Essay On Priorities Of Education

659 Words2 Pages

Argument and Persuasion: The Incorrect Priorities of Education
As a student in an educational system that's constantly increasing competitively, the pressure for getting that "90 Average" is immense. Early on in their educational journeys, students are told by parents and teachers that ‘this number grade on this subject’ will best express their abilities to future employers and universities. Although these marks should reflect a student’s mastery of the subject, that may no longer hold true today. Due to a combination of societal pressure and improper prioritization, students often “cram” as an easy way to cop out of hard work while simultaneously producing the necessary grades for university. Students are not only incorrectly prioritizing short-term results, but jeopardizing their educational ability and career in the long-term.
Although it is difficult to evaluate whether a student’s grade truly reflects upon their knowledge in a subject, it’s not difficult to draw up conclusions based on our current educational system. The current system employed at our school is based on 4 main skills; Knowledge and Understanding, Application, Communication, and Thinking and Inquiry. Although one would expect all four to be weighed evenly, one of these outweighs the others by a significant margin; this is Knowledge and Understanding, and it is generally based entirely on factual memorization. Not all subjects are set up this way, but Math and Sciences, which are highly demanded by universities, both follow this approach. The first criticism that can be made is that this encourages brute memorization of facts and concepts, over exploration and application of material learnt in class. Schools are encouraging a singular method, and this single ...

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...alone a student with no interest in the subject he/she is studying.
In the past, grades were intrinsic with education as an indicator of ability; but this no longer holds true when every student is customizing their education to catch a university resume reviewer’s eye. This mindset for learning encourages students to work for instant gratification, which leads to a long term disadvantage, in future education and potential jobs; not only, it also limits creativity and encourages narrow-mindedness when dealing with problems. Ultimately there is no perfect solution to this problem and it is unlikely that a complete reform of our current educational system will ever happen. It is however essential that both students and schools, reconsider their approach to learning and remember to prioritize the proper values of education rather than those of short-term gratification.

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