If an 18 year old really wrote this… wow.
Wow. Maybe the youth and our future aren’t so hopeless after all.
everything she says is true.
His/her points get lost in the over the top hyperbole. Slave/master relationships and secret government intentions. It comes off as silly teen agnst nonsense. She’s ultimately referring to the ineffectiveness of standardized tests, which hardly seems like a groundbreaking concept.
Not hyperbole and not off-base, IMO. I felt this exact same way in high school, and now that I’m older and wiser, I stand behind her points even more. Our education system is laughable on so many different levels.
And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.
This.
Agreed. I had to start skimming after a few paragraphs.
The system is broken because of lack of accountability, pushing through students even when they fail, low quality teachers, and lack of discipline resulting in inmates running the asylum. I don’t think the entire basis is flawed as the author seems to think.
This speech has hyperboles that make even me blush.
I would agree with this. A recent study suggests your kindergarten teacher is more important than other teachers, and though the effect is lost in standardized test scores, it’s reflected in what really matters -wages.
I would agree with this. A recent study suggests your kindergarten teacher is more important than other teachers, and though the effect is lost in standardized test scores, it’s reflected in what really matters -wages.[/quote] Huh? Whose wages?
[quote=“casstommy, post:3, topic:23656”]His/her points get lost in the over the top hyperbole. Slave/master relationships and secret government intentions. It comes off as silly teen agnst nonsense. She’s ultimately referring to the ineffectiveness of standardized tests, which hardly seems like a groundbreaking concept.[/quote] Well, hardly is the ENTIRE point of the speech that standardized tests are not a true measure of education. Perhaps the point is that people should question what others (and themselves) perceive as true. Not a bad policy. One may ultimately conclude that what they believed to be true really is or perhaps is not.
[quote=“eason49, post:6, topic:23656”]The system is broken because of lack of accountability, pushing through students even when they fail, low quality teachers, and lack of discipline resulting in inmates running the asylum. I don’t think the entire basis is flawed as the author seems to think.
This speech has hyperboles that make even me blush.[/quote] The things you list are symptoms, not causes.
Agreed. I had to start skimming after a few paragraphs.[/quote] Pretty good speech. Perhaps a bit heavy on philosophy, but appropriate for its intended audience.
I would agree with this. A recent study suggests your kindergarten teacher is more important than other teachers, and though the effect is lost in standardized test scores, it’s reflected in what really matters -wages.[/quote] Huh? Whose wages?[/quote]
My bad. Those that had “better” kindergarten teachers. If I recall correctly what happened was a group was studied from K to 12 and the influence of quality of K education on test scores was evaluated. The effect of K quality education on test scores decreased after time but when they revisited the groups some 12 years after graduation they found that those in the quality K education group had better wages.
Yes. Full of Hyperbole. To compare education to enslavement is one of the most laughable things I’ve read in some time. Her insistence on doing so is so distracting that it completely takes away from any meaningful points she might be fumbling around to make. And the ultimate point, that standardized testing is a joke and our tendency to teach to the test is counterproductive, is so widely accepted (by experts anyway) that it hardly seems worth the time getting lathered up about.
I mean really what the hell does “enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement.” even mean? Is that opposed to enslavement with meaningful achievement? Its a very pretty sentence. Meaningless but pretty.
I would love a detailed list of how the big bad institution of compulsory schooling suppresssed this poor girls uniqueness. Oh the angst! If only she could reclaim these 18 years she spent brainwashed into becoming a mindless drone whose sole purpose was to be a tool of labor for her shadow government. Please.
Yes. Full of Hyperbole. To compare education to enslavement is one of the most laughable things I’ve read in some time. Her insistence on doing so is so distracting that it completely takes away from any meaningful points she might be fumbling around to make. And the ultimate point, that standardized testing is a joke and our tendency to teach to the test is counterproductive, is so widely accepted (by experts anyway) that it hardly seems worth the time getting lathered up about.
I mean really what the hell does “enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement.” even mean? Is that opposed to enslavement with meaningful achievement? Its a very pretty sentence. Meaningless but pretty.
I would love a detailed list of how the big bad institution of compulsory schooling suppresssed this poor girls uniqueness. Oh the angst! If only she could reclaim these 18 years she spent brainwashed into becoming a mindless drone whose sole purpose was to be a tool of labor for her shadow government. Please.[/quote] So the fact that standardized testing is a joke is not worth getting lathered up about because its well known? I would think that would be all the more reason to be lathered up! If we know something is counterproductive and we continue to accept that something what does that make us. Oh yea, a mindless drone.
Why are standardized tests a joke?
Little diatribes like the one this student wrote do nothing to advance a position. She has valid points. Yes, standardized testing is a problem. And its a problem that is being looked at and debated all the time. However, when you lump that opinion in with a bunch of stupid metaphors and outlandish commentary it just looks foolish. Any valid points she had get lost among all the over the top statements.
This…
The saddest part is that the majority of students don't have the opportunity to reflect as I did. The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can't run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be - but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.
is impossible to read with a straight face.
Little diatribes like the one this student wrote do nothing to advance a position. She has valid points. Yes, standardized testing is a problem. And its a problem that is being looked at and debated all the time. However, when you lump that opinion in with a bunch of stupid metaphors and outlandish commentary it just looks foolish. Any valid points she had get lost among all the over the top statements.
This…
The saddest part is that the majority of students don't have the opportunity to reflect as I did. The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can't run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be - but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.
is impossible to read with a straight face.[/quote] It was a graduation day speech, nothing else. Those are quite often B.S. She EARNED the right to express herself on that day to that audience. I have no idea about you, but she did quite a lot better than I could have at that age.
Oh absolutely. She can say what ever she wants, she earned the right. And graduation speeches are usually filled with nonsense anyway. I thought we were debating the validity of her points.
[quote=“eason49, post:16, topic:23656”]Why are standardized tests a joke?[/quote] As for myself, I was repeating someone else’s language. I would describe standardized tests as more of a necessary compromise than as a joke.