The American public education system failed me.
I don’t mean that it failed me in the literal sense; in fact, I did quite well in high school and graduated at the top of my class.
The American public education system failed me by not teaching me anything of practical use. I left high school with an understanding of algebra, elementary knowledge of the Spanish language, substantial background on American history from the Revolutionary War to World War II, and the ability to diagram a compound-complex sentence. I learned a lot in high school, academically, and even socially. I developed social skills by interacting with my peers five days a week, every week, for nine months, for twelve years.
What I didn’t learn, however, was how to do my taxes. How to apply for a credit card. What credit even is. I was never taught how to apply for a passport, or how to renew my driver’s license. I don’t understand how insurance works, or what the consequences would be if I didn’t have insurance. These things are constantly looming in my mind and in my everyday life, but I don’t know how to handle them because I was never taught how.
The problem with the current education system is that students are being taught how to take tests. Information is given by teachers, and then regurgitated by students in the form of standardized tests. Students are not taught how to think critically, but rather how to recall the information. The unfortunate thing is that standardized tests are so closely tied to a school’s budget and to a student’s chances at college admission that it would be impossible for a student to not go through school and not learn how to take a test.
However, with constant discussion about education reform and the benefits of Common Core, I think it is time that education truly be reformed. Instead of public education being centered around what classic novels, math concepts, and scientific methods a student should be learning, there should also be required courses on things like what taxes are and how to do your taxes.
I do not think that traditional academics should be shoved to the wayside, but I also don’t think we are doing are students any favors by putting such a heavy emphasis on academics and standardized tests. Students graduate from high school with high proficiency in academics, but with no practical skills.
Some may argue that a person should learn what taxes are and how to do them in their own homes from their parents. However, if a student is required to take a sex-ed course while in high school, which is arguably also a parent’s job, then students should also be required to take courses in tax preparation and how to manage credit cards.
The bottom line is that public education can no longer be teaching academics and test taking skills. Schools need to teach their students how to manage their lives apart from academics, because a person’s life will not always be about school.
