Most Americans would agree that democracy is a good thing. One important pillar of democracy is education.

An inadequate education system leads to incompetent members of society. Members of society who vote. Therefore, if the education system is failing, shouldnt it be a priority to fix it? When reform of education is discussed, the central topic is always high schools. Why are high school drop out rates so high? Why are their test scores so low? Why do teenagers express such apathy toward the curriculum? Those who are asking these shortsighted questions dont see that they are attacking the contractor when the architect is the one who needs scolding. As an eleventh grade student, I can tell you that thus far, my high school teachers have been amazing. Though I know that to say all high school teachers are saints would be an abominable overgeneralization, the truth is, for the most part, high school teachers arent the main issue. It is rare to hear a diligent student lamenting that a high school teacher has been so terrible that he or she has made it impossible for the student to learn. No, the students who dont do well in high school had already developed an attitude, an unsound foundation, that had been in place long before he or she entered the secondary school system. By the time a student reaches high school, it is not hard to pick out the students who dont care and probably wont graduate, and there is little that a high school can do to change them. From where do these students come? They are made in elementary schools. Every time an elementary school student advances without learning all the standards, the student falls further behind. Underdeveloped skills accumulate. This is how you create high school students

with third grade reading levels. A student who enters high school without a sturdy foundation of knowledge is already doomed because progress halts. Catching up becomes near-impossible. And although I cant name any high school teacher who has made my education unbearable, my grade school teachers do not share the same track record. I recall a Kindergarten teacher who crumbled my paper and yelled at me for misunderstanding directions. I remember fourth grade teacher who screamed at a disadvantaged child so loudly that the rest of the students, whom he had instructed to leave the room, could hear. Every elementary school teacher has a profound influence on hundreds of students during the years that will come to shape their attitude and ability for the rest of their lives. Why, then, is it so common to hear of elementary school teachers who fail at their jobs? But wait. Some would argue that there are programs in place to provide remediation for students who are in danger of falling behind. And as a frequent volunteer for the PrimeTime program of many elementary schools, I assure you that these systems are no better than the ones they are attempting to supplement. One elementary school assigned me to work with a third grader who had been universally labeled as a challenge. They warned me that there was no one with the patience to help her and that my job was merely to keep her out of their way. They now think Im a miracle worker, when all I did was use a carrot instead of a stick; all I had to do was show some kindness to a little girl who was accustomed to being treated like a nuisance. Elementary schools need to be reformed. They have far too much influence on every single future voter for their flaws to just be ignored. Administrators need to make a great effort to ensure that they are hiring the teachers who are best suited to work with

young children, rather than those who are likely to grow jaded and impatient over the years. Remedial programs that work need to be put in place so that struggling students can receive the additional attention that they need. And if a student clearly needs some extra time to learn a difficult concept, then he or she should be retained. There is nothing wrong with a student graduating at nineteen instead of eighteen, but there is something horribly wrong with a high school senior who can barely form a grammatically correct sentence, let alone an eloquent essay. The sooner the issue of failing elementary schools is addressed, the sooner our education system as a whole will see improvement, and the sooner a generation of intelligent, informed voters will arise. Elementary schools need to be reformed. The success of our democracy depends on it.