By Austin B. Hahn
Dear Journal:
I am so pissed off! I have had four days to do my math, and I am still not done. Our instructor told us during the first week of class that we would have to work 10-15 hours each week on math outside of class. Uuummm? What the fuck??? Do you think that I just sit on my ass and masturbate all day? (Okay, I’ll admit that masturbating is probably one of my favorite hobbies that consumes a significant portion of my leisure time), but I still have a fucking life, though. I understand the importance of education and that hours of practice and training are required in order to hone your skills, but this shouldn’t be consuming my life. I don’t live to go to school. I go to school to acquire skills with the hope that one day I will be able to contribute to society. However, I’m convinced that I’m not acquiring those skills. I want to be a politician one day, (which I will discuss later), so how is math relevant to my career field? Oh boy . . . and if I hear one more smart ass remark such as, “You use math everyday,” I am going to go crazier than Bobby Brown on cocaine. I’d rather put a cork in my ass than hear that cliché. “Okay. Tell me. How often do you think I use college level algebra and trigonometry in my daily life?” I rest my case. I am spending HOURS of my life that I won’t ever get back. In addition, considering the fact that I’m not going to use algebra again after I fulfill my math credit requirement, I should be getting paid to take this class because there’s no reason for me to take it. The education system is wasting my time.
I’m quite perturbed by the system’s lack of awareness about how much time and money it robs from today’s youth.
What’s more, if I could buy Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries an hour of marriage for every time I heard the line, “Well, that’s just the way it is,” or, “That’s how the education system is set up,” they would still be married.
The continuation of rotten institutions and outdated systems that no longer serve society are a result of the bandwagon effect.
No one is willing to step up and change the structure of the education system. One could come up with a thousand theories as to why no reform has been made, but that’s not the point.
People my age are graduating with insurmountable debt — nearly $30,000 dollars or more — and they’re entering the job market with skills that employers are not looking for (Bidwell). To any pessimist reading this: I challenge you to find an article that cites test taking as a skill that employers are looking for.
In addition, what angers me even more is that although I will forget almost everything that I studied in algebra and trigonometry a year later, I’m still required to enroll in the course.
While I am aware of the lack of opportunities and education to millions of people in other countries throughout the world, I also advocate for educational reform in the United States. Graduates with bachelor degrees will be unequipped to enter the global market if they’re required to enroll in a broad curriculum and to take courses unrelated to their career paths. I know as a U.S. American that students spend twelve years attending school so they can graduate from high school, then another two years in college getting their general education credits out of the way, and then during the last two years they can finally focus solely on preparing for their jobs. A reform enabling students to spend more time on developing their professional skills and to engage in occupational work experience outside of a classroom must be made. If the U.S. does not implement change, our means of teaching today’s youth will become tomorrow’s joke.
*Please note that MLA citations cannot be properly formatted on a WordPress post.
Work Cited
Bidwell, Allie. “Average Student Loan Debt Approaches $30,000.” U.S. News and World Report. 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.
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