The purpose of high school, and what I would like changed

Before starting this unit, I had thought about the significance of high school. But I have never analyzed its purpose. I would like to believe that high school is where students go to find their true abilities, intelligence, passion, and confidence. However, after reading John Gatto’s and Paolo Freire’s articles about the public education system, I am realizing more and more that today’s schooling system is corrupt. I believe high school has become a place where students are not taught to prosper as an individual, but rather to ride through the monotonous, robotic, repetitive sequence that is high school- to be shaped into this being who gains hardly any significant life skills or knowledge. I suppose the big question is why? Why would anybody want to discourage a person from showing their true intelligence? The more I think about it, I do not think the schooling system its self is trying to stop students from being completely inadequate. I think the problem is that schools are just playing it too safe. Almost as if they are scared of the students becoming too powerful. They teach student the bare minimum amount of seemingly unimportant contents. Just enough so that the students can, sort of (at best) float through the rest of their life.

With all of that said, what I would like to see changed in the public school system is the lack of encouragement, resources, and guidance the students need to become truly adequate human beings. Not just adequate in the work force, but to actually become better and more informed observers of life. Teachers need to stop the boring curriculum and really pay attention to each student’s individual learning styles and talents. This would stop the current process of making students into virtually the same person. In a future generation, we could have endless possibilities if everyone could contribute to the world what they are genuinely passionate about. Not just what they are taught to be passionate about.