Education Woes, and Finding Fault
Education in this country is failing. There is no question about that. Grade scores are falling, students are knowing less when they graduate, and mandated testing is now the only way to prove that you have "earned" your education. It has gotten so bad lately that people are starting to look for someone to blame.
And immediately, teachers are singled out. Perhaps it's because we all intensely dislike the teacher who gave us what we felt was an undeserved grade. Perhaps it's because we don't like to think that we are responsible for our own learning. I don't know, but teachers are getting attacked now for not doing their job.
The problem is, it's not accurate. Sure, there are poor teachers out there, but let me tell you something about how learning works. Teachers present the material, students do the work to learn. If a teacher doesn't present the material in an ideal way, then the student needs to adapt. Sometimes this means working with the teacher for additional explanations and ASKING QUESTIONS IN CLASS (a novel idea). Sometimes this means DOING HOMEWORK, reading about the topic, and focusing on additional resources that are freely available at any library. But in all cases, it requires work.
Work feeds intelligence. You can be naturally adept at something, but if you are not willing to work at it, you will only be fair. Do you think Albert Einstein just sat back and let Relativity come to him? No, he worked for it. Do you think Newton just rattled off the Law of Gravity after getting hit on the head with an apple? Nope, he put the effort into working out why that apple fell. And no, he didn't blame his teacher for getting hit on the head with an apple.
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