"Teachers are the end all be all of the educational system. They create curriculums, lesson plans, and supply creativity in every lesson they make." For most of us, this is what we thought through 8th Grade and even high school. However, as we have grown up we have been exposed to the harsh reality that is todays education system. Even so, we don't necessarily know what to do with it. In a way, we feel that we can't do anything because we don't know much about it. From our perspective as the "youth" of America, we're still going through the process and the only ones who can take a stand are those who completed their education. Its time for that to change. We must express our opinions and bring light to the important parts of the educational process. From test scores to text books, patriotism to politics, we must take a stand.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America...." These words became second nature to me and I said them every school day through my high school graduation. While it was tempting to be a rebellious teenager and NOT say the Pledge of Allegiance, it was something I didn't mess with. To me, saying the pledge every morning is the right thing to do. To me, stopping and honoring the country that has provided me with my excellent education is very important. I believe that schools should teach patriotism from grades 1-12. In high school, patriotism should be taught through service learning requirements and analysis of what congress and the government is doing. Teaching patriotism in high school should be focused on creating better citizens and should be inherently separate from History requirements.
When it comes to History and Social Studies Education, I have a special bias. I have the goal of becoming a history (and science) teacher one day. I believe that history is very important for students. "You can't know where you're going until you know where you've been." This quote should end all arguments when it comes to removing history from school curriculums. Why should we reinvent the wheel or make the same mistakes that have already been made. The history of European countries in addition to our relatively short history as a country are pinnacle pieces of the puzzle in creating a successful and working society. History can show us political patterns, provide us with a better cultural understanding, show us useful military tactics and identify geo-political issues across the globe. If we focus only on Math and Science, we will be building human robots with few social skills and relatively no understanding of cultural differences.
Even if we continue Social Studies/History education in schools, there must be some regulation. We cannot succeed as a united country if people are learning different things across the country. For example, the Texas and California textbook market shares are too much of a defining factor for textbook companies. Censoring and tweaking events in history to glorify or idolize certain states or political figures is not the right thing to do. Social Studies curricula should force students to look analytically at primary source documents and be inspired by the raw glory and intuition of famous (or infamous) people in history.
As much as the No Child Left Behind Act was a needed improvement to educational policy in the United States, it is far from perfect. Back in my Sophomore year in high school, I wrote an 8 page term paper on its flaws. I pointed out both the positives and the negatives of the plan and, looking back, I don't change my opinion. The plan was flawed from the start and those flaws continue to detriment the education of students across the country. Of course, in the beginning it was promising. However, year after year the plan began to fail and produced more failing schools than it did to help them. While NCLB gave more federal funding to schools across the country, it also forced them to become more stringent on creative curricula and pushed teachers to "teach to the test" as it has so been called.
Its time for change, most people agree, but its by who that is the important factor. We can no longer rely on our political representatives to speak for us. It's time to send a message ourselves. Our generation must be the one to demand change. Our generation must be the one to speak up for what we believe in. Our generation must be the one to put what we learned to good use and make it even better for those who will go through the education system of the United States. It's time to take control and show that we have the power, the voice, and the people to make a difference.
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