The American Education System is great- I truly believe that. I personally come from a family of educators (I even married one) and I would never discount the importance of a good education. I think teachers are some of the most undervalued and underappreciated individuals in this country.
With that said, I will also argue that the American Education System is flawed and here's why... Our education system only teaches people how to become employees, nothing more. The system was created and constructed during a different time and it has done little to adapt to the evolution of society. The standards that are still set forth in the daily teachings were formulated from a time when steel was king and the railroad was laying the path for travel and industry. It was an era known as the Industrial Age. We are now in the Information Age (and have been for quite some time), yet the basis for our education still remains cast in stone- or should I say steel.
Yes, our school curriculums have changed and been updated somewhat. New literature is being taught, updated and corrected versions of history are now the standard and the addition of new technologies are ever present. The point I am trying to get at is that although the content has been amended, the foundation has not. We are still teaching our youth that the way to get ahead in life today is the same as it was over a century ago. The truth is that it is not and there are many more options now.
The world we live in today is very different than the one our parents and grandparents grew up in. Because of advances in technology the average class citizen has many more options to get ahead in life- to escape the "Rat Race". There is no longer a need to give all of your blood, sweat and tears as part of a daily struggle to maintain a descent life. Unfortunately though, it seems that the only people who know about this (and more importantly believe it) are the ones who are already using these techniques- the wealthy. For some unknown reason, the average class citizens who take it upon themselves to find out about these alternate routes to success are often met with great disapproval from their peers when they decide to put a plan into action.
Perhaps it is because this archaic philosophy of, "an honest days pay for an honest days work," has been pounded into our brains for as long as we can remember. In concept, I have no problem with the quotation above- it works great for the employee mentality. But what about those that don't want to struggle all their lives? What about the people who see greater things and want more out of life? Technology has provided us with so many ways to gain leverage that the average class citizen never had before.
So what is the Great American Tragedy? For me, it is the "Great American Dream". It is guy (or woman) who does everything right, studies hard in school, gets good grades, moves on to college and excels there, then onto a Master's or Doctorate and finally ends up with that lucrative corporate career. Everything is done by-the-book and the plan is followed to a T. Let's not forget that somewhere along the way there was enough time to get married and have a family. They live the "Great American Dream", right? After all, this is what we have been taught since grade school. But where does LIFE fit into this equation?
How is it not a tragedy when parents don't get to watch their children grow? Where is the satisfaction when the demands of a job take over practically every waking moment just so you have that "steady" paycheck coming in? How good is the feeling that you are doing nothing more than trading time for money- getting paid what a job is worth, rather than what an individual is worth?
Most people go through life trapped in a prison that they cannot see. There are no bars per se but they are forced to trade their most precious commodity, their time, for a fraction of its value. The sad thing is that most people don't even realize what they are giving up. Time is the one thing that we really have no control over. Other than the ability to determine how we spend our time, there is no control. We can never recapture any time that has already been lost.
For those who are trapped in a job trading their time for money, they are also giving away their freedom. For two weeks a year and two out of every seven days they can be in charge and they can determine how they spend their time but for the rest of it though, they are a mere cog in someone else's master plan and must do what they are told- they must do their job.
Education is of utmost importance and isn't it time to put the current foundation where it belongs- as part of history? Life is meant to be fun. Life is meant to be so much more than what it currently is for so many people. Let's teach people that there are better ways and that just accepting pay for good work doesn't have to be the standard. Let's make it the exception rather than the rule.
Isn't it time that the Great American Dream was just that- A life that is worth dreaming about?
