Education is an incredible opportunity. Kids are required to be in school for 12 years. This key time in people’s lives is when they discover so much about themselves. However, the school system is not nearly as fine-tuned as it should be. Imagine how much more kids could benefit if they got 12 years of school designed to set them up for life in the best way possible and to prepare them to enter an ever-changing world.
It is no secret that a lot of school is taken up by busywork. This is not to say every part of the curriculum is without benefits. Obviously, there are essential skills that need to be taught early on. Learning to read, write and comprehend is the foundation laid in the earliest years of schooling. However, when students move on to the next step, much of their time is sadly wasted on mindless activities. The skills they should truly be polishing are pushed aside.
NDB Visual and Performing Arts Chair Martha Anne Kuntz shares her opinion on the topic. She is an advocate for creativity and believes the school systems should be redesigned in order to better support students in a rapidly changing world.
“My thoughts are that we keep trying to make changes, but I think that we have the same format we’ve always had. ..There needs to be a pretty major overhaul, and it isn’t just a few people coming up and brainstorming; it’s everyone figuring out what the best approach is, what the best ideas are,” said Kuntz.
According to Buffalo State University’s “From 1871 to 2021: A Short History of Education in the United States,” the American school system was created between the 1830s and the early 1900s. And our present-day school system looks strikingly similar. The world is changing, but our school systems are not. With new advancements popping up every day, like AI and other technologies, the world is becoming a drastically different place. Unfortunately, education curriculums are not adapting alongside our world.
“I think the basic structure of school needs to be time-wise. We need to consider whether it is an all-day thing. Do we have to be here at X time in the morning and leave at X time in the afternoon? I think it would be better if we had four-day school weeks, but we then figured out how to adjust those times. … the days off would be days that could be done using the skills that you’ve learned in school to then further those, through internships or something,” Kuntz commented.
Schools aim to get students to pass the tests. Turn in the assignments. Get good grades. Boost the overall GPA. But when a student finishes a test, do they smile at having gained new knowledge, or do they let out a deep breath and allow the information to leave their mind? Students do not retain the information they learn. They memorize formulas, drill their brains on worksheets and do everything they can to pass the test. And that’s just it. To pass the test.
“…I think the physical space [needs to be changed] so that it’s less of the teachers in front and ttudents seated. And I know teachers do this in different ways, and I think everyone tries really hard. But while it might sound negative, it’s not. I say this with a dash of hope that we can take a look at start with ourselves, and then moving to the next sort of phase, or the next group of people,” Kuntz stated.
School isn’t broken. It’s doing exactly what it was designed to do over a century ago. But we are no longer preparing to work in factory assembly lines. We are going into a world shaped by AI and new advancements. A world where we need skills like collaboration, creativity and design-thinking.
“I think students, especially now, are afraid that they’re not creative enough. … It takes baby steps to figure out how to get from one point to the next to the next, but I think with creativity, students need to understand that their creativity is inside of them and not be afraid if it’s different from everyone else’s. … I think trying to get that creative side back is going to nbe really important,” Kuntz said.
We need to redesign school systems in a way that will make those 12 years of school worth it. We can not let this opportunity go to waste.
