Lets Really Reform Our Schools

I think in today’s society, what makes or breaks a young person’s future is there high school education. If one is not given a fair opportunity to learn, or if high school is not a safe and enjoyable place to go, often times what happens is either the kids stop going, or they just simply stop caring. In the words of Garland, “American high schools are disasters.” She believes that our high schools are in need of some serious rehabilitation. Some of her ideas include banning students who do not seem interested in studying, doing away with competitive sports between schools, and canceling the school prom. Although Garland meant well with her ideas, some of them were a bit invasive.

According to Garland, “We must stop allowing the attendance of so-called students who are not interested in studying”. She assumes that all students that do not study are all uninterested in learning and considers them a waist of space, and a danger to other students. I disagree. Because every student is unique, I think every student should be looked at differently. I also believe the reason why some students appear to be uninterested, is because the curriculum is so boring and out of date. If kids are bored, there is really nothing else to do but act out. If teachers made the learning process more interesting, more students would become interested in studying whether it was in or out of class. Lessons taught with a more hands on approach are just some of the ways to make learning more appealing. For example, more school trips, not only does this give students a chance to get away from the boring everyday lectures, but it also allows students to have fun, while learning at the same time.

Another idea Garland suggests, is doing away with competitive sports between high schools. She states, “The prime example of inappropriate school activity is in competitive sports between schools.” She believes competition takes away from the fun of the sport, and ruins student moral. She also states “Some school-sponsored activities are all to the good.” Things like school choirs, chess and drama clubs. Garland thinks that these types of activities bring similar students together. With this in mind, she has not totally ruled out sports, because she believes that intramural sports would be better.

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