For most students, good grades are a genuine reflection of learning, and that is
all you should strive for. It is essential to keep good grades. But many students are so
concerned with good grades, they let grades define who they are. Because grades
basically determine our college future, we aim for a high percentage. With that said,
there is a social-emotional connection to our grades. Many can relate, but we make
assumptions about our intelligence based on grades. So the higher the grade, the
smarter we are, right? Wrong. Students are more concerned about earning a higher
grade than about learning the material and remembering it.
The reason I say schools need to update their curricula is because we have the
privilege of internet access. School is essential as a basic foundation for success, but it
needs to modernize. Schools should adapt to delivering and testing curricula on-line,
especially for students at a younger age. Many of my teachers care so much about their
students and want us to benefit, which we do. I think our secondary education system
needs to address the fact that students can swiftly and easily get answers online, instead
of spending time finding them in a book, a process which leads to greater retention of
the material. Teachers need to reorient lessons from learning facts to retaining
techniques and making judgments: methods of critical thinking. Tomorrow’s jobs will
be filled by people who know how to find information, evaluate it, and package it in
useful and innovative ways. Schools should teach students these methods.
Finally, our education system is blind, beyond a wr itten, sit-down test, to the
great wealth intelligence of a student. If a student is struggling with a unit or topic, why
must we take a test about it? Failure is not due to the fact that we don’t study hard
enough or don’t pay enough attention in class. Making us take a test we’re not ready for,
and failing it, doesn’t teach a lot. In reality, we will just experience stress, and then
forget the information the moment that test is over.
Lastly, if education is the key to success, why is education after high school so
expensive?
Be Part of the Solution, Before It’s Too Late
by Olivia Fertig
It is legitimate to express concern about the state of the world only if you first
take part in trying to save it. As our earth is slowly crumbling away beneath the strain of
climate change, deforestation, and over-population, the majority of humans are not
taking action to protect it. Some say climate change is a
hoax. This is entirely ludicrous, as there is clear scientific
evidence saying that the earth’s climate is in fact
changing for the worse. Before we know it, our world will