At this point in our lives, we have all been through the American education system, or at least are currently in the process. There are some students that really excel in the memorize and spit-back environment, but others like me, being able to actually use that information in a relevant way is what truly matters. So, let's examine some key points about where it succeeds, where it fails, and what could be improved.
The good
So, we all know that in the United States, formal education usually begins with kindergarten, or even preschool if parents are able to afford it. Children usually begin to explore this system between the ages of five and six years. This is actually a great age for children to be introduced into formal education. If children were to go to school before the age of 5 to 6 years, it would require a lot of staff to watch (read: babysit) them. They're at the right age to begin meeting children their own age and begin the social development process. Attachment Theory was developed by Bowlby and it deals with the early relationships with a child's primary caregivers and how these relationships influence his or her future relationships. It is best to give time for these healthy relationships to develop and blossom. But, if a child can not make a healthy connection with a parent or guardian, introducing that child to a teacher, administrator, or someone else can really make an impact!
Getting to the basics now, it is important to have children exercise their brains. No, I don't mean having their brains run on treadmills or anything like that, but being able to solidify neural connections and form circuits is extremely important.
For those of you who are not familiar with brain development, there is a process known as selective pruning, which, simply put, means that those connections that are not used are lost. It's similar to learning a language: if you took Spanish in high school and haven't had to use it since, try to say the phrase, "I lost my cat near the library." I guarantee you that trying to remember how to conjugate the verb "to lose" in the past tense and then remember all of the other vocabulary is going to be difficult. It is really important that we expose students to as much as possible, while still maintaining the depth of the material.
The bad
Well, I am almost 100 percent certain that everyone has heard about the curriculum debate (have you heard of the common core?). Content has and always will be a major problem with the education system.
The ugly
Graduation and retention rates are some of the biggest problems facing the school systems today.
