First off, I just want to state that I actually do like my school. It's a part of me, and I wouldn't be the same had I not attended it. The one thing I don't like about it is about 50% of the people that are in the building. But since I don't like most people anyways, that would most likely be the same anywhere I went. Now that I have that out of the way, I can continue with the assignment.
Emerson talks about how schools are built for the general, lazy people. The "teaching comes to be arranged for these many", and the few extremely gifted students are not developed to their full potential. While the years have passed since Emerson wrote this essay and our present day, education has changed greatly. There are more opportunities for the highly intelligent student, but the teaching to a lower level still highly remains.
I have a memory that sticks out vividly in my brain regarding this topic. Back in sixth grade, my English teacher gave my class a worksheet. I began to look at it, and I noticed that it was on a fourth grade thinking level. For me and many of my classmates, that work was of no value, it was simply a waste of time. When I asked my teacher why we were doing work designed for kids two years younger than us, she got angry and told me to be quiet. A few people in the class may need the work to be at that level, but many of us got nothing out of it.
The same thing happens today at my school. Some people have to work hard, and some simply breeze through the work. The ones who breeze through it may like the ease at which they are sliding through school, but they aren't challenging themselves as much as they could be. If they did, there is no telling what all they could accomplish and do. There is so much lost potential in those students that don't apply themselves to their schoolwork. On the bright side, AP classes and college classes give students the option to give themselves a greater challenge that reap greater rewards than regular classes. What's missing, though, is the motivation to take those classes.
Back when Emerson wrote his essay, education was highly exalted and a good student was praised. Today, a good student isn't given near the attention they were. This, in my opinion, probably has a direct relation to the work ethic of students today. The encouragement simply isn't there, so students are lazy. Why work so much harder for a seemingly miniscule reward?
The opportunities for students are much greater than they were in the past, but the mental mindset remains the same. Kids are lazy, and they always will be until they are given a reason to give more effort. While the education at Batesville High School is very good, there is still room for improvement.
