Sarah Mertz Silva

Daily life is constantly changing: the way we interact with others and an ever-growing collection of knowledge about the world we live in, while we have retained complacency with our education system. Every day, children attend school from pre-school to 12^th grade. The current American education system has not changed significantly in almost two hundred years, and the education system we have now is practically the only system America has ever had. The way students are taught publicly or privately has an enormous effect on America’s ability to grow. Education is a means to the future. Proper education leads to a flourishing society and advances in different aspects of life, while poor education leads to slower advances and a struggling society. I would not suggest the current education system is completely failing, however, there are clear signs there is something inherently flawed in our system. In order to pursue genuine education as Americans, the education system must be reformed.

Before the Industrial Revolution, education was centered on virtue, religion, and family. It became compulsory for parents to teach their children to read in 1642. In 1647, towns with 50 or more households were required to hire a teacher to teach in a schoolhouse (“The History”). The Bible was the most common book used for teaching. Students weren’t divided by ages and grades (1^st grade, 2^nd grade, 3^rd grade, etc.) until the Industrial Revolution. The concept of teaching subjects by grade was also an industrial age concept. The current education system, modeled after the Prussian education system, characterized by the use of standardized testing, grade-based curriculum, and specialized education for teachers, comes from the Industrial Revolution, which will be discussed in the confirmation. Most states now use Common Core as the educational standard, a standardized system that designates which subjects must be learned by graduation in order to prepare for the future. All states share very similar standards, even those that don’t follow Common Core. It is important to note it is not the United States government who determines educational standards, rather the state governments do. It is difficult to reform the education system because for almost every aspect of the education system that needs reforming, another aspect must be changed first, or another aspect is a barrier to the change, e.g., the grading system and standardization poses an enormous flaw in our education system, however the need for grades and standardized tests to meet college requirements remains a barrier to possible change.

I will now define key terms and ideas in order to clarify the arguments discussed within my thesis. The first key term is the “education system.” The “education system” refers to the Prussian Model of Education that most 1^st-12^th grade schools in the United States, public and private, adhere to. The education system also refers to the basis for subject-learning, meaning by what point in time a student should have learned a specific subject, e.g., most students should have taken biology in or before 10^th grade. In contrast, the true purpose of education and learning is to better know the God who created it and to better understand His biblical truth. Isaac Moorehouse, the author of “The Future of School,” says there are six “indispensable elements” that must be implemented into one’s life within the transition of childhood to adulthood: confidence, experience, universal skills, network (“a relational Rolodex of people with a wide range of knowledge and resources”), abstract thinking, and special skills (for which I will instead use “real-world” skills) (Moorehouse 7). Real-world skills are skills such as filing taxes, money management, writing checks, understanding insurance, etc. The practical purpose of education is to promote those “indispensable elements” in order to positively prepare students for their future. In this thesis, I will focus on the effects of the current education system on middle and high school students.

A complete reform of the education system is not an easy task. It would likely take years for anything to drastically change, especially considering it has seemingly taken centuries for anyone to realize it should be changed. The first step is asking yourself what role you play in the education system. If you are a parent, you send your children through the education system from around four-years-old to around 18 years-old. In that time, your student is shaped and modeled by the information they are given, no matter how it is given. As parents, you must be concerned with how your students are being educated in order to properly prepare them for adulthood. If you are a teacher, you experience first-hand the difficulties of educating students in an environment that is so terribly limited. You see these students every day and you have been given the task of equipping them for the future. Students, you are the ones being educated. You are the future, and you of all people should be concerned about the American education system. The second step in reforming the education system is acknowledging that the system is flawed, and pinpointing which aspects are harming advances in the system, which I will do in this thesis.

To prove the necessity of a reform in American education, I will confirm three arguments: the American education system is too outdated, standardized tests and grades only hinder students’ desire to understand and learn, and the education system lacks a foundation for teaching students real-world skills. I will then refute two counterarguments: there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the education system, rather the reason students have such a difficult time with school is they choose to participate in too many extracurricular activities, and being a student is one’s job until he or she graduates, so neglecting sleep is worth the long-term benefits of ample time spent in the classroom.

