All Are Created Equal...But Not The Same

Equality. A source of great conflict. Petitions and protests mark the news each and every day calling for equality and justice. While the world sees us in different socioeconomic groups, in different subordinate or advanced cultures, and even at different academic levels, there is One who sees us all as equal. Equally loved and equally wanted. Whatever God you believe in, or even if you don't believe in one, when you look at each person you can see they equally deserve our love, simply because they are someone. Simply because they are human. But here's something that everyone struggles with: realizing that we are not all created the same. We don't all like tomatoes. If I'm being honest I don't like them. We don't all like the San Antonio Spurs. We don't all believe the same. We don't all enjoy the Vampire Diaries. The choice to enjoy or not enjoy things is one of the most beautiful aspects of life. So why don't students get a choice in how they are taught? How they learn? We attempt to fit them into a model that we believe has stood the test of time. However, that model creates little variety in what it molds. And whatever does not fit or will not bend to this mold is discarded. Why do we not cater to the students and help them learn in their way, in their time, instead of continuing in this pattern.

I must admit, teachers are becoming more aware of the fact that they must vary in their instruction. They now attempt to change things up, hoping to reach every student. However, as teachers work towards diversifying classroom instruction, politicians continue to hold back and counter teacher's efforts by nationalizing education practices. Nowhere is this more evident than with standardized tests. The rationale behind standardized tests is sound when the assumption of similarity is considered. However, as I noted above with how we may not all like the San Antonio Spurs, it is obvious that we are not all the same. An even better example is that of artistic ability, such as interior decorating. We are not all the same in this. My wife and I enjoy a homey, lived-in look to our home. While others in my family enjoy a more elegant look. If I was to take a standardized test about interior decorating, even after studying techniques, I would get dramatically different results using different methods than would the rest of my family.

I do believe that standardized tests are a necessary evil when it comes to things such as government funding. However, I believe we should alter the approach. My idea is to lessen the amount students are tested. This would mean that instead of learning to pass tests, students would be motivated to learn for fun and because they enjoy it. I also think their should be some type of option when it comes to standardized tests. Maybe dividing up the tests by learning type instead of by subject. This would allow governing bodies to look at school and student performance in a different way. Intelligence and success in school would no longer be dependent on students fitting in a certain mold. Instead it would more accurately depend on exposing what students understand through modes that better suit extracting their knowledge.