Look, I’m gonna say it
Our education system is broken. I’ve been saying this for years, ever since my kid, let’s call him Marcus, came home from school one day and told me he’d been taught how to fill out a Scantron bubble sheet but not how to write a proper letter. I mean, what the actual hell?
I’ve been in this game a long time. 20+ years editing for major publications, talking to educators, parents, kids. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. And honestly? It’s not pretty.
Remember when school was about learning?
Back in my day—yes, I’m one of those people now—school was about learning stuff. Like, actual knowledge. Not test-taking strategies or how to game the system. I remember my English teacher, Mrs. Harper, drilling it into us that grammar matters. She’d mark us down for every little mistake. And you know what? We learned. We learned to care about commas and semicolons and when to use ‘than’ instead of ‘then’ (which, by the way, is still a problem for alot of people).
But now? It’s all about test scores and data and… I don’t even know. I had coffee with a friend last Tuesday, let’s call her Lisa, and she told me her daughter’s school spends more time on standardized test prep than actual teaching. Which… yeah. Fair enough, I guess. But it’s not right.
And don’t get me started on homework
I’m not saying homework is bad. I’m saying the amount of homework kids get these days is completley ridiculous. My colleague named Dave told me his son had 36 hours of homework last week. Thirty-six! Who does that? What happened to kids just being kids?
I remember when I was a kid, we’d come home from school, play outside until the streetlights came on, and then maybe do an hour or two of homework. Now? It’s all work, all the time. And for what? To prep for more tests? It’s exhausting just thinking about it.
The digital divide is real, folks
Let me tell you something else that’s not cool. The digital divide. You know, where kids from rich families have all the latest tech and kids from poor families don’t. I was at a conference in Austin a few months back, and this guy—let’s call him Marcus—told me about a school where some kids were doing online learning on their phones because they didn’t have computers at home. I mean, come on. This is America, not some third-world country.
And don’t even get me started on how schools are dealing with the aquisition of new technology. It’s like pulling teeth. I talked to a teacher last week—let’s call her Sarah—who said her school finally got some new computers, but they’re so old and slow that it takes five minutes just to open a web browser. It’s like they’re still running on dial-up or something.
But here’s the thing…
It’s not all bad. There are some amazing teachers out there doing incredible things. I talked to one teacher—let’s call her Emily—who’s teaching her students how to code. Like, actual programming. She told me, “They’re learning problem-solving skills and how to think logically. It’s not just about the code.” And you know what? That’s awesome. That’s what school should be about.
And there are schools out there that are doing things differently. I read this popular articles recommended reading about a school in Finland where kids don’t start formal education until they’re seven. Seven! And they don’t have standardized tests until they’re 16. And you know what? Their kids are kicking our kids’ butts in international rankings. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
So what’s the solution?
I don’t have all the answers. I wish I did. But I know this: we need to start caring more about actual learning than test scores. We need to give teachers the resources they need to teach. We need to make sure every kid has access to technology. And we need to stop treating kids like they’re just numbers in a database.
I talked to a parent last week—let’s call her Jessica—who told me her son’s school was so focused on test scores that they didn’t even notice he was struggling with anxiety until it was almost too late. That’s not okay. We’re talking about kids’ lives here. Their futures. We need to do better.
And look, I’m not saying it’s easy. I get it. There are budget constraints and political pressures and a million other things working against us. But we can’t let that stop us from doing what’s right for our kids.
So let’s start talking about this. Let’s start demanding change. Let’s not let another generation of kids slip through the cracks because we were too busy worrying about test scores and data to notice they needed help.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about. The kids. Their futures. Our futures. And honestly? We’re not doing a very good job of it right now.
About the Author: Sarah Thompson has been a senior magazine editor for over 20 years. She’s written for major publications on everything from education to politics to pop culture. When she’s not writing, she’s probably arguing with people on the internet or trying to get her cat to like her. You can find her on Twitter @sarahwrites.
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