My first confirmation argument is the American education system is too outdated. The current education system began during the Industrial Revolution in the late 18^th through early 19^th centuries and has not significantly changed in almost two-hundred years. The Industrial Revolution marked an extremely important shift in America and Europe. Countries that were once agriculturally based became urban, with factories and mass-production drastically changing social, economic, and cultural experiences across the globe (“Industrial Revolution”). This industrialization affected almost every facet of society, including education.

In the 1800s, Horace Mann traveled parts of Europe to find a school system he thought was best. During that time, schools were usually run by the community or families, and Horace Mann felt as though America needed a standardized education system, where everyone had equal opportunities to learn, funded by taxes. As he traveled multiple countries in Europe, he noted the different education systems and concluded he liked the Prussian system the best. Mann strongly advocated for the implementation of the Prussian system in America (Burrus and Powell), and after his death in 1892, the Committee of Ten, a group of educators, decided on a 12-year, compulsory, standardized American educational system (Khan and Noer).

Beyond the fact the Prussian model came about during the Industrial Revolution, much of our education system revolves around preparing students to become factory workers, not doctors, engineers, artists, etc. During the Progressive Movement in the early 1900s, scientific management played a huge role in the standardization of the education system. Kevin Currie-Knight, a teacher in the Department of Special Education Foundation and Research at East Carolina University, says scientific management was an idea created by industrialist Frederick Winslow Taylor, where he wanted to figure out the best way to do every job in a factory. Kevin says, “Educators loved this idea because they thought, ‘Oh, we can use this too. We can figure out the one best way to educate so that we can make the best use of time, best use of resources, so that we don’t have to trust individual teachers, to figure out how to teach individual classes. If we can figure out the one best way, we can standardize this whole process’” (Burrus and Powell).

Author Seth Godin said, “The sole intent of the education system was to train people to be willing to work in a factory” (Next School). Isaac Moorehouse, founder and CEO of Praxis, describes the educational transition from childhood to adulthood as such: “What ought to be an organic, non-linear, highly individualized transition, much like that of a toddler from crawling to walking, is instead a formal, hierarchical, one-size-fits-all assembly line from student to worker” (3).

Salman Kahn, founder of Kahn Academy, and Michael Noer, a writer for Forbes magazine, also describe the education system as an assembly line, where children of a certain age are thrown into a bucket together and sent down the line where information is given to them at the same pace. Some students will understand the information in the given amount of time and others won’t (Kahn and Noer). Kevin Currie-Knight argues there might not be a better or best option for the school system, however, the industrial age system is not currently working well. He believes our current education system, where classes “organize into 40-minute periods per day” and students “do this for 40 minutes and then go down the hall and go in another room and do that for 40 minutes…” seems more organizational rather than pertaining to genuine teaching and learning (Burrus and Powell).

Common Core is a set of educational standards most of America now uses whose purpose is to “ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live” (“About the Standards”). 42 states have adopted Common Core as their educational standard; the rest use very similar educational standards with the same goal. Virginia, for example, uses SOL’s, Standard of Learning, as its educational standard, in which students take standardized tests to ensure the school is meeting the requirements for state standards. Both Common Core and SOL follow concepts of the Prussian Model, which means despite Common Core’s and SOL’s claims of preparing students for the future, they are really preparing them for the past.

There is one enormous problem with reforming the education system in a country where standards such as Common Core or SOLs exist. The majority of universities and colleges around America depend on GPA, the ACT, and the SAT to accept students, and nearly all of them require a minimum number of years of learning in select subjects, which is likely one of the greatest reasons the education system hasn’t changed. It’s just not that easy. This is not to say colleges and universities are stuck in the past also as they don’t necessarily follow the Prussian Model, however major changes in the current middle/high school system could potentially and would most likely lead to major changes in colleges as well. Let’s say Texas wanted to completely alter its method of education. Students in Texas would still be responsible for completing certain subjects by the time they graduate if they want to attend college, whether their middle/high school teaches it to them or not.

