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The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
by Avah Fetzer
Assistant Editor-In-Chief
The social media app, TikTok has revealed many issues regarding the American education system within the last couple of years. Short videos of students referencing aspects such as early start times, high physical and mental demands, the implied significance of grades over learning the material, a negative relationship with students’ mental health, and many more have caught the attention of many people within the system. Hilliard Bradley high school staff and students share their differing opinions surrounding the topic.
Students
Many students see an issue with the way the American school system is set up like senior Natalie Esquivel who begins with the discussion about how the school system isn’t set up to benefit every student. Esquivel elaborates, “a lot of things are focused on memorizing so you can do well on standardized tests but that doesn’t set you up for long-term knowledge and success”. Esquivel continues to discuss the large gap of missed material between high school and college due to “the different ways things are being taught.” Like many other students, Esquivel notices the falling behind of students due to these factors and argues that these aspects need to be addressed and changed within the American education system.
Additionally, many students feel the mental effects of the early start times of their school day. Junior, Britney Kim believes that the time schedule of school (Approximately 7:40 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) causes a bad routine for her. She believes that having to do her hardest of classes in the morning due to the way her schedule is set up, on top of being “mostly sleep deprived from the schoolwork [she] had to do the night before” causes a poor routine and doesn’t set her up for complete academic success. Similarly, Adrianna Juarez (11) also discusses the toxicity surrounding class hours. She believes that classes start so early and most “teenagers aren’t typically fully awake yet” especially if they stayed up late the previous day. However, Juarez says,“ the older you get, the later you end up staying up” according to research.This causes students to not “be in the right mindset” in order to be able to succeed academically.
Teachers
Many teachers don’t often get to experience what it’s like to be a student today. However, some teachers, such as math teacher Mr. Heinlen understands that there are issues that don’t make school ideal for every student while also being fine for some students. He says that overall, “[he] likes the school system”, then continues to say, “It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely something that I think helps people to succeed later in life”. The school system is set up to encourage academic success during and after the teenage years in regards to academics. Psychology teacher Mrs. Waller thinks the American education system is also great, or even, “better than it ever has been” in regards to what she’s seen from her point of view as a teacher.
While the American education system is set up for students to be able to succeed in and out of high school, the question lies within the health aspect. Is the American education system healthy for students, or does it provide a semi-toxic environment? I’ll let you decide that for yourself. While not everyone may experience a negative relationship with school, there definitely are still people that do. Be kind, always. You never know what might make someone’s day.
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