The Definition of Insanity by Mikaela

The Definition of Insanity by Mikaela - September 2025 Scholarship Essay

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." (Unknown source, allegedly Rita Mae Brown). Our educational system is failing. If we improve our system in its structure, methods, and substance, not only will the system improve, but the entirety of our country.
The first way I would like to see in the next ten years for the American educational system is an improvement in the size of classrooms. The average number of students per high school classroom is about 25-27 students. With this size, all students are forced into one learning method, despite the fact that every child learns differently. Students are invisible. Quiet students are unheard. Teachers are inaccessible. Ultimately, we need smaller classroom sizes. If the classroom was smaller, the teachers would be more able to see the needs of the individual student and tailor the lesson to each student's specific learning method. Decreasing classroom size could be the first domino in a series of system revisions, such as the teaching methodology, that could enhance the education of students across the country.
The second way our education system could be amended for the better in the next ten years is in the way students are taught. Currently, the status quo of standardized tests is crippling students’ education. When a test is due, students tend to cram information at the last minute, which causes a rapid memorization of random facts rather than fostering a thoughtful and deep understanding of the subject. Furthermore, after the test is done, most of what was memorized is promptly forgotten. This method does not properly judge a students’ knowledge, nor does it often add to said knowledge. Instead, teachers should implement group discussion, ask thought provoking questions, allowing students to wrestle and ponder what they learn. If standardized tests were done away with or at least decreased in frequency, students would be able to spend time learning about what matters, which would vastly improve the effectiveness of the education system of today.
Finally, the third way I’d like to see change in the education system of America is in what is taught. If, for example, a student learns that the constitution was signed on September 17th 1787, but was unable to explain a single concept in it, what use is that? Additionally, if teachers ask students to write papers, but fail to actually teach them how to write, what will that accomplish? Yet that is the unfortunate state of our educational system today. Instead of merely teaching what is true, teachers should explain why it is true, how we know it is true, why it matters that it is true, and how to find out what is true. Schools should pay more attention to whether their students know how to learn than if their schools’ test scores beat the next! I hope in the next ten years, schools will improve in the substance of the lessons taught.
The U.S. education system could be improved in its structure, in how it teaches, and in what it teaches. Because our government is voted on by the people, it is vastly important that our citizens are fully capable of making educated decisions. Without a proper education, not only will individuals be unable to pursue a successful life, but our entire government could collapse. Let us strive away from the insanity that is our educational system, and improve our educational system.