What would I change about the school system?
My last post had a few ideas about changes I think would
make our educational system better - based on my atypical schooling experience.
I have seen a lot of schools: good, bad
and ugly, but the one thing that is universal across all schools - public,
private or homeschooled - is that all of them require homework. I have never enjoyed homework. Trying to
complete packets of busy work in time to go out and play has given me a few
headaches - from pounding my head on the desk - but is there an educational
benefit to homework?
In my own school experience, I fight to accomplish anything after
3:00 pm. (My brain just shuts down after that time.) I function much better in
the mornings - it’s kind of ridiculous that my brain works better at 4:00 am
than 4:00 pm. When a teacher gives me an assignment due the next day, I have two
choices: 1. Power through it. This means I get it done and learn very little.
2. I can risk good health, wake up at an ungodly hour of the morning - knowing I
will be exhausted from sleep deprivation the entire school day - but I will have
comprehended and successfully completed the homework assignment given the night
before.
The statics in the video (link included below) show that I am
not the only student who functions this way.
I have come to believe you can’t teach creativity - it’s something
you have to stumble onto. The only way
to stumble into creativity is take the road less traveled. This particular road
may be ungraded, with branches encroaching inside the rocks that mark the path
seemingly taking over. Unfortunately we live in a world that only allows children
to travel on paved freeways - in a school system that tries to push children
through as fast as possible. At times students
will spend 12 hours at school, 3 hours after school completing homework then
another 2 hours of an extra-curricular activity that is created to make a
student well-rounded (i.e. sports practice, music lessons, dance club or
part-time job). Don’t forget eating, sleeping has to fit into the day
somewhere. When do our students have the free time required for creativity
development?
In the freeway of life we have lost what once made America
great – Creativity.
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