My second confirmation argument is standardized tests and grades only hinder students’ desire to understand and learn. The grading system of letters “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “F” has not always existed. Before 1785, students would attend lectures and participate in weekly conversation with their professors. The students had completed a course when the professor “decided they had demonstrated an adequate mastery of the subject” and rather than receiving report cards and GPAs, professors would simply write letters of recommendation to potential employers. The first recorded letter grade system was from 1897 where the letter “E” represented failure, which was any score below a 75 (Palmer). Now to decide which system works better: grades or professor-determined mastery.

It seems as though professor-determined mastery is better than grades. Both grades and professor/teacher-determined mastery can easily lead to bias, however, professor-determined mastery is more likely to allow a student to advance when they have genuinely understood the material. Grades do not adequately represent a student’s understanding of the material, and allows a student to “advance” in education regardless of whether they truly have a knowledge of certain information or not. The concept of grades also came about in the Industrial Revolution, as it was a means of measuring factory product quality, such as “Grade A” meat.

It has been engrained in my mind since elementary school that a grade lower than an “A” means I have not tried my hardest. I very clearly remember how disappointed I was in myself in the fifth grade when I received my first report card with a GPA lower than a 4.0. I remember bawling my eyes out because I made an 87 on a science test in sixth grade. Part of my disappointment had to do with my immaturity, but even now, if I know I have tried my best and receive anything lower than an A, I still feel the same disappointment as I did in fifth grade. It’s not because I think one grade defines my identity, but because I have always had impressed upon me the idea trying my best equals an “A,” and according to that reasoning if I don’t receive an “A,” I must not have tried my best. There is an issue when the sole focus of the education system is to meet requirements. I don’t think I can recall a time when any of my school work was completed out of a pure desire to learn. I have taken courses I have genuinely enjoyed and from which I have taken away a great deal of knowledge, however, the pressure from society to complete every course with flying colors has always made me hate school.

I am not the only one who thinks this way. Jennifer Crocker, a psychologist at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, surveyed over 600 college freshman three times during the school year, asking students on what they based their self-worth. 80% of the students surveyed said they based their self-worth on academic achievement, 77% said family support, and 66% said performing better than others (Dittman). Many students also struggle with competition inside of the classroom.

Students have been given the impression doing “well” in school equals attending a great college, while doing “bad” in school equals no college at all. Though partially true, seeing as one cannot attend college without certain scores and grades, the ideology behind “good grades to get into college” really only teaches students to memorize and forget because we have to, not to learn and understand because we want to. I asked a few students from different grade levels and different high schools in my area, “In what ways, if any, do you feel pressured (by society, parents, competition, etc.) to receive good grades (meaning a B or higher), and how has this affected you personally? Do you feel disappointed in yourself when you receive less than a certain grade, and why?” I received a range of answers surrounding cultural, parental, and societal expectations concerning academic achievement.

12^th-grade student: Ever since childhood I’ve felt a certain obligation to perform well academically. As an Asian American, growing up I became very focused on achieving above average grades. I became very aware of the stigma of a model minority, meaning my average had to be above average. It was a very present ideal within my family and even culture, even though it was not as outspoken and instead, just expected. The impact of the stereotype had really developed mentally into a large part of my identity. It took a long time for me to realize this does not define me, and took even longer to finally start to deconstruct that idea. Aside from the stereotype as a major part, for any case the high expectations held for myself were not healthy. I focused so much on merit and achievement to create self-worth, and in the process of doing so I completely lost developing myself. A 93 became a loss, and a B meant failure to maintain the standard.

10^th-grade student: I feel pressured to get good grades because if I don’t I feel like no college will accept me and I won’t ever be successful. This affects me because I place all my value as a person in whether I pass or not. For example I got a B- on my report card last year… I felt like such a failure and I thought I had ruined my whole future.

