America’s schools are failing us. For the past hundred 100 years American education has stayed the same. The key elements to learning have been left unchanged even as society has moved forward. Progress in societal shifts move at a fast pace and school systems don’t keep up. Development has changed transportation, medicine and healthcare, technology, and much more, but the education curriculum has stayed relatively the same. Yes, there have been slight changes in the way teachers teach with new advancements although the overall structure of school has stayed the same. There is a fixed system that schools across the country use. In the early 20th century, schools created a curriculum that highlighted a uniform education for every student. This involves a teacher being the center of the classroom that has 30 or so students, grading and assessments to mark the students progress and learning, and students being in classes that are structured in a hierarchical and standardized way. Even though this system has been practiced for years many wonder if it’s time for change. Traditional classrooms have flaws despite the technology advancements. Schools rely on model students sitting in rows of desks facing a teacher who then gives a lecture. This is strictly audible learning. Teaching children one way will leave groups of students being confused and not understanding. People learn in many different ways. America has this narrative that everyone has this certain style of learning, but in truth we all learn through every learning style. Research from Pashler et al proves this point. For schools to be successful they need to be incorporating all learning styles though every subject and it’s not being done. This causes reduced engagement with students, a hindered understanding of topics, and unequal opportunities for students who don’t learn the best from audible and visual learning.

 With classrooms being so big most students lack the attention they need to succeed and learn. There is hardly a collaborative environment for students to work in which is extremely different from modern day workplaces. There is little to no individual attention being provided and students are expected to follow the rest of the class. Large classes limit a teacher’s ability to provide that personalized support that is key to teaching students. Overpopulated classrooms don’t just affect the students they also affect the teachers and staff. Large classes can strain school resources, supplies, and space. How can a teacher teach in an environment where they are not given the correct tools? 

 Limited focus on practical skills is a big problem with the American education system. With schools paying more attention to academic subjects over practical learning, students don’t reach the skills and knowledge they need for the workforce. Many students follow a standardized curriculum taught by their teachers. This emphasizes rote memorization and testing. Memorizing and learning have a fine line in between them. In the study “Learning vs. Performance: Implications for the Design and Analysis Of Instruction” contacted by Robert A Bjork , introduces the concept of “desirable difficulties.” This shows how teaching methods that promote actual learning can weaken test results but lead to a better long-term understanding of the material. Memorization is the ability to recall information achieved through repetition. However memorization does not last or lead to a deep understanding of the topic. The problem with testing is it encourages students to have surface-level memorization to pass the test rather than encouraging them to really drive deep into what they are learning. Testing also leads to students cramming in last minute study sessions and research shows that this leads to short-term memorization but poor long-term retention. Performing well in the moment and actually learning something are two different things. As a society we need to look at better ways to teach and space out units and lessons. 

Students are put into this system from as young as 3 years old and stay there until 18 years old and that doesn’t count extended learning such as college and university. This puts kids the same age in a classroom to be taught. Some students may be ahead or behind other classmates. It’s not fair for some students to be put with children who are not at their level of learning. The children who are behind are put into special individual learning plans with other students who may still not be at the same level as them and then pulled out of class to work on work making them miss the lessons and material being presented in class. And for students who are ahead experience boredom and don’t learn anything new. Students are being taught with these outdated systems and it’s causing them to not be prepared for real-world work forces. Once students graduate they find themselves ill-equipped to understand and navigate the complexities of the world. Professionally and personally.

So many things have changed and evolved over time. So why is our school system nearly identical to how it was 100 years ago? The school system we have today was designed to fit the The Industrial Revolutions needs. School schedules and breaks all go around framing and working periods in the 1800s. Our society is different now. Our workforce is different. We can’t shape tomorrow’s leaders using an old system it doesn’t work.