Now being a first-year college student, I am exceptionally grateful for the K-12 education I was given.

I was lucky to have inspirational teachers, hardworking and reliable peers, and a good learning environment overall. As a student, I was (and still am) eager to do my best and challenge myself in as many different areas as possible. While public schooling provided me with the opportunity to do so, there are aspects of the experience that I (and many of my peers) would change if given the chance.

1. Timing.

Most high schools are scheduled to begin class before 8 AM (mine began at 7:35). This requires students to wake up at 6 or earlier to catch the bus. Not to mention, many students have to walk to their bus stop, which requires them to wake up even earlier (possibly 5 AM). With after school activities and homework, teenagers get to bed late. Not to mention, much of student’s homework is done on a computer, and the light from it overstimulates their brains, causing them to not feel tired until up to an hour after they stop working. Their biological clocks also cause them to stay awake later naturally, which generates a vicious cycle of going to bed late and waking up early. This makes it very difficult for students to have the energy or stamina to have a successful school day and confidently complete assignments

2. Social stigmas against different types of learners.

No one learns the same way. Kids that aren’t good test-takers shouldn’t feel inferior to those who are. Throughout my high school experience (and that of my peers), it was prevalent that people were treated differently (from both teachers and students alike) simply because they weren’t taking the most challenging classes the school had to offer. They were labeled as “lazy” for having a smaller workload, or “slow” for not being able to grasp concepts as quickly as others could. If there was less judgement and more compassion for different types of learners, all students would be able to improve in their own way- and be proud of their performance in school.

3. Technology-Based learning.

In the state of New Jersey (and beginning in many other states), public schools are gearing towards technology- based learning, by which teaching is mostly done on a computer. Reading, writing, and testing will all be done on a school laptop that the student must purchase themselves and bring to every class. While this form of learning may seem more efficient, it takes away essentials from the classroom. Teachers can no longer be creative or innovative in their curriculums, because instead they spend most of their time teaching students how to use technology to learn rather than the actual subject. Students will also lose the opportunity to have candid, face-to-face communication, because they will spend much of their class time being transfixed on a laptop. Using technology as a way to “efficiently” teach students resembles a hasty approach to education more so than an effort to provide people with a wholesome development of knowledge.

4. Standardized (State) Testing.

State testing stands as a way to detect what students have learned. However, due to the pressure that is puts upon schools and students alike to get high marks, teachers are instructed to “teach to the test”. Several times, my class syllabus was abandoned so that my teacher could instruct us on how to take the upcoming state test that year. When state testing was over, the remaining lessons for that class had to be rushed through. I was left close to unprepared for AP and IB testing, and had to compensate for missed information by teaching myself on my own time. State testing itself also takes up a great deal of the school day, for as long one month. It seems inessential to place such an incredible amount of stress on teachers and students to do well on test that doesn’t even correctly exhibit what was learned in the classroom.

Again, I am incredible grateful for the knowledge I have received thus far, as it has created many opportunities for me. However, the direction in which education is headed causes me to worry about the quality of schooling for future generations.