12^th-grade student: I feel pressured by my parents to get good grades. This has affected me in that I am more likely to get frustrated with my work and less likely to enjoy school….

9^th-grade student: At times I feel pressured to get a certain grade because I’m afraid people will stereotype me as someone who should get perfect grades. At times I do get anxious when taking a test or a quiz because I’m afraid my grade won’t be as high as my friends.

Society tells students from a young age high grades are the only way to a successful future, and that is simply not true. All parents want their children to succeed, however, grades do not determine intelligence or success. In the present education system, grades are simply a means of determining one’s ability to follow directions and memorize, an attribute valued in the industrial age. Peter Tait, headmaster of Sherborne Preparatory School says, “We lose too many talented and intelligent people by defining intelligence through tests that are wholly inadequate and constricting. We need to look wider and encourage the entrepreneur, the inquisitive, the creative and the downright cussed in our schools to make the most of who we are and to bring out the richness and diversity of thought and ideas in our society.” In “Abolishing the ACT and SAT,” Chris Streetman argues the inability of standardized tests to show any growth in knowledge:

…the ACT is used to determine a student’s potential for academic success in college as well as students’ acceptance at college. However, the ACT does not necessarily measure progress. The Oxford Dictionary defines progress as a “forward or onward movement toward a destination” or a “development towards an improved or advanced condition.” The ACT provides a single score on one test taken on one day of a student’s life, measuring only the student’s academic achievement and aptitude on that day. Likewise, the SAT measures a student’s aptitude for college but fails to measure progress.

Unfortunately, many schools receive funds on the basis of the ACT and the SAT (Streetman). States rely on Common Core and SOLs to determine not only a student’s “understanding” of material but also the teacher’s efficiency in preparing students for these requirements. It is terribly difficult to encourage students to value learning and understanding when the very basis of many schools is limited to preparation for standardized tests.

The grading system and the use of standardized tests cause more harm than good. The purpose of education is to pursue and understand the Creator and everything He has placed on earth for us as rational beings to use for His glory, not to receive “good” grades, attend college, and get a job. God certainly does not call us to meet the minimum requirements and leave it at that. He wants us to value learning about His creation. Proverbs 18:15 says, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” True wisdom and true knowledge come from seeking and knowing God. This is not to say there is anything wrong with doing well in school to attend college and pursue a career. Those are all things God desires for us as long as it glorifies Him. He wants us to try our hardest. He wants us to pursue our passions, and of course, He understands we have to make a living somehow, but God also wants us to have a desire to know Him. Standardized tests and grades only help students to learn at a minimum; they don’t give students the desire to learn. We must have a desire to learn about the higher things, the things God has placed on the earth to know Him better that won’t always be the pathway to a career or won’t necessarily build our resume. When we teach students on the basis of valuing knowledge because we are able to, because we have the capability of reaching out to the world around us and interacting with it, education becomes something of much more value to everyone.

My third confirmation argument is the education system lacks a foundation for teaching students real-world skills. Too often there is a disparity between what is taught in school and the knowledge needed to live in the “real world.” In some schools there are electives and optional courses for real-world skills (money management, filing taxes, paying bills, etc.) such as a personal finance class, but again, these classes are optional, and many students will only take the class because they need the credit or an “easy” A. One may ask, “why not teach this course in college when students are around the age to start doing these things anyway?” High school is required; college is not. In 2016, a little more than 30% of high school graduates were not enrolled in college (“College Enrollment and Work”). Unless it is necessary for your major, classes such as personal finance would likely be optional in college. The point is, states should require students to take a course on or involving real-world skills in order to graduate. According to EVERFI, “Only four U.S. states require at least a semester-long course devoted to the topic, and less than half of states require personal finance education to be integrated into other subject matter.” Only 26% of parents feel adequately equipped to teach their children real-world skills. More than a quarter of students surveyed by EVERFI do not feel prepared to handle finances after graduation, and many showed they had little to no understanding of basic concepts involving finance (“Survey Reveals”).

