Exploratory Essay

Steven Crutchfield 2/11/13

Schools are filled with students from all age groups that possess unique talents and ideas. But does the schooling system really promote individuality and uniqueness? Is this generation of students stuck in a mindset where expressing ones self is more likely to be frowned upon? What role do the teachers play a part in building up a student? These are all questions that I believe more people should look into. John Gatto mentions in his article that perhaps school is intended for students to never really grow up. Edmondson suggests that the students are schooled in an environment where they are not encouraged to stand out among their peers and demonstrate a strong sense of individuality. He also adds that television can also have a large effect on schooling. For instance the popular characters that we see today may be complacent with their schoolwork and performance shown on the show, which negatively influences students to act the same way. It is rare to find a leader among a crowd that wants to part of the class and making the professor job more enjoyable. This brings me back to Gattos question about whether schooling is needed or not. Is it better to school a student outside of a group of traditional students? The story mentioned in the beginning was based on a peer from my life in school. I can remember back in high school there was this student that I could remember seeing in elementary school. I came to find out that he had been homeschooled during his middle school years, which explained why I had not seen him for 3 years. I had just assumed that he had moved to another school. This young man was very bright when it came to any subject (or at least when discussing a particular matter he sounded well knowledgeable). His personality was very different from many over my other peers in class, and because of this

he was often judged and mocked. He was not considered normal socially. He did portray a sort of leadership that was rare to find among the rest of my classmates. This student ended up graduating as one of the valedictorians of my senior class (my class of 2012 have 2). Both of the valedictorians had to give a speech, of course, to the entire class and the audience filled with the students families. After the ceremony was over, my both my uncle and cousin had mentioned to me how based on his speech he seemed rather removed. Socially he was different from most people, but it was his uniqueness and his originality that got him the achievement that many would be proud to have. His success was a result of his methods of leadership and creativity that so many students criticized him for having. They were so skeptical, perhaps protecting themselves from judgment while believing that that his participations in class perhaps overrated and not needed. It made me wonder that as a result of his homeschooling, he was raised and taught to show what he had to offer to the rest of the world without allowing others to weigh him down in his goals. A lot of students in todays generation have a lot of input but are often afraid to express themselves due to fear of harsh criticism from other students of teachers. The professors also have a large impact on a students participation in class. Gatto had mentioned that boredom was something that he didnt believe in, thanks to his grandfather giving him a new perspective on how unproductivity was not acceptable. He wondered why the students of todays youth lacked enthusiasm to participate or fully engage in class. The students body language clearly showed that they were uninterested and had other things on their mind. But are the students really at fault for not enjoying the class environment? Not all professors have the same goal when it comes down to teaching students. Some professors actually are just in their profession for the money. Other professors actually care about the next

generation of students, and work on developing a connection between the students in order to successfully get them where they need to be. There are professors that have this intention in mind, but still struggle to find that solution of making the class appeal to the students. The professor has to be able to be on the same level as the students as well as mold them into a more mature audience. With every new generation comes another set of challenges in schooling and education. We have to find a way to successfully have both the student and the professor fully enthusiased in class while respecting more of a students input rather than criticizing it. This will result in a larger group of individuals that will have a vast diversity of talents and individuality.