August 1

Catherine August

Mr. N. Gwozdz

AP Language and Composition

25 March 2019

An Authentic Education and the Alarming Lack Thereof

At the mere age of five years old, children in the United States begin their formal

education, as required by law. Throughout the next thirteen years of life and potentially more if

the particular adolescent decides to pursue higher education, countless hours will be spent in a

classroom, actively engaging in the expedition to obtain a true education. Or, at least, that is the

intention of the American education system. From this, one of the most widely discussed and

exceedingly controversial issues arises: does the American education system adequately provide

a true education to students, and to what extent? One may not accurately assess the

successfulness of the American education system in providing an authentic education to students

unless a finite definition of a true education is presented. Ergo, a true education is the ability of

students to formulate their own opinions and ideas, to create individuality in students by

facilitating learning through each pupil’s personal experiences and individual needs, and to be

aware and conscious of the world around them, thus avoiding the human “default state” of

unconsciousness.

The competence and capability to devise one’s own beliefs and conclusions is an

essential element in obtaining a true education. This important criteria for an authentic education

has been cherished by many influential figures throughout American history, including James

Baldwin. James Baldwin was a prominent author during the twentieth century that advocated for

American schools to teach pupils the ability to think for themselves. This was clear in his speech
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given to New York City teachers, in which he depicted his idea of a true education, stating, “The

purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself,

to make his own decisions...” (Baldwin 198). Baldwin paints a clear picture of the needed

elements to provide a genuine education for students to the New York City teachers, as well as

each individual that read his speech afterwards. He eloquently explains that one must be capable

of expressing his or her own notions of the world if they wish to call themselves a truly educated

citizen. This essential quality is used throughout life when analyzing scenarios and forming

opinions, and is fundamental in creating an educated citizen.

The forthcoming qualification of an authentic education is that individuals are granted the

opportunity to learn through their own experiences, thus having a system catered to their

individual needs. Ralph Waldo Emerson, an influential American philosopher that helped found

the Transcendental Club, describes the importance of individualized education in his essay titled

Education, writing, “I believe that...the secret of Education lies in respecting the pupil. It is not

for you to choose what he shall know...he only holds the key to his own secret...wait and see the

new product of nature” (Emerson 189). Emerson explains that emphasis must be placed on the

pupil’s drive to learn what they prefer to learn, and that education must allow each child to

explore their own passions based on their individual needs. This individuality is vital to a true

education as it creates distinct personalities within a community, rather than a machine-esque

population with citizens that have identical behaviors and interests. Each person has their own

“nature”, or identity, which must be represented within the education system in order to construct

truly educated citizens.

The final responsibility of a true education is that alumni of the system are conscious of

the world around them and able to choose how to interpret difficult situations they may face
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throughout their lives. David Foster Wallace, an influential American writer during the late

twentieth century, made this idea clear to the 2005 graduating class at Kenyon College in his

commencement speech, in which he stated that a true education “...means being conscious and

aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning

from experience...how to keep from going through...life dead, unconscious...and to your default

setting...” (Wallace). Wallace illustrates that the lasting effects of a true education linger

throughout adulthood. A true education informs students that they are able to decide how they

react to potential horrible situations and heinous people they may face throughout life. Thus,

educated citizens can avoid the natural human “default” setting of feeling self-pity and

developing depression, enabling them to live free of severe despair.

With this understanding of a true education, one may wonder why David Foster Wallace,

a college graduate, committed suicide just three years after giving this commencement speech.

The answer to this proposition lies in the difficult truth that when considering the

essential elements that define a true education, today’s current education system does an

insufficient job at providing students with this essential aspect of life. This is due to the fact that

schools emphasize standardized testing rather than teaching students how to develop their own

beliefs, rely on a “one-size-fits-all” system rather than teaching each individual pupil separately,

and do not thoroughly teach students to overcome their programmed state of unconsciousness.

Schools will never achieve the ideals of a true education until priority is removed from

standardized testing. Implicity instilled into the process of standardized testing is the idea that

there is only one correct solution to a problem, as multiple choice tests have only one correct

option. In doing this, the creative ideas of students are hindered with the idea that there is only a

singular correct path. Another unforeseen consequence of this is students becoming defined by
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their scores, tempting them to resort to extreme measures to achieve the best. Tom Allon, an

American website publisher with a B.A. from Columbia University, vividly explained the

negative results of focusing on standardized testing, writing, “...even the best and brightest

among us care not for learning but for test prep, cutting corners and most of all, high scores at

any cost...pretty soon, we will become a nation of people defined by GPAs, SATs, and other

pernicious acronyms that really symbolize that testing has replaced learning” (Allon). Allon

makes it clear that emphasizing test scores forces students to care only about numbers rather than

obtaining a true education by learning to formulate their own ideas. In depriving this essential

component of an authentic education, students are not adequately prepared to create an impact on

the world with their unique beliefs and interpretations.

Educational institutes continue to prove their tendency to focus on erroneous objectives

when they refuse to acknowledge the individuality of students by relying on a “one-size-fits-all”

system that does not “fit all”. Access to a true education is stolen from students that do not

operate to the best of their ability under the said system. Emerson explains the negative effects of

teaching to a whole rather than individuals, writing, “You...work for large classes instead of

individuals; you must lower your flag and reef your sails to wait for the dull soldiers…”

(Emerson 192). In this analogy, particular students that are prepared to continue on to more

vigorous concepts are repressed, as the whole class does not advance to a new concept until

everybody is ready. In doing so, Emerson remarks that “...the teaching comes to be arranged for

these many, and not for those few (geniuses)” (Emerson 191). The current system in place

miserably fails adroit scholars from encompassing their full potential, and in turn completely

disregards the needs of individual pupils. This lack of individuality in the education system is
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reprehensible, as it results in vast amounts of citizens floating through life without reaching their

full potential, becoming one with the public rather than one in the public.