Schools spend a great deal of time teaching students information such as the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell while spending little to no time educating students about information that will be relevant for the rest of one’s life, and sometimes even before one graduates high school. No, learning about the mitochondria is not a bad thing. As I have previously stated, God desires for us to learn and understand because we have the opportunity to learn about the higher things; however, focusing all attention solely on the basics or the higher things will not benefit students in the way we would hope. There must be a balance between the basics and the higher things.

I started my first job the summer after 10^th grade. I was completely unaware of federal taxes. I had never heard of a “W-2.” All I knew was I had a job and I was making money. Fortunately, I had and have my parents to help me figure it all out, but for many students, their parents aren’t around to teach them these skills, which is why it is necessary for schools to teach students real-world skills. Though we should pursue higher education, pursuing knowledge for knowledge’s sake, I struggle to understand how it is any less important to teach students real-world skills.

The Internet is a wonderful tool students can use to learn about taxes and paying bills. Most American students have the opportunity at their fingertips to research these topics online, however, students also have the ability to research the mitochondria. They can discover the “Golden Rule” at the click of a button. The Pythagorean Theorem will pop up on Google in just 0.38 seconds, but we still extensively teach these topics in our education system. We don’t have to draw a line between teaching all of the sciences and real-world skills, or history and real-world skills, and so on and so-forth, simply because it’s “so easy” to research real-world skills on-line.

A required personal finance class would be fantastic, but it’s likely not practical in many schools. Fortunately, there may not have to be a class devoted to real-world skills to really teach things such as paying taxes and how they work. Economics is a great class to teach students how taxes work. Mathematics is another subject in which real-world skills could be incorporated into our education system. Real-world skills can be taught without forfeiting other important things.

Though the need for a meaningful education seems obvious enough, not everyone agrees on its importance or how to achieve it.  The first counterargument I will refute is there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the education system, rather the reason students have such a difficult time with school is they choose to participate in so many extracurricular activities. I would argue extracurricular activities are an equally vital part of a healthy and fulfilling life, just as homework or classroom experiences are. According to The National Federation of State High School Associations, nearly eight million American high school students participated in at least one sport in the 2016-2017 school year. That is over half of American high school students. Many students rely on athletics for scholarships to college, and approximately 480,000 students end up pursuing a sport through college (Thomas). The NCAA says,

And of that group [the 480,000 students] only a fraction will realize their goal of becoming a professional or Olympic athlete. For the rest, the experiences of college athletics and the life lessons they learn along the way will help them as they pursue careers in other fields. Education is a vital part of the college athletics experience, and student-athletes graduate at higher rates than their peers in the student body.

Likewise, I would argue the experience of high school sports teaches life lessons, encourages healthy friendships, and sometimes promotes time-management skills. Another benefit of high school sports is the aspect of exercise. Jasper Smits, director of the Anxiety Research and Treatment Program at Southern Methodist University, and Michael Otto, psychology professor at Boston University, concluded through research, “Exercise can help reduce depression and anxiety, and can be especially beneficial to people who lack access to traditional treatments, such as drugs or counseling” (Barrett). Tackling something new, such as learning an instrument, can help many students who struggle with depression (Griffin), which can be especially important considering approximately 20 percent of teens experience depression prior to adulthood (“Why Today’s Teens”). Group extracurricular activities allow for relationships some students may not be able to make inside of school, such as finding friendships in band or drama club. Considering high school is a preparatory stage for college, we must also consider extracurricular activities such as sports, playing an instrument, theater, and more play an enormous role in discovering our passions as human beings, so to ask students to cut out something they truly enjoy is completely ridiculous and contrary to God’s desire for us to explore our passions and gifts He has given us in order to glorify Him. Extracurricular activities are often required in order to attend college or pursue a specific career, such as required volunteer hours, a driving course, a nursing program, or an internship, which are never part of the standard “curriculum.”

