Preparedness

Of course, without the events mentioned above, school would be boring and dull in the eyes of most students. However, school is not supposed to create excitement about these topics. They are supposed to mold the mind of young people and prepare them for all of the excitement they will face in the real world. School should be more than just a surrogate provider of entertainment. This excitement makes it artificial and socially harmful to the majority of students.

For students who focus solely on these activities, who will balance their checkbook? Who will do the dishes? Who will teach them the true facts of life and what college will be like?

In truth, if we stripped all of this “entertainment” out of the public school system, attendance would only require 4 hours per day, and it would only last 120 days per school year. Kids would be able to get adequate sleep, have more free time for real entertainment, and have time to think, grow, and live. Unfortunately, this would inconvenience parents who are required to work 8-hours a day and are paid by the hour. They may actually have to spend money on childcare and spend time with their child, teaching them life-skills.

The time invested in extracurricular activities could be spent on real world activities, like growing a self-sustaining garden, instead of trivial activities. The effects let behind by the public school system are social, academic, and financial dysfunction. Again, quality has been reduced to provide quantity. Quality only serves those who in demand. However, consumers of education have been dumbed down to primal levels so that their appreciation of quality no longer matters.

Despite These Problems, Almost Everyone is Happy

Sadly, even with the lack of education provided by public education, everyone seems to be happy. Parents are happy that their kids are at school “learning.” The school provides just enough information that parents don't have to teach their children morality or ethics. They don't have to spend money on entertaining their children because public school does this free of charge in most cases.

Parents who feel the need to keep their kids competitive do not do so by helping expand on what their child is learning, they would rather yell at them every quarter when report cards are distributed. Because most of the public thrives only on a sixth-grade level, parents are at a complete loss after their child reaches sixth grade.

There are exceptions to this rule, like parents who achieved a college degree, or those who searched for knowledge on their own time, but these parents are a minority.

Teachers are content because they have a secure job. The more they work, the higher their pay scale goes. The more programs schools offer, the more funding they receive from the state and the federal government. It seems everyone is happy … except for the kids. Who cares though? What do they know? We haven't taught them enough to make educated decisions!

Since a student's job is to obey and learn what to think, rather than how to think for themselves, they are easily caught up in the mediocrity expected by a public school system.