I have been staring at the shit load of work i have to do for the past few hours, not for the first time i take a break. I wonder to myself whether or not putting myself through university will be worth it in the end, i mean Richard Branson has made millions upon millions and he left school with just GCSES.
But seeing as i was looked over when God was handing out outstanding sporting or musical ability, it seems education is my best route to chase my dreams. Not that learning and gaining knowledge bothers me, i love being taught about about stuff i have no idea about. But this is the problem, are we ever actually taught for our own knowledge or just taught to pass exams.
Since the age of about 4 years old (maybe 5, as i was refused entry to a nursery because i was.......black. Word to my mums) , i have been through the lovely English education system, by no means have i been to the worst schools but not the best either.
Like other British children i have sat through S.A.TS (Year 2,Year 6 & Year 9), C.A.T's, GCSES, AS Levels, A-LEVELS and whatever other bloody tests they decide to throw our way, and aside from GCSES & A-Levels i have never really seen the benefit of these tests. The average 11 year old could tell you they are tested a lot, but it a study by Cambridge university confirms that british children are the most tested in Europe and it has no real benefits, its not like we have the best education system in the world and as far as i know, constantly having exams does not give you an advantage in the working world. All it does is cause unnecessary stress to children who already have to face the pressures of living in this crazy material world. It reinforces my thoughts that children are being forced to grow up to quick and not allowed to live like a child.
I think the Independent Article said it best,"Our children are tested to destruction".
What further bothers me about the education system is that forever will we be judged by letters or numbers on a certificate. Now i am not saying we don't need to distinguish students who are capable of excellence, but i think more often then not, being able to pass exams is portrayed as being the ultimate achievement and reward of spending 5 years in secondary school.
I really lament the fact that I feel i was never really taught some subjects, rather i was taught how to pass the exam for those subjects.
Government targets for schools and teachers means that is harder for pragmatic teachers to run the classroom how they want, and as its their job to make sure students pass exams rather then teach i feel we miss out on a lot of things.
Anyways, after getting through primary school,secondary school & sixth form, i am now in my 2nd year of university "chasing my dreams". It as by no means been easy, and i constantly curse our education system for the way it is structured, but to change things i must conquer them, Failure is one thing that spurs me on, but i also know knowledge is the key to unlocking many things in this world. I sometimes think that much of what i have previously learned in secondary school, has done very little for me as i face the daunting task of completing all this work. But perhaps the rigorous testing through out my school life as helped me to deal with some of the stress of university.
I by no means agree with with our education system and will admit it may have a tiny benefit, but since i have no real idea of how to change it, i guess there is not much i can say.
However, If i achieve my dreams , i know it will be down to the teachers who did more than teach me the syllabus.
But seeing as i was looked over when God was handing out outstanding sporting or musical ability, it seems education is my best route to chase my dreams. Not that learning and gaining knowledge bothers me, i love being taught about about stuff i have no idea about. But this is the problem, are we ever actually taught for our own knowledge or just taught to pass exams.
Since the age of about 4 years old (maybe 5, as i was refused entry to a nursery because i was.......black. Word to my mums) , i have been through the lovely English education system, by no means have i been to the worst schools but not the best either.
Like other British children i have sat through S.A.TS (Year 2,Year 6 & Year 9), C.A.T's, GCSES, AS Levels, A-LEVELS and whatever other bloody tests they decide to throw our way, and aside from GCSES & A-Levels i have never really seen the benefit of these tests. The average 11 year old could tell you they are tested a lot, but it a study by Cambridge university confirms that british children are the most tested in Europe and it has no real benefits, its not like we have the best education system in the world and as far as i know, constantly having exams does not give you an advantage in the working world. All it does is cause unnecessary stress to children who already have to face the pressures of living in this crazy material world. It reinforces my thoughts that children are being forced to grow up to quick and not allowed to live like a child.
I think the Independent Article said it best,"Our children are tested to destruction".
What further bothers me about the education system is that forever will we be judged by letters or numbers on a certificate. Now i am not saying we don't need to distinguish students who are capable of excellence, but i think more often then not, being able to pass exams is portrayed as being the ultimate achievement and reward of spending 5 years in secondary school.
I really lament the fact that I feel i was never really taught some subjects, rather i was taught how to pass the exam for those subjects.
Government targets for schools and teachers means that is harder for pragmatic teachers to run the classroom how they want, and as its their job to make sure students pass exams rather then teach i feel we miss out on a lot of things.
Anyways, after getting through primary school,secondary school & sixth form, i am now in my 2nd year of university "chasing my dreams". It as by no means been easy, and i constantly curse our education system for the way it is structured, but to change things i must conquer them, Failure is one thing that spurs me on, but i also know knowledge is the key to unlocking many things in this world. I sometimes think that much of what i have previously learned in secondary school, has done very little for me as i face the daunting task of completing all this work. But perhaps the rigorous testing through out my school life as helped me to deal with some of the stress of university.
I by no means agree with with our education system and will admit it may have a tiny benefit, but since i have no real idea of how to change it, i guess there is not much i can say.
However, If i achieve my dreams , i know it will be down to the teachers who did more than teach me the syllabus.
An article on the british education system:.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/our-children-tested-to-destruction-779790.html
1 comments:
true, true, but at uni is when you get that freedom and resources to explore your own learning. to read u yourself. its one of my biggest issues with Pharamcy, thats acourse where you're taught to an aim, the bits you find interesting, you don't have time to explore, we barely have time to do enough to stay ahead of our wave. Other courses with more reading time, you don't necessarily lose anything from researching too much, whilst every second of a pharm students day needs to be planned well, or all-nighters are the near instant result. I'm glad i went to uni, because it IS less structured on a syllabus, but more on what your lecturers teach you etc. as much as we lament the workload, we have amazing lecturers who we really get on well with, so we can talk to them, explore areas with them, and get an open, not brow-beaten honest response. its the thing thats made 4 years of pharmacy so far bearable.
Mokun
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