Just Another Brick in the Wall

By Carolita Soto, Staff Writer

As students grow up in the U.S. education system, they see it from a variety of different perspectives.

So much wrong with school

Students think many things are wrong with the educational system. “The U.S. wastes too much time on mandatory classes that aren’t teaching us things we should know as adults, like how to do taxes or how to truly manage our money and time,” said sophomore Lucy Severo.

Senior Gabriel Petit said the way teachers and administrators portray us as a letter in a gradebook has a mental and emotional impact on students who easily feel as if they are not intelligent. “I could study as hard as I can for a test and give in all my effort in classwork, yet if I fail, I would still be discouraged and told I didn’t try harder,” he said.

Junior Kiana Ramirez said the excessive of amount of testing, from state testing to district testing we get almost every two weeks, is holding us back in classes we could easily be acing due to the such hard work we put into classwork, but it feels like a waste of time when find out you fail a test.

“We always end up feeling down and as if the world has fallen on top of us just by a test that doesn’t define our intelligence but our memorization”

— Senior Carl Rodriguez

How can we make it better?

Some believe education in the U.S. can be improved. Sophomore Sooyung Navarro wishes the education system would make it necessary to speak on current social issues that have been happening in the world. “Being taught about it in school would be much simpler,” she said.

Freshman Isaac Sanchez would like the educational system to focus on what job you would like to do so you don’t have to worry about juggling eight different things at once. He said, “Students are often questioning when are they ever going to need what they are taught. It would be way better if they were taught what they’re actually going to use in the career they choose.”

Senior Carl Rodriguez said removing some standardized tests would be a great idea, due to students’ stress and lack of sleep. “We always end up feeling down and as if the world has fallen on top of us just by a test that doesn’t define our intelligence but our memorization,” said Carl.

So much to like about American schools

Although students have their complaints, many are thankful for the education they have received. Sophomore Emma Alonso said her education benefited her by giving her top quality teachers who have been able to educate her with the highest standards that are available in the U.S.

“Without the education I have received in the U.S, I wouldn’t have been able to gain basic knowledge from all core and elective classes, like the arts, that have expanded my knowledge,” said freshman Kiara Delgado.

“Extracurricular activities have benefitted me the most,” said sophomore Tayleen Nunez. “I believe they serve as a platform for students to express themselves and find their voice. As they join clubs and sports, they’re able to manifest and share ideas. This promotes creativity and individuality.”

“Students are often questioning when they ever going to need what they are taught. It would be way better if they were taught what they are actually going to use in the career they choose”

— Freshman Isaac Sanchez

Education here vs. there

Students that have studied outside the U.S, have the opportunity to compare the educational system over there vs. here. Senior Olga Beltran, who studied in Nicaragua, said the educational system over there is totally different due to money issues. Students are not provided with good courses for education, and not many teachers are ready to provide students the material needed to be learned. Students that do get a successful academic education are those paying money in private schools. The only thing Nicaragua did better was manage the time in hours in school like having five periods in the morning and one class in the afternoon including fifteen minutes of recess to take a break and lunch being a whole hour. The U.S. education system, in her opinion, is way better due to providing us with a lot of classes we can choose from, and teachers who give their full attention to students that need the help.

Junior Roxana Perez, who studied in Cuba, said the educational system here is way different than what she was used to. The Cuban system does better at making students feel as if they are learning a lot more, due to being challenged in academics. What the system here in the U.S does better is provide extracurricular activities to do after school, to feel as if we aren’t just drowning in work. It also provides students with important opportunities like scholarships to get them far in academics.