 Perhaps the issue is not the extracurricular activities, rather schools do not accommodate for extracurricular activities. On average, a high school student has 3.5 hours of school work to complete every night. In an article in the Los Angeles Times, Karen Klein says, “I’m no homework-denier. When you look at the research, it’s clear that homework, at least at the high school level, contributes to higher achievement. But I’m also in the camp that says kids, including teenagers, need well-balanced lives that include extracurricular activities, outside pursuits, physical activity, fun with friends and family, and just hanging around.” There is something wrong with a student attending school for 6-8 hours a day and still having 3.5 hours of homework to complete.

Let’s suggest a student is getting a healthy amount of sleep (about 9 hours) per night, which is above the average 7 hours high school students normally get (“CDC Reports That Insufficient”). That means in order to wake up at, say, 6 in the morning, the student would need to go to bed at 9 PM. The student is awake from 6 AM-9 PM, 15 hours, and about 12 hours is spent in school and completing homework (8 hours in school and 3.5 hours on homework). That leaves the student only 3 hours to eat dinner, spend time with family, shower, etc. without factoring in however much time is spent playing sports, attending lessons, etc. Most high school athletes return home from a game between 7 PM and 11 PM. Theater rehearsals can last for hours after school. Music lessons tend to be 30 minutes to an hour long. Chorus and band practices can last 2-3 hours long. There is something terribly wrong with this situation. Students are being asked to forfeit the things they enjoy, family time, sleep, etc. in order to achieve decent grades. As a Christian, I believe God calls us to enjoy our lives through glorifying Him. I do not think there is a better way to glorify Him than through using the talents and gifts He has given each of us, but school greatly hinders our ability to use our talents. This should not be the case. I am not suggesting getting rid of homework altogether, however, there must be some way to meet in the middle, where most of the homework completed at home can be completed or learned efficiently in school. Extracurricular activities are not the problem with our current school system.

Schools could adjust their end times or period times to accommodate for extracurricular activities. One way to minimize homework would be to use class time for discussion and interaction with the material, and home-time for lectures. In my advanced chemistry class, the only work we usually have outside of class is projects, which we rarely have. Our teacher uses class time for lectures, and then gives us class time to complete worksheets on what we have learned, which gives us ample time to complete the work, discuss with classmates, and ask our teacher questions (this usually means one week is spent on lectures and two days is spent on worksheets). This could be a potential model for many classes which would reduce work-load outside of class, and open up more time for extracurricular activities.

The second counterargument I will refute is being a student is one’s job until he or she graduates, so neglecting sleep is worth the long-term benefits of ample time spent in the classroom. Most schools start earlier than 8 AM. (Start School Later). According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 73% of high schoolers and 58% of middle-schoolers do not receive a sufficient amount of sleep. Students aged 13-18 need approximately 8-10 hours of sleep at night (“CDC Reports That Insufficient”). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “More than 4 in 5 (82.3%) of U.S. middle, high, and combined public schools require students to attend class at times earlier than recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and American Medical Association” (Start School Later). In adolescence, one’s sleep cycle shifts to a later time of 11 PM, with the release of melatonin occurring late at night and dropping during late morning, which explains alertness in teens in the later afternoon/night (Breus). On a school night, I usually go to sleep around 10:30PM-11PM, and wake up at 6:45 AM, which is less than 8 hours of sleep. Most students get less than seven hours of sleep per night. Researcher Carskadon says,

Even without the pressure of biological changes, if we combine an early school starting time — say 7:30 AM, which, with a modest commute, makes 6:15 AM a viable rising time — with our knowledge that optimal sleep need is 9 1/4 hours, we are asking that 16-year olds go to bed at 9 PM. Rare is a teenager that will keep such a schedule. School work, sports practices, clubs, volunteer work, and paid employment take precedence. When biological changes are factored in, the ability even to have merely “adequate” sleep is lost.

