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Kenny Menger
Professor Weltha Wood
English 1113
4 December 2014
Essay_3
Schools are failing to motivate students, and subjects have been taught the same way for
years. Teachers and students are bored, and experts have seen firsthand, the decline of interest in
school and dropping grades. Bronwyn T. Williams tells of the faceless systems used to assess
tests that are based on prompts which students have no interest for in his article, Standardized
Students: The Problems With Writing For Tests Instead Of People. Rita Pierson covers another
way schools, teachers, and students are becoming disconnected from each other in her TED Talk,
Every Kid Needs a Champion. Pierson gives an example of a colleague who believes teachers
are paid to teach and students should learn it. Pierson not only disagrees with that, but she
states ways she has made teaching more fun by encouraging students to keep trying and most
importantly, giving students a champion. I am convinced the problems involving boredom,
faceless grading systems and the lack of creativity that teachers and students are facing can be
solved by experienced and compassionate educators who are willing to try anything until
something works.
Educators have been stripped away from making meaningful connections with students,
and lose valuable time to efficiently educate students due to the implementation of federally
mandated standardized tests. Not only are educators now required to spend much more time
focusing and preparing for standardized tests, the methods used for grading, testing machines or
anonymous readers, disconnects literacy education from human concerns. Williams states
students face writing prompts and reading tests that have no connection to their lives,

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communities, or interests. While discussing education reform this past Thanksgiving Day with
my Aunt Susan, who has been a teacher for fifteen years at Tulsa Public Schools, she recounted
an assessment that she was required to take. The test was a mandatory evaluation for her to
remain a teacher within the school system, and it contained a math, reading, and writing section.
Susan passed the reading and math sections with flying colors; however, she failed the writing
section two times. Before her third attempt at the writing portion she sought guidance from the
test administrator who told her it was graded by a computer and he stated the content wasnt
graded, but it was the sentence structure, grammar, punctuation etc. that determined the outcome
of the assessment. After hearing that, Susan stated she wrote about nonsense that was not
coherent whatsoever, which is exactly the main point Williams makes. I too have written for
testing machines. After graduating high-school nearly seven years ago, spending four of the
years in the Marine Corps and the remaining three in the workforce, I was required to take the
compass placement test before enrolling in any core classes. At the time I saw nothing wrong
with the grading method, a testing machine, used to determine my score however, I now
understand the harmful effect it may lead to in literacy education.
While more time is being focused toward preparation for standardized testing, less is
being directed towards creativity and important personal experiences in the classroom. Rita
Pierson emphasizes the importance teachers can make in a students life. She provides examples
from her own experiences as an educator in ways to motivate students, and states the importance
of making a difference in their lives. I understand the difficulty teachers may face by having to
balance a school day consisting of five classes and sometimes over 30 students in each class. I
believe I fell victim to the forced schooling routine John Taylor Gatto addresses in his
Harpers Magazine article, Against School. By my sophomore year I became bored with the

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habitual routine that was secondary school. My interest in the curriculum was burnt out by
teachers who taught by the numbers day after day. My grades were dropping and I was willing to
do anything for a change. My best friend Tyler felt the same way as well and we decided to take
a VoTech course, which would occupy half of the school day during our last two years, and leave
only three core classes to take at Jenks. I do not regret my decision and I believe it is a fantastic
opportunity; however, very few schools offer such a program which results in dissatisfied
students, who feel that they are stuck in a sort of forced schooling. Piersons technique of
creating a joyful classroom and motivating her students to work hard is important for schools
that consist of six classes per day, and leaving no other opportunities for students.
The dehumanizing tactics that have been implemented in schools is destroying creativity
and setting future generations up for failure. Educators must find more creative and interesting
ways to present curriculum in order to overcome the boredom that is plaguing schools. While
this is a hefty goal, education activists such as Dave Eggers, are producing new and innovative
ideas to help make education strive. Eggers began a non-profit organization to help struggling
students complete homework in a timely manner by offering free tutoring and writing help. By
doing so, Eggers organization allows students to free up time for other activities rather than
letting students procrastinate or do homework in front of a TV and not being completely focused
on the task. I can recall procrastinating to the point of stressing myself out during high-school.
Despite my common sense telling me to begin on any homework as soon as it was assigned, I
dreaded the thought of it. There were places for me to go to get tutoring but I do not believe it
was being advertised in an appealing way; therefore, I turned a blind eye on the hand reaching
out to help me. Adding to the fact, as I mentioned earlier, I was bored with the way curriculum
was being taught, and the last thing I wanted to do after a long day sitting through boring classes

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would be to go to another classroom and do homework or review. Schools everywhere offer
tutoring to suit the needs of struggling students, but I believe the way tutoring is presented
should be improved.

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Work[s] Cited
Egger, Dave. My Wish: Once Upon a School. TED. Feb. 2008. Lecture.
Gatto, John Taylor. Against School. Harpers Magaizine 307.1840 (2003): 33-38. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 4 Sept. 2013.
Pierson, Rita F. Every Kid Needs a Champion. TED. Apr. 2013. Lecture.
Williams, Bronwyn T. Standardized Students: The Problems With Writing For Tests Instead Of
People. Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 49.2 (2005): 152-158. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 3 Sept. 2013.