English - Non-Fiction Coursework
Adults Versus Adulthood: Everything School Didn't Teach Us
- Stimulus Text: The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Guevara
Adulthood is a scam. You don't wake up on your eighteenth birthday in
your very own detached house in the suburbs with a dreamy spouse, 2.4 children
and an Instagram-worthy dog. You simply wake up a year older and not a shred
wiser. Politics? Who's she? Mortgages? Aren't they a new item on the menu at
McDonald's? We're all just big children with no life experience, who just so
happen to have access to alcohol and engagement rings.
That isn't exactly true; adulthood itself isn't the issue. The real scam lies in our preparation for adulthood. The United Kingdom's children spend an average of 13.24 years in school. And what exactly do they learn? What a noun is and how to recite Pi to ten decimal places. No mention of budgeting, debt, or how to go about applying for a mortgage. Yes, mathematics and literacy are vital skills, but what should it matter so long as you can use a calculator and spellcheck. Any child that doesn't fit into the academic mould of formal education is instantly set up to fail. What about the kinetic learners, who need to be doing something physical in order to learn? What about the children with dyslexia? Sitting in an exam hall rewriting what you've memorised for this one test only to forget it all the moment you put your pen down is no way to measure knowledge. But God forbid you don't receive a good set of numbers on a sheet of paper at the end of August at sixteen years old, while you still barely know yourself - let alone Pythagoras Theorem!
As of 2019, the GCSE pass rate was 67.3% - a 0.4% improvement from the previous year's results, but for a nation as developed as the United Kingdom this is concerning. Concerning because, without those grades, the UK's youth will struggle to find jobs that pay well enough to be able to support themselves. Society as a whole is far too quick to blame the children for not being smart enough, or fast enough, or fluent in more languages than they have fingers and toes. But it's in our human nature to learn, so why isn't our pass rate higher? Why do so many people despise going into school? Perhaps it's the expectation of complete focus from people who, even at university level, have an attention span of just ten minutes. We're building an army of yes-men, used to following rules and being told what the 'right' answer is from a young age, as oppose to encouraging younger generations to ask questions and develop the ability to think critically and take risks. Spoon feeding students information in exchange for good grades doesn't teach them anything other than dependence on those around them, and in the adult world this leads to a workforce unable to think for themselves.
Our world is run on new ideas. With the rise in technology and competitive markets, creativity can be the difference between making money and standing out, or falling behind. And yet schools force children to sit still and parrot back their times tables instead of thinking and wondering. Four and five year olds are having phonics rammed down their throats before they can even use the toilet independently. The only creativity permitted is finger paintings and pasta necklaces destined for the recycling bin.
With two thirds of fourteen to sixteen year olds having no idea what political party is in power, according to a survey for Ofsted, wouldn’t you say that it’s about time to declare a state of national emergency? This is a topic that schools should cover – providing non-biased lessons on political parties, what they stand for, and who represents them. Future polling cards coming through these young peoples’ letterboxes are destined to end up at the bottom of a heap of free newspapers and kebab shop leaflets. That is, unless we take some serious action now.
Of course, ditching the entire GCSE system and creating a new form of education would take many years and a truckload of votes, but that’s not to say that it’s impossible. Students should be judged based on a portfolio of their own work accumulated throughout the duration their school career, as oppose to the current examinations where intelligence is based purely on having a good memory and legible handwriting. However, school shouldn’t be about academic smarts. It should be about learning life skills and preparing for adulthood.
Imagine a world in which children were encouraged to look for answers themselves, to question the rules and engage in meaningful debates. What if our nation’s students were studying mortgages and rent and debt? What if interest rates and tax were introduced into the curriculum? Far more young people would understand how to be responsible with money, understand what a good wage is, and look forward to engaging with politics. Think about an education system that allowed freedom of self-expression, without telling people what hairstyles they’re allowed or how many earrings they can wear in either ear at any time. Instead, schools actually encouraging their children to show their true colours, unrestricted by the chains of uniform. All the time we’re telling our youths how to look, we’re teaching them that anyone who doesn’t fit this mould is abnormal. Yes, people, we’re actually encouraging discrimination!
A world in which children can ask questions and engage in class discussions without being told that their queries are stupid and their input is wrong would create an environment in which they can develop their own ideas and improve their understanding. Students should be able to challenge unjust rules without the fear of punishment. After all, if we didn’t question authority then women still wouldn’t be able to vote and racial segregation would be commonplace. So why can’t they?