Students are expected to perform well in school while keeping up with everything else on a less than minimal amount of sleep. An article by the National Sleep Foundation states, “Teens spend a great portion of each day in school; however, they are unable to maximize the learning opportunities afforded by the education system, since sleep deprivation impairs their ability to be alert, pay attention, solve problems, cope with stress, and retain information” (Backgrounder: Later School). Sleep deprivation impairs one’s ability to concentrate and learn efficiently. It can also cause forgetfulness or weight gain/loss. Insufficient sleep can contribute to depression and anxiety (“10 Things to Hate”). The AASM says schools should not start earlier than 8:30 AM. The article “Teens Need More Sleep than You Think” says some of the benefits of starting school later are higher grades, improved relationships, fewer reports of sickness and tardiness, and a decrease in teen car accidents. The necessity of sleep cannot be ignored.

The best way for this problem to be fixed would be to adjust school start times by at least an hour. Class times could be shortened, as mentioned in my first refutation, which would allow for extra time at the end of the day. Summit Christian Academy, for example, adjusted the majority of classes to 35-39 minute periods for one week rather than 45 minute periods. Not only were teachers able to get through generally the same amount of material as usual, but we were left with 45 minutes at the end of the day before school would normally end. This could allow for a later start time. While Summit operates on an eight-period schedule, many schools use block-scheduling, where they may have 1.5 hours per class and half of the classes in one day. Many of these classes likely could be shortened to an hour and 15 minutes, leaving an hour that could also allow for a later start time.

The third and final counterargument I will refute is higher education occurs at a college level and is not necessary at the middle or high school level. As defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, higher education is, “education beyond the secondary level; especially: education provided by a college or university” (“Higher Education”). Higher education, however, should not be limited to the college and university level. I will define higher education as a desirable knowledge of information beyond what is deemed “necessary” to know before college. The sole reason “higher education” is considered education during college and university is because the middle and high school system limits what students need to know to whatever is standard and required by the state. Students should have a desire to understand and study beyond what is required, and the education system should promote that desire. Higher education is necessary before high school in order to promote the desire to learn and the desire to understand God. If we place the necessity and importance of education in boxes, where higher education is only necessary and important in college, we completely misunderstand and neglect the purpose of education. As previously stated, the purpose of education is to glorify God and learn more about Him because He has given us the ability to do so. Revelation 4:11 says, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

 In order to fully understand God, we must have a desire to study His creation within and outside of what is necessary to graduate. This concept is as simple as placing much less emphasis on graduating, going to college, getting a job, and retiring. I truly believe when God is placed at the center of our lives, everything else will come to fruition. Teacher’s attitudes and students’ academic diligence will reflect the level of importance God is placed at in their lives.

One may ask, “What if I don’t believe in God? What then is my purpose in pursuing education beyond what I need to lead a ‘fulfilling’ life?” Regardless of your belief in God, the way we live our lives and understand the world relies immensely on our determination to understand it. Many of our greatest discoveries came from people who had a genuine desire to study and know more, such as Albert Einstein, Galileo, or Louis Pasteur. Without these people’s desire to understand, our lives may not look the same today. The way we live our lives is dependent on our understanding of the world around us, which is why it is so necessary to study beyond what will get us a job. Imagine if everyone in the world had the desire to learn and study the way Isaac Newton did. How much more would we then be able to discover in the world and in ourselves?

Now that I have pinpointed the flaws in the education system and refuted arguments against my thesis, there must be a third step to take in reforming the American education system. The third and final step is figuring out how to go about the reform, and then taking action. Unfortunately, I do not believe there is any overt solution to the problem, but there are small steps that can help us all discover a better system than what we have now. I think the most obvious way to reform the system is to stop placing so much emphasis on grades and academic achievement. Of course, it is a difficult task. It is a change in the mentality of our parents, teachers, and students that will assist in the reform of the system. Perhaps even one teacher emphasizing the importance of learning instead of getting “good” grades could change the mentality of an entire class. It begins on a small scale, such as in my own school, Summit Christian Academy. With around 120 students, if every teacher at Summit emphasized the importance of learning over getting “good grades,” that is around 120 more students who will value education rather than grades. As stated previously, later school start times or earlier end times could immensely transform our system, benefitting student health, and likely academic effort. We can incorporate real-world skills into the subjects schools are already teaching.

