Inventiveness

The youtube video had one point that stood out. By the time children reach high school, they no longer have the courage to take a chance and get a question wrong. They no longer want to think outside the box, or to ask questions. They simply want to know what information they need to retain in order to get an A. I believe that a major cause of this is our educational system's stressing of math and grammar. The standardized tests, while varying slightly, all place enormous weight on subjects that have right and wrong answers with no middle ground. Other subjects with standardized tests, like AP Exams, are being standardized. However, writing portions allow some form of creativity to show through. A student still must come up with correct information, but answers can be more creative.

Instead of rewarding creativity, our schools only reward correct answers. It is obvious that correct answers must be rewarded, but creative answers and questions that provoke critical thinking should also receive praise. With more students going to college right now because of the recession, degrees will not be worth as much as they were before our economic downturn. It is the critical thinking skills, as the speaker in the video said, that will give our students an edge when they look for a job.

While our schools are emphasizing math and grammar, the arts are losing funding. At my high school, the students who took basic level art and drama classes were, for the most part, the kids whose behavior was questionable at best. Art teachers had to act as baby-sitters rather than educators. The same went for the low-level music classes. The students who were really drawn towards the arts had to "suffer" through a year with the kids whose behavior was so bad in order to get to the higher-level classes. Every student deserves a chance to be artistic and creative, but students should be excited about taking these classes, and all classes. Disruptive behavior should not ruin classes for students who are excited to be in those classes.

I believe that elementary schools and middle schools need to reward students for participation and having a good attitude while encouraging the students to be involved. This cannot happen while standardized testing is the determining factor when it comes to funding. Until schools can control the ways they do things, creativity will continue to suffer. Some will argue that, without standardized testing, "bad" teachers will ruin the educational chances of kids. I, however, will reply that the focus on standardized testing is taking away valuable instruction time, and it can punish "good" teachers who inherit students who lack the skills required to pass the test. Rather than forcing a teacher to teach to the test, we should allow educators to teach our children in a style that they feel will be most helpful to our students. If our students are currently unable to compete with students from other nations, it is time to try something new. Sticking with No Child Left Behind will continue to hold our children back as long as it exists.