Education for the past few generations of children and young adults has been considered to be “dumbed down” in order for it to be more accessible, as such, for a wider range of people to obtain substantial qualifications, to subsequently ensure them financial stability and to keep the unemployment rates down for our may-as-well-be laissez faire government. But, the past couple years has seen a slight “flip it and reverse it” now the government have decided it has become too easy for young adults to leave with worthy qualifications and it would be much better if we made it unbearable for them instead. Were they expecting a 5% decrease of university applicants (which once upon a simpler time was seen as a be all and end all) or a rise in college drop-outs?
Education has this stigma, primarily created by children, of being boring, or “pointless”, and this is probably due to the fact that it is compulsory up to a certain age – like the cynical arrogant British citizens we are, we have an immediate distaste to anything we are forced to do. But education is a very beautiful thing, and I can not be the only one who takes pride in being the most knowledgeable one in a group or being able to apply your newfound knowledge just get out of a much harder situation. But also, the accessibility we have to learn in the UK shouldn’t be condemned, it should be admired because although it is compulsory, it later on gives us a freedom to wider opportunities. In a sense, the government are depriving some of us this freedom – not necessarily directly. But in this scheme to make school harder, children and younger adults build this greater resentment towards it and begin to lose faith in their abilities. Don’t get me wrong – education should not be too easy as challenges make it more stimulating and enjoyable, yet not challenging to the point it is causing a loss of passion and emotional distress for the child who really wants to achieve a certain thing but can’t because they don’t adhere to what enables them to do so. With particular reference to myself, this hardened education system tampered with my interest in education during Sixth Form when studying my A Levels – I had entered Sixth Form with the mindset that A Levels were not walk in the park like GCSE’s were in comparison, however I did not quite prepare myself for such an experience. An experience which, due to the uncontrollable amount of work load (which despite how much free time I sacrificed for I never found myself on top of it all) and a continuous “Oh, that exam went surprisingly well!” – gets back results – “Where the hell did I go wrong?” scenario, I lost an interest for a topic I had built on since I was a young child. And that was a result of knowledge for the subject just being thrown at me, and it being expected for me to learn so I can put my skills of remembering and writing fast to task in the exam. That’s not how it should be – we should be taught knowledge, how to use to it and be opened to a variety of ways we can use it. Luckily for me, although weakened and becoming lazy with my education, I still obtain my ambitions to further on my education in university, I can not say the same for the disheartened children who loss interest in what they loved doing the most and craved the easy way out. I would not say, however, the ones who actually tolerate this hardened education system and still do remain to do well are “the lucky ones” because although intelligent, it does not make them more intelligent to those who do not do so well. Like Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” and it is completely and utterly true – intelligence comes in many forms and abilities. An artist paints his intelligence, a writer writes her, and a fish can’t write an essay – but it all means nothing to what else he can. I know what you are thinking, and yes it is all good for me to sit here and write away with my complaints on something I cannot single-handedly change, but hopefully it will act as comfort for someone in a similar situation who is worried about their lack of interest in education and how that will then inflict their future prospects. But it is nothing to worry about, being disheartened with the education system does not equal to a crumbling intelligence, but just the fact that you are human and not invincible and not expected to abide with the rash changes the government are making. Because no individual is the same or has the same abilities, as otherwise we wouldn’t be individuals, and the government should cater for this and encourage a want among children and young adults the further their education (because it is no lie in saying qualifications is better than no qualifications) however they choose to do so, but in an enjoyable and stimulating way.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Jem DuttonStudent Blogger. Archives
April 2018
CategoriesAll Current Affairs Lifestyle Narrative Journalism Opinion Articles Personal |