The Synergy Project Magazine - August 2020

By Julia Loritz
A growing frustration is
blooming amongst younger
generations. Although it has
become expected for today’s
youth to rebel against societal
standards, this generation is
also looking to take a stance
against the American school
system. They fear being
cheated of not only creative
needs but also the means to
explore a more multifaceted
learning experience. Many are
refusing to be passive learners
and instead, wish to become
more engaged in their personal
and educational journey. This
challenges traditional teaching
styles and prompts for fresh,
modernistic instructional
techniques. Could it be time to
reform how America studies?
Education, in this day
and age, prioritizes high marks
on report cards above creativity
in the classroom. There are
a few tactile and cooperative
activities pursued in class, but
it is undeniable that “core”
studies like English and Math
take up most of the schedule
as opposed to electives such
as art, music, computing,
or tech-ed. Although a
core curriculum provides
fundamental knowledge
necessary to shape intelligent
and informed citizens, the
skills which students master
in electives are vital. Retaining
soft skills like teamwork,
individuality and presentation
craft makes individuals more
appealing to employers and
colleges; this generates a source
of motivation for students to
do well. While students spend
most of their time in school
absorbing facts, dates, and
lengthy exams, the pressure
to get everything “right” is
prioritized over obtaining skills
essential for success.
This memorization-
equals-intelligence
phenomenon, the backbone
for how pupils learn, only
impedes actual growth. It is
common that students who
scored an A+ on the test won’t
remember the material in the
long run. The test content
is only stored in their shortterm
memory, making it easy
to cram for tests and even
easier to forget. Furthermore,
these tests are likely timepressured,
so students benefit
more from memorizing the
material instead of digesting
it fully. By doing so, they
can quickly answer questions
designed by teachers to be
easy to grade, classified by
distinctly right or wrong. In
this way, the education system
only rewards students for their
ability to memorize, rather
than focusing on cultivating
a true understanding of a
given topic. School should
not be a game of call-andresponse,
although it resembles
as such. Because it benefits
your GPA, you may take the
detour of memorization - the
“back road” for answering
without comprehension.
This includes recalling
things you may “know” but
don’t truly understand. For
example, people may be
familiar with the definitions
of Shakespearian phrases, but
cannot distinguish why they’re
used in the scene’s context.
Shakespeare is a common
example of curriculum that
teachers want us to digest
linguistically, which contradicts
the lesson Shakespeare’s
literature should encourage:
someone who reaches “outside
of the box”. Society considers
Shakespeare to be a brilliant
author, but school doesn’t
teach us how to obtain any of
the qualities (like inventiveness
04 EDUCATIONAL