There is a clear and present problem with the way the current United States educational system currently works. There are many problems, not one individual problem that have hindered intelligent minds from realizing their full potential. Somewhere in the last decade the actions of the school district have stopped reflecting the actual goal that this institution was created for. School has become a joke; intelligent students are forced to play their instructors games in order to pass. It should not be so. Why should I be made to jump their hoops?

One critical problem with the current system is the focus. The goal of secondary school is to prepare college bound students for college on the intellectual level and to get other students ready to be place directly into the work force. Based on the school districts actions, most would think the goal of high school is to keep students busy. The normal school day is 6 hours. I’d say I only am being educated for around 2 hours. Teachers spend far too much time assigning busy work. Work that requires no real thought, and teaches no real lesson. Most teachers will say that they do not assign busy work; well then what is this 2 page long worksheet that is being collected once class ends although we are having a test in the near future. Shouldn’t my grade on this upcoming test convey enough to my teacher that I know the content? Yes, it should.

Another imperative problem that needs addressing is homework. Yes, homework is unnecessary. Why? If I am assigned to read 10 pages of text, then answer some review questions, what does it prove? That I am indeed able to copy answers and definitions word for word from a text directly in front of me? The student should be in charge of how much reviewing he has to do. If I take two 100-point tests and I get a 90 average on those two, then I get 0 out of 100 possible homework points, I will then end up with a 60% average. I didn’t do homework because I felt I knew the content well enough as it was that I didn’t need to review and do homework. Why if I prove on 2 separate occasions that I know 90% of the content taught do I have to prove that I can copy answers from my friends before class? Is it right for a student who has proved to the teacher several times that he knows 90% of the content to end up with a failing grade? The answer is no, it is not right. The system needs to be corrected.

Yet another crucial problem is the current attendance laws. If I can go to school 4 out of every 5 days of school and still be passing all my classes, then why are the numbers of absences I am able to have controlled? I understand that possibly the school district is trying to instill a sense of commitment to the students, maybe preparing them for work in later life. However if I complete everything my boss asks me to do in less then the time I have to do it, then why must I stay? Its like if you’re asked to help the boss do inventory, but you are so good at it that you do a good job, in 4/5 of the time allotted. Would the boss not let you leave early if that is all this required of you? The answer is he clearly would, and the school district needs to realize things like this. They need to stop treating high school students (especially 18 year old seniors, who even in the legal sense are adults) like children that need babysitting.

These are just three of the more vital problems with the educational system. They all basically rely around student performance. If it’s not necessary then why have it? If a student is intelligent enough to pass a test without doing class work or homework then why are they necessary. A similar problem arises during midterms and finals. I am one of those kids who finish a test in like 1/4th of the time allotted. I finish a midterm in 30 minutes, however I am forced to stay in my seat doing nothing for another hour before I am allowed to leave. I am essentially being held hostage. If I can tell the proctor upon completing the test in 30 minutes that I have done this test to my fullest potential and that no amount of time sitting and pondering will make me change any of my answers or add anything to them they why can’t I leave early? The U.S. School system has become a terrible place. I, am academically talented student (as rated by my IQ scores from 7th grade), have roughly a “C” average for my GPA. If they could somehow find my test GPA it is damn near 4.0. Now doesn’t that say something? That I have the intelligence and knowledge to get basically an “A” average on all my tests, and thus have proved that I know 90% of the content ever taught to me. However, due to the fact I didn’t feel it necessary to do feeble and useless homework and class work that I felt would in no way enrich me, I now have a “C” average. It’s not right. Apparently the school is telling me I am stupid (by giving me a 2.5 GPA) despite the fact that I proved I know roughly 90% of all content taught to me. The solution: it’s simple. Nothing but tests, serious projects, and essays should be required. The student is intelligent enough to choose for himself how much he studies, how much he reviews and how many practice problems he needs to do in order to achieve a satisfactory grade. There is no such thing as a poor test taker, just a poor student. The test is the ultimate way to decipher based on a student’s performance how much of the information preached they have mentally obtained. A single quarter of school should consist of maybe 5 tests, thus to give no one test too much power. Is it necessary to give homework every night to try and get your students to practice 30 questions when perhaps this one particular student needs no practice whatsoever in order to achieve a satisfactory grade on the upcoming test? No it is not necessary and thus should be eliminated from the curriculum. Over the past 4 years I have done something I believe to be quit remarkable, I have never studied for a test, not one test (this includes midterms and finals). I have never done homework at home. Any and all academic work (besides major projects and major essays) I have completed during school hours. That includes this very essay. This is how school should be. School should not be a take home job, it should be like a job where you punch the clock when you get there and you punch it when you leave and never bring your work home with you. I understand that not all people would be able to deal with this kind of schooling, but I assure there are many besides me who could. We currently attend a school where people get kicked out of honors for “behavior” reasons (these students with behavior problems never got 1 detention or any type of disciplinary action) despite the fact they have a B+ average in the class (mind you, the minimum grade required to stay in honors track is B-). The very same school where people get rejected from moving into honors because it is “full”. Shouldn’t the student body decide how many people are in the honors track? If the honors track is “full” then perhaps we need more honors teachers, or less low track ones. Now what does this mean about me? That I have above average intelligence? That I have poor work ethic? Some teachers may say so; I say that I actually have a superior work ethic and that I just get work done in a fraction of the time most need. If asked many of my peers, the ones that know me, will tell you I will be highly successful in life. Some have told me they believe I will be a millionaire. Now would they think this about someone who has poor work ethic? That doesn’t follow directions? That doesn’t complete all assignments? No, they believe this because I have justification for every decision I make and because I am right.

My name is Joseph Norton and I urge for educational system reform.