System of Education

    Chapter 9
     As a college student, there is a system that must be followed, for registering for classes, declaring a major, graduating and basically everything else. In some ways the system of education in college is looser than it was in high school, middle school or elementary school. Then classes were all required, and there were few if any choices in what classes you were able to take. In college at least there are classes that you can take, and the order you take classes in is not a regimented.



(Some books from the turn of the last century.)

    For thirteen years I was in the public school system, and one of the things that we heard about frequently as we got older was the increasing amounts of tests that we were going to have to take, and how teachers were feeling like they had to teach to the test. Those were the standardized tests that we had to take, and no one liked them. We were told about how important to our future they were, and how it was very important that we do well on them, but we really did not care, and actually sort of hated them. Test days were days when nothing got done, and we rarely heard how we did on those tests afterwards.
     It is strange to hear all of the complaints about public schools currently, because they might not be wonderful, but why should they be destroyed instead of rebuilt? One of the things that I would like to do is be a high school history teacher, and it is very discouraging to hear that.
     The way that education is currently, the expectation is that everyone will go to college. The idea that goes along with that, is that the people who do not go to college are not as smart. Which is a problem, considering how expensive college is, and how many people are going to end up with a lot of dept for their trouble.
     One of the most prevalent ideas about education is that going to school will help you to become a well balanced and well rounded person, who has a basic understanding of many different things. Which means that even in college we need to take classes that we might not be the most interested in, but will help us to become more well rounded, or for the more cynical person, it will be one step closer to getting the diploma. As students, we are required to take those classes, and there is no way to get out of those requirements, even if they are our worst subjects.
     So as students we get to take classes, take the tests(thankfully the tests in college are not the statewide standardized tests) and try to graduate on time as expected so we can be functional members of society. And get a job.