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Alex Truong
Professor Polhemus
ENG 1213
4 February 2017
Modern Education
Education in the modern era of the 21st century is constantly being influenced by the
systematical grades around us. The idea of mandatory standardized tests to show how well
schools are doing is completely absurd. There are many factors that tie into the humanistic ways
of learning that are far more approachable and effective than the “non-existent” fundamental
learning received by the educational system. Sir Ken Robinson, a British author who
professionally observes in the ways education is constructed, explicitly lays out the concrete
foundation of what is wrong and how it could be fixed. Nonetheless, Salman Kahn, a
Bangladeshi-American educator, is actively on the move to change the education system
effectively. Lastly, an article by Gerald Graff, “Ships in the Night,” relays an interesting view
point of how modern education is not what it used to be.
There are many problems in an individual’s life that may affect the way learning is
received. One reason may be the ropes and strings in a couple’s relationship, or the household’s
problems, or maybe a recent crisis that may distract one’s learning. Unfortunately, this is not the
case that is causing a long term issue with modern education. The problem is the fact that many
students are constantly being pounded with standardized tests and grades. All of which are
important in acquiring a transcript that colleges and employers use to determine the intelligence
of the individual. This leaves a constant strain on students from the start of their education. As
seen in Ken Robinson’s “Changing Education Paradigms,” Ken exemplifies the statistics of
divergent thinkers. 98% of the 1,500 Kindergarteners tested scored to be a genius. About 5 years
later, the same students were tested again. Researchers found that the same 1,500 students tested,
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50% were considered genius. Eventually they were tested again about 5 years later and the
knowledge of the students depreciated respectively. This shows that the education system is
failing in a way that the humanistic way of learning is no longer capable of acquiring the
capacity that the human mind secretes. On the other hand, one might think that standardized tests
are reliable and objective measures of student achievement. Policy makers use the results from
standardized tests to modify future tests and to evaluate the knowledge that individuals receive
through learning.
Flaws in standardized testing out-weigh the benefits. According to the article “Ships in
the Night,” “students have become cynical relativists who care less about convictions than about
grades and careers” (Graff 290). Gerald Graff explicitly explains the idea that the majority of
