Current Issue

      I believe the biggest issue in education today is standardized testing. Standardized tests are designed to see what a child knows in subjects of math, reading and writing. Although this may seem to be a great idea, when appiled on our classrooms, students and teachers alike suffer. This article from the Washington Post agrees with this opinion.
       First, standardized testing puts pressure on students to simply cram information into their heads for a short time and regurgitate for the testing. This is not education. Education should be permanently learning information and applying it real life. It is this pressure that can put unnecessary stress on students. Due to these tests the myth that school is an unpleasant place is quickly becoming a reality for so many students.
      Second, standardized testing put no emphasis no the arts. For many students music is not only enjoyable, but it is also attributed to high intelligence. Standardized tests seem to promote that mathmatics and literacy are the only important aspects of education. Many studies show that music and foreign languages can help motivate students more than any other factors as Youtube video claims.
      Finally, standardized tests require teachers to be more drill instructors than helpful creative educators. All teachers will worry about is making sure their class receives good test scores regardless of the cost. Standardized tests create in atmosphere in the classroom wear math, writing and facts reign supreme, leaving no room for abstract thinking that should be encouraged.
     In conclusion, I believe that if this trend continues, our students will become passionless about education and just "go through the motions" to do well on these standardized tests. In addition the passion of teachers will also dwindle. With neither the teacher nor the student truly caring, our education system will suffer and perhaps even fail. This is something future teachers cannot afford to let happen.