Continental Clarion

I B{eli}eve: Students should be educated at differing levels

Friday, May 18, 2012 By Eli Tracewell

In a dream world, all children could ace their way through high school and skip to college. But education is not a dream. We must wake up and face reality. It is time to stop yielding to the fear of political incorrectness and embrace the differences in learning abilities that come with such an eclectic body of people. I borrow the phrase from author Charles Murray when I say that our view of how schooling should work is nothing more than “educational romanticism.” The lie that any student can be whatever he or she wants has been told to us since elementary school, but the fact is that potential varies. I believe thoroughly that everyone is of equal worth, but we are confusing political equality with being the same. It is important to push students to heights they didn’t think were possible, but those heights vary across the board. If students who do not have the capability to meet certain levels are constantly told that they do have that ability, they will fail. And when that fall comes, you end up with hurt, angry students and frustrated teachers desperately trying to get across a concept. Right now, classes are a conglomeration of students— some who are bored out of their minds, some who are struggling to keep up and some who are right on track. Instead of letting those who are ahead excel, they are asked to assist those who are struggling. Being able to apply what you’ve learned and teach it is important, but the educational process shouldn’t stop there. Instead of catering to the level of each student, we have taken advantage of those who are excelling and are unfairly abridging their opportunity to learn at a higher level. Everyone is being melted and smeared onto the same level. That isn’t the teachers’ fault. Teachers are expected to cover the curriculum and insure that those who struggle understand, and that those who understand don’t struggle to stay awake. No Child Left Behind has left everyone behind, but now it’s time to stop blaming the Bush administration and turn over a new leaf. Federal government has no place in education. States should define what is best for them. We need to rebuild education from the ground up. Not everyone has the mental capacity to be a physicist, nor the patience and instinct of a mechanic, yet both are necessary. Every student is of equal worth, but we must not overestimate, nor take advantage of ability. We must put aside our hopes of what we wish education was and look at what it is. Not all students have the same potential—to expect that leaves a divided classroom. Firstly, we must stop grouping children into a grade by age. Keep the grade levels, but don’t define them by age. If someone is unable to understand a concept, it is unfair to continue to push that child through a curriculum that is beyond his or her ability. That’s how you get kids who can’t read in high school. Secondly, we should separate students into three levels starting in first grade. This is not a “separate but equal” argument. We don’t mix third graders with middle-schoolers. It’s the same principle if you mix minds. The level they would begin with would be determined by the teacher of the previous year along with the child’s guardians. The levels wouldn’t necessarily go farther than other classes, but they would go deeper. Each nine weeks, the teacher would have the opportunity to move a child to a different level if they see that they are bored, struggling or learning at an inadequate pace. By high school, students could be directed to interest- and ability-based learning. Imagine an expanded technical center: there would still be core classes, but in an environment geared to the student’s ability. When students reach senior year, they would be incorporated into a comprehensive, interactive education that confidently leads them to the next step, whether that be higher education or the workforce. By having students learn at a customized, individual pace, we could allow them to meet their full potential and make the most of what education should be.