Envision a world where young people can learn about adulthood and its responsibilities in a safe environment that allows them to grow and develop their own individuality. Now that’s the kind of world that I want to live in.
Bibliography:That isn't exactly true; adulthood itself isn't the issue. The real scam lies in our preparation for adulthood. The United Kingdom's children spend an average of 13.24 years in school. And what exactly do they learn? What a noun is and how to recite Pi to ten decimal places. No mention of budgeting, debt, or how to go about applying for a mortgage. Yes, mathematics and literacy are vital skills, but what should it matter so long as you can use a calculator and spellcheck. Any child that doesn't fit into the academic mould of formal education is instantly set up to fail. What about the kinetic learners, who need to be doing something physical in order to learn? What about the children with dyslexia? Sitting in an exam hall rewriting what you've memorised for this one test only to forget it all the moment you put your pen down is no way to measure knowledge. But God forbid you don't receive a good set of numbers on a sheet of paper at the end of August at sixteen years old, while you still barely know yourself - let alone Pythagoras Theorem!
As of 2019, the GCSE pass rate was 67.3% - a 0.4% improvement from the previous year's results, but for a nation as developed as the United Kingdom this is concerning. Concerning because, without those grades, the UK's youth will struggle to find jobs that pay well enough to be able to support themselves. Society as a whole is far too quick to blame the children for not being smart enough, or fast enough, or fluent in more languages than they have fingers and toes. But it's in our human nature to learn, so why isn't our pass rate higher? Why do so many people despise going into school? Perhaps it's the expectation of complete focus from people who, even at university level, have an attention span of just ten minutes. We're building an army of yes-men, used to following rules and being told what the 'right' answer is from a young age, as oppose to encouraging younger generations to ask questions and develop the ability to think critically and take risks. Spoon feeding students information in exchange for good grades doesn't teach them anything other than dependence on those around them, and in the adult world this leads to a workforce unable to think for themselves.
Our world is run on new ideas. With the rise in technology and competitive markets, creativity can be the difference between making money and standing out, or falling behind. And yet schools force children to sit still and parrot back their times tables instead of thinking and wondering. Four and five year olds are having phonics rammed down their throats before they can even use the toilet independently. The only creativity permitted is finger paintings and pasta necklaces destined for the recycling bin.
With two thirds of fourteen to sixteen year olds having no idea what political party is in power, according to a survey for Ofsted, wouldn’t you say that it’s about time to declare a state of national emergency? This is a topic that schools should cover – providing non-biased lessons on political parties, what they stand for, and who represents them. Future polling cards coming through these young peoples’ letterboxes are destined to end up at the bottom of a heap of free newspapers and kebab shop leaflets. That is, unless we take some serious action now.
Of course, ditching the entire GCSE system and creating a new form of education would take many years and a truckload of votes, but that’s not to say that it’s impossible. Students should be judged based on a portfolio of their own work accumulated throughout the duration their school career, as oppose to the current examinations where intelligence is based purely on having a good memory and legible handwriting. However, school shouldn’t be about academic smarts. It should be about learning life skills and preparing for adulthood.
Imagine a world in which children were encouraged to look for answers themselves, to question the rules and engage in meaningful debates. What if our nation’s students were studying mortgages and rent and debt? What if interest rates and tax were introduced into the curriculum? Far more young people would understand how to be responsible with money, understand what a good wage is, and look forward to engaging with politics. Think about an education system that allowed freedom of self-expression, without telling people what hairstyles they’re allowed or how many earrings they can wear in either ear at any time. Instead, schools actually encouraging their children to show their true colours, unrestricted by the chains of uniform. All the time we’re telling our youths how to look, we’re teaching them that anyone who doesn’t fit this mould is abnormal. Yes, people, we’re actually encouraging discrimination!
A world in which children can ask questions and engage in class discussions without being told that their queries are stupid and their input is wrong would create an environment in which they can develop their own ideas and improve their understanding. Students should be able to challenge unjust rules without the fear of punishment. After all, if we didn’t question authority then women still wouldn’t be able to vote and racial segregation would be commonplace. So why can’t they?
Envision a world where young people can learn about adulthood and its responsibilities in a safe environment that allows them to grow and develop their own individuality. Now that’s the kind of world that I want to live in.
- http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/total-fertility-rate/
- http://data.uis.unesco.org/Index.aspx?queryid=242
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-49421275
- https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20120618-why-are-we-so-curious
- https://theunboundedspirit.com/hating-school/
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8449307.stm
- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/politics-teenagers-dont-know-and-dont-care-486922.html
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