An Open Letter to Public Education in America (the first of many)

Dear Public Education in America,

It's simple: education is the solution to all of our problems. Human beings are unique in that we possess social learning. This means that as time goes on, we can attain more and more knowledge from those before us via imitation, observation, or modeling without having to back-track. Our exceptional ability allows us to grow and cultivate our world, which leads to progress.

However, this ingenuity has to start somewhere, and here in America, that first step is severely flawed. But before we get into that, let's take a step back.

The idea of America, or the American dream, is that people from anywhere can come here and become successful. That their children can grow up, become educated, and eventually surpass the successes of their parents. But, if their parents have nothing, how are the children supposed to flourish? Well, a cornerstone of American society has always been access to public education. People who come here with nothing, or people who have nothing, can at least depend on the government to ensure that their children will have a better life. Our supposed "fair and equal access" to public education is part of the reason that we claim to be a world superpower. But if we were to use education as the only standard of world superpower-ess, the United States doesn't even land in the top ten.

A country is nothing without an educated population. The greatest power that a country and its citizens can possess is knowledge: knowledge about the world around us, knowledge about the problems our world faces, and knowledge about the other people that share our Earth. I would argue that every single problem we face today is because of uneducated individuals, and each of these problems could be resolved if future generations are provided with a proper education.

Think about it. Couldn't climate change, an issue that is still debated despite its proven existence, be challenged by tomorrow's leading scientists? Couldn't political and racial tensions be rationalized by the next generation of knowledgeable and respectful communicators? Couldn't worldwide epidemics, such as AIDS, malaria, and cholera, be vanquished with the help of passionate medical practitioners?

And you may say that those intelligent people already exist in our world, and are fighting tirelessly to resolve the problems of the 21st century. I agree with you, and I throw my support behind anyone who is trying to make a difference. But, we could make their lives a whole lot easier if we were a united and informed public that fully understood the ramifications of what our leaders were trying to accomplish. Imagine if that scientist didn't have to waste time justifying global warming or if that medical practitioner could trust that herd immunity would remain in tact; they would improve our world faster. Not only would an educated public cooperate with progress more willingly, but we would make better decisions when voting and we would hold our politicians accountable.

Of course this utopia sounds great, but as writers like Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth have proved, implementing utopia can often lead to horrific consequences. Fixing education doesn't require the Hunger Games nor factors. Instead, it requires listening. Easy enough, right?

Right now, me and thousands of other students are the ones experiencing this public education system, and yet our voices are rarely heard. Unfortunately, education is not shaped by students. Instead it is designed by adults who have most likely forgotten what it is like to be in a student in a classroom. Hardly anyone has ever asked a student how he/she wants to be taught, because a young opinion is dismissed as immature or worthless. In my high school experience, only two of my many teachers asked for feedback about his and her respective teaching styles and workload, and I attended one of the best high schools in my county. Moving forward, discussions about public education should include the student, as that would create a more favorable classroom, tailored to those actually using it.

On the note of the student's voice being heard, discussions within the classroom are extremely underrated. Even in 2018, there are rarely discussions between students and teachers about important issues happening in the world. Take history, my favorite subject, for example. This generation of students has some of the best access to news and current events, yet they are seldom considered in history classes. While it is important to understand the narrative aspects of the American Civil War, for instance, it is equally, if not more important to examine and debate modern racial tensions that still exist today as a result of it. Not only would adding a modern lens to high school curriculums form more critical thinkers, but it would also add more interest. When students see a correlation between what they are learning to what their parents are discussing at the dinner table, and then can offer a thoughtful and intelligent comment, their education takes on a new meaning because it now has relevance in their lives. Students shouldn't have to bridge the gap between school and their lives - that gap shouldn't even exist.

A lot has changed in American society since we were created, from marriage laws to health care to transportation. How is it that everything else has evolved, but our education system has remained the same for decades? It is time that we re-evaluate the way that we educate tomorrow's thinkers, the people who will solve the problems that we have created. It is time that school is no longer synonymous with boring. It is time for action.

You have not seen the last of me, Public Education in America. Get ready for a makeover.

Yours truly,

P.S. From the bottom of my heart, sorry about Betsy DeVos. You don't deserve that.