Rough draft

The moment you walk into any schooling system you can tell what its focuses are. Math, English, science, and the occasional history. It’s apparent that our schools are lacking something vital and that is communication. Schools are so focused on cramming an extensive amount of information in kids’ minds to set them up to pass state issued tests and so on. What the school system needs is a communication class to teach the kids to be open and interactive. Everything in school is teaching pure information, what kids are lacking are communication skills that teach them how to talk to people and be confident in themselves.

                What our children need is to have the chance to set themselves apart from others and give themselves the best chance of succeeding possible. The most qualified person in the world is not going to get a job if they can’t walk into an interview and represent themselves appropriately. There are very few jobs that are strictly independent, young adults need to learn how to communicate with others in order to be able to work in a group setting. Schools are focusing on meeting only academic standards and its crippling student’s ability to have an opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions. Worst of all, schools are teaching kids that this is something that does not need to be addressed. Allowing them to think that getting good grades will ensure success. In his book Pedagogy of the oppressed, Paolo Freire writes “education is suffering from narration sickness” (Chapter two), and that’s just it. With all of the schools budget cuts students aren’t even being offered extra-curricular activities such as debate, drama, and other various sports. Schools need to recognize the value of making a class like this mandatory to ensure a well-rounded array of opportunities for their students.

                Unfortunately school systems are being set up to suggest to students that conformity is important, and are making sure they are dependent on their teachers to feed them knowledge to recite at a later date. In bell hooks book Critical Thinking, she notes “those students who do not dread thinking often come to class assuming that thinking will not be necessary, that all they will need to do is consume information and regurgitate it at the appropriate moments” When really they should be benefiting from the opportunity of learning how to think critically on their own. Which would require them to form their own thoughts and opinions. Opinions meant to be expressed and build a sense of confidence student’s lack, allowing them to be successful in communicating.

                Schools aren’t giving students the opportunities to learn productive communication and express themselves in a positive way, and it’s crippling our young adults.  Behavioral problems would be sufficiently lessoned if students were given some way to channel their energy into acting positive. In the movie Chalk, directed by Mike Akel, the students had severe behavioral problems and don’t listen to their teacher, which causes the teacher to feel overpowered. If kids were taking a class to teach them how to communicate positively it would help with students talking skills, which becomes their behavior. Kids are being robbed of their chance to become outspoken independent people. It’s something that seems so easy to learn but unfortunately many people don’t, and schools need to address this. In her article, Arizona Bans Mexican American Studies Program, Deb Aronson writes “young people being empowered is scary to many people, institutions, and establishments” and involving kids in the ability to communicate is empowering them. Schools should not fear or restrain young minds growing to express themselves in becoming young outspoken adults. It is important to equip students with what they need to succeed outside of school, and while math will always be helpful, knowing how to talk to people and convey yourself to others is something that will be necessary on a day to day basis.

The movie Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir, is a perfect example of how schools drive to be purely academic and don’t feel it necessary to hold on to classes such as drama. The school teaches students that if they want to be an accountant, to take accounting classes. Of course you are going to need accounting classes, but how will you gain clients if you have no people skills. No one will want to do business with you. Being able to talk to people and being comfortable in social situations is a requirement in life. This is what our schools need, and that is what they are lacking.  

Not to put the schooling system completely to shame, it has somewhat been attempted to be added as optional curriculum in classes such as public speech. Although this deals with speaking skills it narrows its teaching on, again, memorizing and reciting speeches. A communication class needs to be focused on getting a student’s attention and allowing them to form opinions and be able to find ways to word them, to allow them the opportunity to work collaboratively.