The United States of America is one of the greatest nations that has ever existed. It affords you the freedom to choose who you want to be and what you want to do in life. You also have the freedom to worship God the way you want to. But, while the United States is a very prosperous nation, and offers freedom unlike any other country, It still has a lot of serious problems, obviously. And one of those problems that I have become more and more aware of, is our public/private school systems.
Now, don’t get me wrong, public/private school’s are a great place to learn and get an education. You discover more about the world you live in, how things work, and the logic behind it. But for everything they are, there is so much more that is lacking. The deficit is described briefly in the following hypothetical example.
Kelly attends Northern Middle School, and is in the 6th grade. She has nice teachers, and is very intelligent. But, as most 11 year olds are, she isn’t quite confident in herself yet. She’s a little insecure, and wants to “fit in” like the rest of the “cool” kids. So, what does she do? She starts hanging out with the “cool” kids. Unfortunately, for her efforts, they tell her that she dresses like a 4 year old, and if she wants to hang with them she would have to get a cooler wardrobe (ya know like those low rise super skinny jeans. Basically, they tell her to dress immodestly). So, Kelly starts wearing tighter clothes…a little make up.
Briefly, all is well. She looks the part and seems happy but then notices all of her cool friends are smoking and cursing. And so the downward spiral takes off. Her focus becomes more and more about pleasing others and less about her character and education.
4 years pass, Kelly is now 15 years old. She’s sexually active, smokes a little weed, inhales something from a canister on a regular basis, gets mostly D’s, and more insecure than ever. BUT hey, she fits in, and rarely gets harassed by her fellow peers. Isn’t that all what matters? (HINT: SARCASM)
I personally have observed this cycle repeat itself over and OVER again. It never ends! Its like a bad loop. “Why is this happening?” The question begs an answer. After much research, I think I may have it. I suggest the following:
Have you ever noticed that this pressure is pretty much a “non issue” for college students? Note* pretty much. The focus mysteriously shifts from trying to fit in, to that of a good education. Now, some of you may be thinking, “Well, that’s because those who attend college pay tuition, and therefore must be serious about their education.” Wrong! If this were the case, young teens who attend Private schools during their adolescent years would not suffer from the peer pressure cycle. Truth be told, they are just as affected as those in public schools. The only difference is that the curriculum is modified so that it isn’t as secular and they wear uniforms.
Here are my suggestions to solve the public/private school dilemma.
1. Treat public/private schools like college. Public Without the tuition, Private schools with the tuition.
That means, no “roll call”, no “break time” no play grounds You show up when you show up. If you’re not there, they start without you. Truancy is a thing of the past. The teacher or principal doesn’t contact you to ask where you were. You are responsible for your own education.
2. The government will not pay for dances, proms, etc.
Again, we are treating this like college. But, however, if the students want to raise money for a dance event and have the school host it, that is acceptable. Otherwise, our tax money shouldn’t go towards a dance event that will only distract the students from their primary goal: building character and a good education.
3. Stop treating the students like children.
You see, the problem with public/private schools is this: they treat everybody like children. If you treat teens like children, they will behave like children. They will rise to whatever high standard you set or don’t set for that matter.
4. Give the students a choice when it comes to what type of education they want to learn.
Right now, public schools lean heavily on the theory of evolution. But, ironically, it states in the First Amendment that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Wait a second, evolution isn’t a religion, right? Why am I calling it one? Well, truth be told, evolution is basically the belief that there is “no god”. There you have it. It is a belief, and the government is endorsing it; teaching it to students across the nation.
Now, I’m not saying that all of the public schools curriculum should be Christian based. No, that would be wrong too, since the government is forcing all students to take that curriculum. Rather, I suggest that the government gives the students a few options to choose from. They can select a Evolutionary based textbook, or a Christian based textbook.
So, there you have it. I truly feel these changes will go a long way in this epidemic of social pressure among school aged children. Making it legal to not attend government or non government ran schools, automatically gets rid of all those nasty people who have nothing better to do then to bully others. Formula: Treat schools like college and automatically everybody gets more serious about their education.
Makes sense to me. What are your thoughts? Inquiring minds wanna know.
My goal is to start a petition of signatures. If I can get enough people to agree with me on this concept, I will take it to the next level.
-William Wallace
The Public School Spiral 
Very intriguing observation.
I absolutely agree
Wouldn’t it be easier to teach some tolereance, openess, diversification, and more importantly colaboration between students and classes (subjects) or else, so people could develop more freely. Regarding classes, im against standarization, the richer and varied the curriculum the more subects and activities the students will have, that surely will boost their unique abilities and skills, and might help in students NOT trying to “fit in”, thus, diminishing peer presure. For peer pressure might exist, but it is in our readinees and self-awareness( self-aceptance) that we are more or less prompt to fall for it. It’s just my opinion, I liked that you expressed your concerns. It sure is an interesting subject that should benefit from everyones opinions.
A
Hello, thanks for commenting on my site. I appreciate hearing other people’s opinions, since it helps me obtain a better perspective of the situation at hand. Now, while I agree with rich diversity between topics, allowing the student to explore different areas of self-improvement, I am not quite so sure about disciplinary actions. While teaching tolerance and collaboration is important, it is also not quite the governments job to do so. They can encourage it, but it is the parents job to enforce it. Because, let’s face it, not everybody is going to tolerate something simply because the school asks them to, especially since we live in a generation of instant gratification. As for peer pressure, it may diminish somewhat, but not too much. You see, there will still be pressure to drink, to take drugs, or participate in illicit sex, whether the diversity in scholastic activities are increased or not.
So, rather, I propose we give each student the freedom to choose whether or not they want an education. By doing so, you automatically eliminate a major part of the peer pressure dilemma. Think about it. Just because you force someone who doesn’t want an education to attend public school, doesn’t mean he/she will pick a career in life that involves educational skills. You just force that to attended the school; and as a result, they mess off and take part in idiotic activities, thus pressuring the majority of students who actually want to “live a successful life” to participate with him/her because it’s “cool”. It’s a formula for disaster.
Not only that, but might I remind you that America didn’t used to force education among people. The encouraged it, but it wasn’t strictly enforced. The youth in that generation strived to learn, taking every opportunity to expand their knowledge, while our generation of immature adolescents strive for selfish satisfaction.
And finally, I suggest we offer more than one viewpoint on education. Currently, we are being taught that we have evolved from nothing, and are but mere animals. Do you honestly think that’s going to encourage confidence? Being told that we’re no more significant than an ant? Not only is this atheist viewpoint wrong, but it doesn’t even relate to science. What I propose, is we have different courses you can take; one from a atheist’s viewpoint, one from a Christian viewpoint, and so forth.
This, I believe, will greatly improve the public school’s current condition.
-William Wallace