Although it may be difficult to imagine anything more shameful than preventing students

from flourishing throughout their lives, the current education system manages to exceed

everyone’s expectations. By far, the most disgraceful aspect of the American education system

that prevents students from attaining a true education is its failure in teaching students how to

overcome the human default state of unconsciousness by inexcusably neglecting guidance on the

importance of being aware of their decision to choose their perception on life.

David Foster Wallace himself was a victim of this blatant negligence when he killed

himself at the age of forty-six. He was a college graduate and clearly was not properly educated

by the inadequate education system that is currently in place, which compelled him to develop

depression that was severe enough to end his life. There is a sense of irony in his suicide, as he

presents himself as uneducated due to his inability to overcome the hardships that life presented.

Additionally, he discussed this scenario only three years earlier at his commencement speech to

the 2005 graduating class at Kenyon College, asserting, “It is not the least bit coincidental that

adults who commit suicide...almost always shoot themselves in...the head. They shoot the

terrible master. And the truth is that most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull

the trigger” (Wallace). Wallace makes it clear that the American education system is not

successful in providing students with the ability to overcome the human default state of

unconsciousness and that those unable to do so are spiritually dead before their physical death.

He also denotes that most suicides occur with a shot to the head, as this is the physical

representation of where an education, or an alarming lack thereof, takes place.

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It should be recognized that although Wallace is simply one incident of a lack of true

education leading to suicide, many other students and graduates have a similar predicament as

they are not taught how to change their perception of the world in school. Suicide is becoming

exceedingly prevalent in American society, as according to the National Institute of Mental

Health, “Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents aged twelve to nineteen,

and the tenth leading cause of death overall” (Miniño). The terribly flawed education system is

pervading throughout society, which is evident in the fact that suicide, a preventable death, is the

third leading cause of death overall in the United States. However, in other countries, such as the

Netherlands, suicide is less common. Out of 176 countries, granted that a higher ranking

indicates a higher suicide rate, the United States is ranked twenty-seventh and the Netherlands is

only ranked forty-third (“Suicide Rate”). This may be due to the fact that the Netherlands comes

much closer to the values of a true education than the United States does. The Netherlands

advocates for students to form their own ideas by training students to solve scenarios

independently and allowing students to meet their individual needs by providing three different

types of high schools for students to attend based on their career interests. These opportunities

help teach students to be aware of the world around them by arranging practical work experience

events and focusing on life skills (“Education in the Netherlands”).

Along with this, students in the Netherlands tend to perform better than the United States

on standardized tests, despite the fact that the Netherlands places much less focus on core

curriculum and standards, instead allowing individual teachers to choose how to operate the

classroom. On the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA test, the

Netherlands had about seventeen percent of students place at an advanced level, whereas the

United States had about six percent (Hanushek). This indicates that a stronger focus on
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standardized testing does not aide students on standardized tests. If the American education

system were to shift its focus to the development of student opinions, individual needs, and

conquering the dreaded state of unconsciousness, just as the Netherlands does, students would

not only perform better on standardized tests, but they would also recognize their decision to

have a positive perception of life and would consequently obtain an authentic education.

When considering these facts, the proposed question of whether or not the American

education system adequately provides a true education to students, and to what extent, can be

answered clearly and plainly: no, and to a very feeble extent. Although it is unknown to them

now, the previously mentioned children are about to embark on a journey that is supposed to

teach them how to create their own opinions and worldviews, how to individually pursue their

own interests to meet their individual needs, and how to be aware in life, thus avoiding the

human default state of stupefaction. However, the strong emphasis placed on standardized

testing, the use of a system created to teach to multitudes of students rather than individuals, and

the lack of instruction on how to overcome the human default state of unconsciousness prevents

the current American education system from providing a true education to any extent. Instead,

the next thirteen or more years of the children's’ lives will be emaciated and may even drive

some students to suicide. Change must be made within the American education system to put an

end to this vicious cycle of robbing students of a true education, and the time for change is now.
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Works Cited

Allon, Tom. “A True Education.” The Huffington Post, 1 Dec. 2012,

www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-allon/education-reform_b_1928716.html.

Baldwin, James. “A Talk to Teachers.” The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing,

Rhetoric, edited by Renée H. Shea, et al., Bedford/St. Martins, 2013, pp. 197-203.

“Education in the Netherlands.” Educations.com, n.d.,

www.educations.com/study-guides/europe/study-in-netherlands/university-types-5832.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Education. The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric,

edited by Renée H. Shea, et al., Bedford/St. Martins, 2013, pp. 189-195.

Hanushek, Eric A, et al. U.S. Math Performance in Global Perspective. The Language of

Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, edited by Renée H. Shea, et al., Bedford/St.

Martins, 2013, pp. 260-263.

Miniño, Arialdi M. “National Center for Health Statistics.” Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, 17 Mar. 2017, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm.

“Suicide Rate By Country 2019.” Suicide Rate By Country 2019, n.d.,

worldpopulationreview.com/countries/suicide-rate-by-country/.

Wallace, David Foster. “This Is Water.” This Is Water - Alumni Bulletin - Kenyon College, n.d.,

bulletin-archive.kenyon.edu/x4280.html.