Digital publication | Page 55

through looking at things through different perspectives. Seeing the world from a bird’s eye view when everyone else is staring at the ground. That creativity is lost when society tells the world how to see. As children grow up, they are more and more afraid of failing, and their creativity runs dry.

No ice skater hasn’t fallen. No mathematician has not made an error. If a student were in a position where he/she/they was taking a big test, with only a few minutes left on the clock, and they think that they found a way to a new creative shortcut with a math problem, but aren't certain that the short cut will work, will the student take the risk and use the shortcut, or stick to the traditional way of solving the problem and barley finish the problem in time? I would certainly choose the second option. I’m afraid of being wrong, to make a mistake. That is the reason to the decline in creativity.

 

 

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Another disadvantage is that our schools are not personalized. American students start planning our career paths during high school. It is at that time when we start thinking about ourselves, and what we want to do in life. In some education systems, like Germany’s, that time starts far earlier, with only four years of primary school. In 6th grade, students are divided into three paths, based on academic ability: Gymnasium, Realschule, or Hauptschule. As students start to approach college, they are then introduced to Germany’s VET system, that allows the students to further decide their future career pathway. It gives students a two-to-four-year opportunity to work at a company for three to four days a week. The other one to two days are for school. Participating companies are obligated to pay the students a modest salary and provide training. Germany's education system gives students the chance to choose what they want to do as a career, starting from after four years of primary school. It doesn’t mean we don’t need to know the basics of math, science, and English, but it means that as life goes on, we should be able to choose what we want to do in life at a younger age. Be allowed to explore infinite possibilities and become the best people we can be. As Albert Einstein once said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, then it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."   

My phone buzzed and I looked at the clock. It was time to go to school. I grabbed my backpack and headed outside, with a satisfying feeling of content. 

Although sitting down in front of a computer for seven hours is not ideal, I believe that schools aren’t completely bad. The world isn’t perfect, and neither is the American education system. But that doesn’t mean students should stop going to school. Getting a good education is still a good investment. Just remember that through all the stress and time we take out of our days to learn, school doesn’t determine everything. Academic talent is not all talent.