Does Size Really Fit All?

We always hear the common phrase, "One size fits all," but does it really? In certain connotations it might; like if you're at a store shopping for some new clothes. There might be some t-shirts fit for everybody. However, in a school environment, that is not the case.

In a TED Talk given by Geoffrey Canada, he talks about how the school system has repeated itself for over 50 years, and clearly isn't working for students. He says, "One size fits all, if you get it, fine, and if you don't, tough luck. Just tough luck."

As he said this, I immediately thought about my own school. Now, I'm not trying to talk badly about it, but it's not perfect. I've noticed that our system feels very much like that saying; especially in math and science classes. I understand that it's hard to slow down the pace of a class for some students, but why?

Why should teachers just brush off the few students that still don't understand the content?

It was a struggle to get through my Algebra 2 class in my sophomore year. This was because when we took a test, there would be some students who passed with 100s and 90s, but the majority of the class either failed or got high 70s. Even knowing this, my teacher still moved on to the next unit, even though the majority of the class didn't know the previous content, or just barely understood it. He moved on because he was satisfied with just a few kids understanding it.

But this is a problem. In another TED Talk given by Sal Khan, he talks about how even though students will have gaps in their understanding, the teachers will move on anyway.

"On that test, maybe I get a 75 percent, maybe you get a 90 percent, maybe you get a 95 percent. And even though the test identified gaps in our knowledge, I didn't know 25 percent of the material. Even the A student, what was the five percent they didn't know?'

If I don't know 25 percent of the material and then we move on to harder units, and continue to get into harder units without me knowing the fundamentals, how will I understand it and learn it well?

Sal Khan suggest to change the school systems to mastery-based learning. I really like this idea because it helps students have a learning experience that is unique to them, not having them be put into a box and learn one way. This new system does sound like it could be difficult, but it would definitely be worth it in the long run.

Mastery based learning consists of students being able to work at their own pace, and not worry about a deadline on when they need to fully understand the content. That gives them enough time to fully master the material, hence the name 'mastery-based learning'. I, again, really like this idea because it would take the stress off of us students. I think it would especially for high schoolers because we are so stressed to pass all these classes because if we don't we won't get into the colleges we want to get into.


Citations

Canada, Geoffrey. "Our failing schools. Enough is enough!" May 2013. TED, TED
        Conferences, May 2013, www.ted.com/talks/
        geoffrey_canada_our_failing_schools_enough_is_enough/up-next. Accessed 22
        Nov. 2019. Lecture.

Khan, Sal. "Let's teach for mastery-not test scores." Nov. 2015. TED, Ted
        Conferences, Nov. 2015, www.ted.com/talks/
        sal_khan_let_s_teach_for_mastery_not_test_scores. Accessed 22 Nov. 2019.
        Lecture.

Student's Mental Health and Safety in Schools

In an article by Amanda Litvinov and other colleagues, she talked about different problems public schools are having today. Within it, she mentioned school safety and student's mental health. These two problems caught my attention because being a high school student myself, I am also dealing with these issues, and so are many of my peers.

Kathy Reamy, a school counselor at La Plata High School said, "Honestly, I've had more students this year hospitalized for anxiety, depression, and other mental-health issues than ever," in an article by NEA Today. She also added that "There's just so much going on in this day and age, the pressure to fit in, the pressure to achieve, the pressure of social media."

I related to this quote because I personally struggle with mental health issues, and I know others who do as well. The problem with our society today is that since everyone is trying to fit in so much, we all become the same person. Different trends become so popular, like clothes, songs, or sayings, that everyone is wearing the same things, listening to the same music, and saying the same phrases. This is fine, but society also says that you should be different and stand out.

How can you stand out when you get made fun of or bullied for it? Why is it okay for people to preach one thing but not practice it?

All of this pressure to be different but to also fit in can help build up anxiety and depression in us.

Another issue that doesn't help with anxiety is school safety. According to CNN, there had been 22 school shootings in 2019, just up until July.

Litvinov mentioned a survey by the Pew Research Center, saying that 57% of U.S. teens are worried about having a shooting in their school. And that was just a couple months after the Parkland school shooting. The percentage probably has gone up.

A sad thing about school shootings is that since we see them all over the news these days, it seems like it's just become a norm. I have also observed that since it's a normal thing, people joke about it all the time. Now I know that a lot of people use comedy as a coping mechanism, but I feel as though this topic shouldn't really be laughed about because it is so relevant.

Citations

Flannery, Mary Ellen. "The Epidemic of Anxiety among Today's Students." NEA
Today, National Education Association , 28 Mar. 2018, neatoday.org/2018/
      03/28/the-epidemic-of-student-anxiety/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2019.

Graf, Nikki. "A Majority of U.S. Teens Fear a Shooting Could Happen at Their

School, and Most Parents Share Their Concern." Pew Research Center, 18 Apr.
      2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/18/
      a-majority-of-u-s-teens-fear-a-shooting-could-happen-at-their-school-and-most-par
      ents-share-their-concern/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2019.

Litvinov, Amanda, et al. "10 Challenges Facing Public Education Today." NEA
      Today, National Education Association, 3 Aug. 2018, neatoday.org/2018/
      08/03/10-challenges-facing-public-education-today/. Accessed 12 Nov. 2019.

Lou, Michelle, and Christina Walker. "There Have Been 22 School Shootings in the
      US so Far This Year." CNN, Cable News Network, 26 July 2019, www.cnn.com/
      2019/05/08/us/school-shootings-us-2019-trnd/index.html?no-st=1573741101.
      Accessed 14 Nov. 2019.