Thomas Edison's Flaws

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A Light of the Mind Imagine today’s society if Thomas Edison was given forty-five minutes to complete his model of the light bulb. As the last grain of sand falls through the hourglass, a middle aged proctor stops Thomas in his development. He takes Edison’s piece from his sweaty, quivering hands and decides to test it out. If it is a success and does in fact create light, Edison will be a world renowned inventor and living virtuoso. If it fails, however, he will continue to walk on a candlelit path of the ordinary. The middle aged representative trials the filament Edison briefly mustered together. There was no light. Thomas Edison was robbed of his creativity and individualism, a puppet handled by societal norms. Puppets are impetuous; known …show more content…

They are suppressed from expressing individuality in fear of being different than what is commonly accepted. Thinking outside the box is frowned upon, and asking questions is not in the lesson plan. These tests carry a great weight, determining the future of both students and educators. As society bases a student’s worth on this attribute, a student likely exists for this characteristic. Therefore, standardized tests incorrectly and unfairly diagnose aptitude for students.
Tests in this fashion are home to many biases as they do not suit numerous students. Taking into account many public schools have programs for special education, there is a wide diversity in the capabilities of each student. For students with autism spectrum disorders, …show more content…

A student may not read as quickly as his peers, but excel in comprehension. However, with tests administered such as the ACT, the time limit allows for students to display their mere guessing capabilities, rather than comprehension. The ACT/SAT tests may also be discriminatory based on socioeconomic status. For example, affluent families have the capability to hire private tutors for these tests. The United States’ standardized tests rely heavily on multiple choice questions. Therefore, there is no room for students’ creativity to shine through. According to Susan Minarik, studies of older people who practice creativity found that they stayed healthier longer and enjoyed health more, had fewer visits to health care providers, used fewer medications, were less lonely, and more optimistic. This statistic illuminates the fact that exercising the right side of the brain as an adolescent is essential and testing of this sort puts students at a disadvantage for the rest of their adult

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