The Educational Downfall

Covid has given the U.S. a pass to being lazy. Now I'm not saying that every single person in the U.S. is lazy, but many people have relied on Covid as an excuse to not uphold the standards of education for the upcoming generations. Let me give you my experience. When I was in elementary school, we had homework every day. I didn't necessarily look forward to it, but it wasn't like I dreaded it. It helped me. Like the cough medicine nobody wants to take but has to because it helps. Our teachers didn't play 45-minute videos of another teacher. Our teachers actually talked to us and interacted with us and gave us engaging activities that not only were stimulating but actually made us smarter and gave us problem-solving skills. I was in elementary school about 10 years ago. No, I'm not old, I'm a college student which is relatively young. I figured the ways they taught math would've changed, but I never thought that the entire approach towards school and teaching would change.

A few months after I graduated high school, I worked at an elementary school/middle school. My job entailed that I worked with middle schoolers (11-14). Again, I had pretty normal expectations for the 11–14-year-olds. I thought they would be able to do simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc. I thought they would be able to read. I thought they had simple problem-solving skills and common sense. Boy was I wrong. The average 11–14-year-old does not know how to read. And no that is not a dramatization. They needed calculators to add 1 to 2 because they didn't know it equaled 3. They needed calculators to divide 80 by 8 because they didn't know it was 10. And the worst thing about it was that the teachers didn't care. They actually invited students to use calculators and google to solve their issues instead of thinking for themselves. Like I said, most teachers nowadays rely on videos of other teachers while they go on their phones and 'grade.' Bill Nye the Science Guy, History for Kids, Liberty's Kids, etc. Now I'm not saying that any of these shows are bad, but they should not be fully relied on every single day and counted as teaching when there is a teacher, in the room, on his or her phone, laughing at Instagram reels. And what behooves me to this day is why these very teachers wonder why the kids' IQs are depleting. I'm sorry, did you think playing 5 Bill Nye the Science Guy episodes back-to-back, was going to provide stimulation for the children? This apathetic attitude has also been displayed district wide. Even the school systems and secretaries and principals and super intendents don't care. They don't care at all. Which has led to the excessive diagnoses for students who don't actually have IEPs whatsoever and are just bad. We have taken the average kid who just needed a little discipline and told him or her that they have learning issues and disabilities simply because it is the easy way out. It is the band aid for the deep wound. It is excusing more than capable students from failing, completing tests, and attending school at all. And on top of that, even the students who are undoubtably capable, have been excused from any homework. The school districts have taken it upon themselves to say that homework is no longer allowed. And you know what they're blaming it on? Covid.

Apparently Covid affects more than the body and makes IQs drop. When I had Covid, it was hard for me to breathe and get up and want to do anything. But best believe, I could still read. I did not suddenly become illiterate or lose the ability to think for myself. Covid did not affect my mental capacity. So, if you think that Covid is your way out of this, then you are mistaken. Since when does Covid have anything to do with homework? Since when does Covid have anything to do with not being able to read? Since when does Covid have anything to do with not being able to complete simple math problems? DING DING DING. It has nothing to do with it. People have just been on auto pilot. Schools are using Covid as an excuse to not teaching properly, or at all for that matter. Schools are using Covid as an excuse to not give out homework. Schools are using Covid as an excuse for everything.

Not only does the teaching style behoove me, but the teachers' attitudes also confuse me. My sister is a freshman in high school and the stories of her teachers that she brings home makes me laugh hysterically. I hear more stories of her teachers pouring out their personal lives to the students more than doing any teaching. For example, my sister has an English teacher that she despises. And honestly, my sister has an educational reputation that I can trust. So, I don't really have to question whether or not she is telling the truth. Back to this English teacher. From what I've gathered, she loves to talk about the fact that she hates her mother-in-law and doesn't have any children despite being obese. Every single day my sister comes home from school and has a new or reoccurring story from her teacher. I'm sorry but when has it ever been appropriate to talk about your deep hatred for your mother-in-law to anyone? Let alone your students.

How long are we supposed to go on like this? When will people face the facts before the poop hits the fan? Are we really this blind? Did you actually think that these 'techniques' were going to better society and better the next generations? I mean honestly, we can't be this dumb. In no universe or reality, will watching documentaries ever provide a sufficient learning condition for children. NO, it won't. And then these bachelor degree graduates have the nerve to be surprised and confused. "Why are the students so dumb? We were never this dumb." Probably because your teachers actually taught, and they didn't rely on videos. Your teachers weren't lazy. Your teachers didn't make excuses. Your teachers actually cared about the quality of education. That's where we are lacking. People don't care. And they blame their problems on everyone and everything else because nobody wants to take responsibility. When is it enough?