By Shannon Armstrong ’16

When a teacher poses a question to a classroom full of kindergarteners, the children are often bursting out of their seats, delighted with the opportunity to display their knowledge. Yet if a teacher were to ask this same group of children a question twelve years later, in their senior year of high school, the teacher would likely be forced to resign themselves to randomly calling upon one of their half asleep students.
This is deeply troubling because this implies that while school’s primary goal is to educate its students, schools have instead effectively killed curiosity and enthusiasm, which are the greatest catalysts for learning. The desire to learn is hardwired into each person’s brain as learning leads to knowledge and knowledge leads to a better chance of survival. Yet it appears that the modern American education system has managed to accomplish an impressive feat: rewiring the human brain to turn the powerfully strong instinct of curiosity dormant.

Throughout 13 years in the institution of public school, each and every student comes to learn one extremely important fact: intelligence and success are measured by letters. Students that earn an extraordinary number of A’s are celebrated as gifted and exceptionally intelligent. Similarly, a student’s GPA is deemed as the primary marker of their intelligence. While it is true that receiving high grades often corresponds to strong mastery of the course material, placing so much emphasis upon the end score often detracts attention from learning and redirects it towards simply “making the A.” This system discourages taking academic risks and instead favors playing it safe and sticking to methods that are known to work. This is not helpful or effective because it hinders learning and deters students from developing their personal critical thinking skills.

The grade-centric nature of the current system is reflected in the behavior and priorities of today’s students. While nearly any student can reiterate what combinations of first quarter, second quarter and exam grades result in which final semester grade, it is much less likely that student could name five specific facts from a class that they took last year. By removing focus from absorbing new material and placing that extra focus upon grades, students are programmed to devote less time to things that might interest them.

This theme of stifling curiosity and enthusiasm is continued when examining what classes the school system most pressures students to take. Intensive math, science and engineering courses are strongly emphasized as these disciplines are somehow deemed more academic, useful, and practical than other courses. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with these courses, students are often discouraged from taking other courses which they may find more fascinating because these other courses somehow matter less or are “easier.”

Schools continue to perpetuate the idea that some classes are better than others and this is a ridiculous notion. Learning is learning no matter what the topic and discouraging students from taking classes that interest them only helps to stifle curiosity and the desire for knowledge. Schools should instead encourage students to pursue subjects that interest them, as passion and interest are often better predictors of future success than the content of the classes themselves.

In today’s schools, students are confined by regulations, requirements and recommendations. Grades carry more weight than critical thinking skills and students are pressured into STEM classes because there is an existing belief that these classes lead to the most successful and lucrative careers. Students are taught to stick to the rules and memorize set structures for completing problems. This means that students do not develop the ability to think and reason for themselves. By the time a student has completed 13 years of institutionalized schooling, they are almost certain to have been turned into a drone, adept at taking notes but not equipped with a solid world view or critical thinking skills. In a world where college prices are growing at unprecedented rates and the middle class of America is rapidly disappearing, it is understandable why there is so much pressure set on students to make good grades and choose a successful career path.

However, it is very important to remember that while teachers want to ensure that their students have the best chance of succeeding in college, education is education no matter the class, and most college students change their major numerous times throughout their time in college. Most college-aged students don’t know what they want to do for the rest of their lives, so the best we can do is encourage them to study the subjects that interest them, as passion, curiosity, and drive are the biggest indicators of one’s future success. Until public schools in the United States change their focus from operating a college-creating machine, to focusing on educating their students for the sole purpose of learning, we will not see any improvement.