Let’s revolutionize for our kids

Let’s revolutionize for our kids

 

     Education! When you look at this strong word what comes to mind first? Is it utility or benefits? Or is it dull and forced? Adults usually think of the first two things while children and teenagers, the very people who are going through the process of education right this moment, will think of the last two words. How could this be the result for most people? That’s because today’s education systems are wrong for this generation and they need to be changed. To simply look at the current system, it emphasizes standardized testing and college. It seems like the final destination for all people should be college but actually it definitely does not have to be like that. Also it bundles kids according to their age which seems like the only important thing is the year of their manufacture. The current system helps the talented ones to succeed while leaving other children behind. These are only a part of our education system’s characteristics.

    
     As you can see from above, the current system has many problems. First, it is made for a different age but is still used for us. The generation before us could have benefited from it because the system focused on the intellectual culture of the enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution which are what actually happened when they were students. However, the world has changed rapidly from then and the education system should follow the change as well. Second, it is like a factory and the students are treated as products. From Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd, children are scolded from writing poems and not focusing in class. They enter school in straight lines and follow everything the teacher says. It was somewhat exaggerated but still today’s schools are mostly like that. They give the children stiff information that they call knowledge and don’t care if they fully understood them by heart or not because their only duty is to get them to college. This is why most people cannot benefit from the system and merely a few will live well. Plus, this kind of organization makes kids become anesthetic meaning they are falling asleep in their mental work and creativity. When some children are too excited to stand the boring and dull concepts school teaches them, they are called to have ADHD and people make them take drugs which are dangerous to the youngsters. Finally, everything is about linearity and conformity. Nothing new or creative can be branched out the current system and everyone should follow what the society had planned for them.

    
     What can we do about this issue? We need to change the paradigm. A revolution in education and innovation is required. There are two things Ken Robinson told in his speech that are important for the transformation, divergent thinking and collaboration. Divergent thinking helps people to become creative and collaboration is followed by growth. Ken Robinson has said “We have to move to a model that is based more on principles of agriculture.” For instance, Finland has one of the best education systems in the world and this can be a good model for other countries as well. In Finland, schools try hard to help students find out what are the best things they can do. They teach them based on various fields because they do not know which field could be a child’s talent. Also, they do not leave behind anyone and give them extra help to catch up with the others. Their education is part homemade because until seven, all children learn from their parents and parents are the ones who help them to want to go to school and learn more about diverse subjects. These are only a few reasons why Finland teaches for the least hours and has the best results. Our school systems should be transformed into organizations like Finland and help children find their own talents and interests.

    
     At first, I thought the school systems definitely helped me find my talents and helped me to step closer to a happier life in the future. However, now I look back at it, I believe I only found talents that are in the fields of what the society prefers. I never really had a time of my own to search for my own talents and I feel sorry for myself for following everything schools wanted me to do and thinking that they were doing it for me. In middle school, I was educated and thus the thoughts and wonders I had in elementary school had disappeared because I was nearly hypnotized by the education system believing I will live a better life if I follow the trend in studying. Nevertheless, when I entered KMLA I realized today’s school system was wrong. In this school, I found many friends with beautiful talents of their own and the school tried hard to develop their talents. KMLA did not only make the students study and stack up knowledge but also wanted them to keep their own talents as they study along. I believe the current system should be changed. I understand it will be a difficult task at first because nothing is easy when it’s innovative. However, this change is not only for our benefits but also for our children’s. We need to make a society for everyone not only the well-educated.

    
     Now we came up with the conclusion that it is necessary for us to transform the current system of education but how? People need to think of original and novel ways of studying but for the basic parts, schools need to teach various fields and assist children to find their own talent by trying different things from a young age. We need to help them live in a world that they can live together.