Reforming the education system isn’t about students hating school or learning. It’s about how students shouldn’t hate school or learning. It’s about the need for genuine understanding, for a genuine desire to understand God’s design, and the need for our students to be healthy, energized, and prepared. Prepared not only to start their school day but to start the rest of their lives. The purpose of education has been set aside for too long. We are stuck in an education system that values standardization and trivial learning rather than genuine understanding and a desire to know more. Parents are sending their children through an education system that is not preparing them for the future. Students are stuck in an education system they are practically destined to struggle in. Though it is difficult, we cannot remain complacent. We must reform the American education system. An ever-changing society, combined with the God who “makes all things new,” has no room for complacent education.

Works Cited

“10 Things to Hate About Sleep Loss.” WebMD, WebMD. Web. 5 Feb. 2018.

“About the Standards.” Common Core State Standards Initiative About the Standards Comments. Web. 24 Feb. 2018.

“Backgrounder: Later School Start Times.” National Sleep Foundation. Web. 9 Dec. 2017.

Barrett, Carson. “How Does Playing Sports Affect Your Health?” Azcentral. Web. 26 Feb. 2018.

Breus, Michael J. “Teens Need More Sleep Than You Think.” The Sleep Doctor. Web. 9 Dec. 2017.

Burrus, Trevor. Powell, Aaron. “Why Schools Haven’t Changed in Hundreds of Years.” Audio blog post. Free Thoughts Podcast. 9 Dec. 2016. Web. 5 Feb 2018.

“CDC Reports That Insufficient Sleep Is Common on School Nights.” American Academy ofSleep Medicine — Association for Sleep Clinicians and Researchers, Web. 3 Feb. 2018. 5 Feb. 2018.

 “College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2016 High School Graduates.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Web. 27 Apr. 2017. 24 Feb. 2018.

Dittman, M. “Self-esteem that’s based on external sources has mental health consequences, study says.” American Psychological Association, vol. 33, no. 11, 2000, pp. 16. Web. 10 Dec. 2017.

Griffin, R. Morgan. “10 Natural Depression Treatments.” WebMD, WebMD. Web. 5 Feb. 2018.

“Higher Education.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster. Web. 13 Mar. 2018.

“The History of American Education: 1600s-2000.” ISM. PDF. 5 Feb. 2018.

“Industrial Revolution.” History.com. A+E Networks, 2009. Web. 5 Feb. 2018.

Kahn, Salman. Noer, Michael. “History of Education.” Youtube, Uploaded by Forbes, Web. 1 Nov. 2012. 5 Feb. 2018.

Klein, Karin. “About 3.5 Hours of Homework a Day for High Schoolers? That’s Too Much.” Los Angeles Times, Web. 1 Mar. 2014. 3 Feb. 2018.

Moorehouse, Isaac. “The Future of School.” Praxis. PDF.

The National Federation of State High School Associations. “2016-17 High School Athletics Participation Survey.” 2017. PDF. 5 Feb. 2018.

Next School. “6 Problems with our School System.” Youtube. Uploaded by Next School, 15 Dec. 2016. Web. 10 Dec. 2017.

Palmer, Brian. “E is for Fail.” Slate, 9 Aug 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2017.

Start School Later. (2017.) Wake up Calls (Fast Facts). Web. 25 Feb. 2018.

Streetman, Chris. “Abolishing the ACT and SAT.” Abolishing the ACT and SAT. 12 Mar. 2018.

“Survey Reveals That US High School Students Lack Adequate Financial Knowledge.” EVERFI. Web. 24 Feb. 2018.

Thomas, D. “Probability of Competing Beyond High School.” NCAA.org — The Official Site of the NCAA, Web. 19 Sept. 2017. 5 Feb. 2018.

“Why Today’s Teens Are More Depressed Than Ever.” Center For Discovery. Web. 24 Feb. 2018.