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Stephanie Campos Espinoza

Ms. Parrish
English 1010 3A
18 March 2014
The Ideal Educational Paradigm:
Growing up I always excelled academically. I never knew what failure was since I was
always successful at everything that I attempted until one day I was taken out of my comfort
zone and got my first taste of failure. Throughout my high school experience I have been
enrolled into three different high schools. I have attended Hunter High, Cyprus High, and am
currently attending Granger High School. I was not prepared for what I was about to experience
entering a new school.
Once I was transferred to a different school I learned that I was not learning at the same
pace as other students as I was in my previous school. The students at Cyprus High were on a
different point in a subject than I was when I was attending Hunter High. Once I began attending
Cyprus, I had a difficult time catching up with the rest of my classmates since they were having
exams on material I have not even learned yet. I noticed that they would go through material
quickly and would understand a unit in less than two weeks. Instead of testing every month or so,
we were having an exam every two weeks in a majority of my classes. I began to wonder why
my previous school was not like this, and then I noticed that the teaching methods were different.
For my honors history class at Hunter High School, my teacher would teach through
movies, worksheets, and show a few examples whereas my teacher at Cyprus High would lecture
the whole period along with a slideshow as the class took notes. We rarely did worksheets during
class, although we would be assigned homework material that would challenge us mentally

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rather than searching for an answer in a textbook. It was a method of teaching that I was never
exposed to. Until I switched schools, I was not able to place my own opinions and thoughts into
topics. I was always shown to just look for the answer myself so that I would receive credit.
As it turns out, I was not the only one to be behind academically. The United States as a
nation has been falling behind other countries academically for decades now and the problem
continues to increase. On average 16 other industrialized countries scored above the United
States in science, and 23 scored above the United States in math (Wilde). The United States
differs from other countries by using the Common Core which allows each school to decide how
their students shall be taught with the exception of having each student know what the Core
recommends each student should know by the end of the school year (Resmovits) whereas in
Finland each school system uses the exact curriculum for all students (Wilde). The time for
change is now. As a nation we must come together and analyze from every angle what we can do
to improve our educational system. Change is needed since the United States is falling behind
academically compared to the rest of the world. Although our current educational paradigm,
including the Common Core, is sufficient for some students, it neglects those that is it not
working for.
I feel as if the United States has failed to recognize that going to school should not only
be focused purely on academics. School should be a place of learning not only academically but
also where students establish communication skills along with classes that will create
independent thinkers along with skills that will help prepare our students for everyday life. It
seems as if going to school has lost its true meaning of becoming a learning experience whereas
now it seems like a tradition (Shakur). However how can we decide what should be taught and
what should be discontinued? Should we keep all of the old material and just add on to the core?

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Take out all of the old material and replace it with new material? Or have a mixture of both? Or
be bold and take out everything and start fresh? The United States must stop focusing on facts
and focus more on critical thinking and problem solving. Although the Common Core allows
flexibility for teachers in the classroom, we must challenge our students so that they begin to
think outside of the box and become independent thinkers rather than just following the views of
their teachers.
We tend to put the blame on students for failing rather than looking at the situation from
all perspectives. What if the student does not receive encouragement, support, or recognition at
home? What if the student learns a different way than the teacher is demonstrating? What if they
are spending too many hours in school that they cannot focus anymore? Or are at school too
early for their brain to be fully functioning? These are the points that we should be examining for
failure. There are cases where a student's disengagement holds them back academically, although
it takes more than just a student being active in the classroom for them to succeed. Work must be
done in and outside of the classroom for a student to be able to succeed or every student will
have an extremely difficult time achieving their goals.
When teaching students we must realize that there are millions of students we must get
through the educational system yearly and not one of those students learn the exact same way.
Some students are more hands on while other students can listen to a teacher speak and learn that
way. This is why I believe it is important to have a variety of learning methods using all senses.
There is more than one method on how to teach material so why not use them? Michelle Herman
shared a personal story with Parenting Magazine about her son and a few of her friends children.
She mentioned how she felt that children should be out playing and that children have the rest of
their lives to be focused on school work. She mentions how children are losing the opportunity to

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become independent thinkers and become creative while gaining academically. Students are not
becoming as well rounded as they could be. Educators have become more focused on the amount
of work that a student turns in rather than the quality of their work. Anyone can just look inside
of a book and find the answer to a fill in the blank worksheet. We have established a system
where a simple letter will define a persons future education. If a student cannot comprehend the
English language, yet grew up speaking another language which makes it more difficult, does
that mean that student is ignorant? No, it just means that they could not pass a worksheet that
someone else created.
Whether or not people believe that we must take out standardized testing there will be
tests involved within an educational paradigm. There is not a way to get around testing since this
is the only effective way to see if the work being put in is working or not. Although I think that it
would help if students throughout the United States were learning the same material. A child
from one side of the country should be able to do well in the other side of the country. This is
what makes it difficult to get an accurate idea of how our students are doing.
It is sad to know that those that are educating our future generations are shown up by
professional singers. Our mindset must be altered to look up to educators since they are the ones
that help mold the future generations. It should be more difficult to become an educator whereas
it would be with becoming a doctor or surgeon. We cannot just have anyone teaching our future
leaders. In Finland they require teachers to earn a three-year master's degree before they can
begin teaching (Sahlberg). I believe that if the requirements to become a teacher were more
difficult we would have more effective educators. Not only does the degree of an educator matter
but also their interaction with their students. Some have argued that with modern technology it
would be better to replace educators with technology. The downfall to that theory is that there is

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not a machine that can be created that is more effective than a human body. If teachers just took
that extra step to getting to know their students I think that it would make the classroom a more
effective and comfortable environment for all. Along with recognizing when a student is
improving or excelling in a certain area. It is crucial for humans to be well liked; it is in our
nature to crave being liked by others. So if students will feel as if they are welcome within a
classroom I feel like they would become more engaged and make their schoolwork a top priority
rather than dreading attending classes.
Support and acknowledgment does not only need to come from educators but as well as
parents/guardians. Being acknowledged for the good work you have done will make anyone feel
special. It is an incredible feeling to know that the work you have put in is being acknowledged.
Parents should encourage their children to set goals and achieve them. They should establish
within their children's mindsets that success will come with hard work. Having a good support
system at home can make a huge difference in a student's engagement in education. Personally,
my mother did not even attend high school although she reminds me daily of how much I can
accomplish anything if I really want it. Whatever my goals happen to be my mother is behind me
one hundred percent. She was not fortunate enough to be able to attend high school which is why
she makes sure I realize how valuable education is.
Students need to realize how valuable education is and stop focusing on issues that will
not matter ten years from now. Students must get their priorities straight because once you begin
slacking on your education you are just digging yourself into a hole which will be hard to dig
yourself out of. Students must have the willingness and drive to learn or else the whole
educational paradigm will crumble rapidly.

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With these key elements we can create the ideal educational paradigm to help students
succeed. We must remember that work must not only be done in the classroom, but outside as
well. Although the educational system can be created again and again until every flaw is gone, it
takes participation in every aspect for the system to work. Parents, students, teachers, and even
the community must be involved. If a student does not pass then it will become a group failure.
Somewhere throughout the process an error occurred whether it is with the teacher, student,
parents, etc. I believe that if we have better communication with each other then it will be simple
to realize what is working for students and what is not. If I was to be presented with this
educational paradigm I feel like I would have been able to succeed more not only academically
but also in other areas of my life. It would have given me the self-confidence to reach my full
potential.