Some of the best schools in the world produce students that are eventually very successful in life, yet their school lives are plagued with the strain of getting good grades and "passing" each course. It is stressed in schools that students must pass so many courses, or do so many things, just to be successful in life later on, as well as in school.
This grueling setup of many school systems is pushing many students to the limit, including those students in advanced classes. Choosing to change the way that classes are run, and teaching students that taking risks helps the learning process, are ways that we can teach the next generation how to be successful.
Clearly, the way classes are taught needs to change. As an eighth grader entering a high school that has high standards for students, I feel that I am being pressured to pass everything, and be "perfect" in order to "pass" life - being successful after my education is complete. Life is not on a pass or fail basis, but rather on a "what happens, happens, and education may help solve some of my problems later on" basis.
Many classes require a C+ or - more often - an A or B average to pass. This grade is hard to attain, especially because of the expectations of classes. There are usually many assignments that must be turned in on time - else the student risk dropping a grade or two - and there is very little room for error or experimentation. Students are getting punished for experimenting and trying something new.
School is a where students should be able to take risks and learn from their mistakes before they move out into the real world. School is a time for experimenting and figuring out your life before the end of high school and college. If teachers teach everything first, then tell students to try it out for themselves, students aren't really learning and can't take those risks to learn about their world.
In the schools of today, students are basically being taught that life can be "passed" or "failed" just like classes in school. "Passing" equals success, and "failing" is not getting what you want out of life.
This kind of teaching and learning in classroom can have a negative impact on students' future lives. Whether working for a company every day, or trying to solve the world's problems, experimenting is a large part of any job or experience in the "real world". If students learn in school that everything has to be "perfect", their lives will be just that: careful and precise, with no big discoveries or experimentation.
This loss of experimentation at a young age can be detrimental to jobs and occupations, especially those based in science and social studies/geography. The majority of a scientists job is to experiment and try new things, and geologists and those studying different groups must branch out and try new tactics and ideas.
I'm sure that many schools would not like to hear that they are hurting their students' education, and I can assure you that there is an easy fix to this problem. Many classes just need to shift their teaching styles and priorities. Instead of teaching what is, start allowing students to try it first, then show them the correct way and have them try it again. This method may take longer, but students will do it better the second time.
If school is a precursor to the "real world" and "real life", then school should be about learning from mistakes and making yourself a better person - not showing that taking a risk is bad and all experimentation should be taught. If schools don't want to teach that the world is all pass-or-fail, then all that is required to change is the way things are taught.
-bookhouse4
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