What do you think is one of the biggest flaws in the American education system?

“I feel like the gifted system in Columbia is great, and it teaches kids really important skills, but it also sets them up for failure later in life. When you’re younger, you get put into this excellerative program, and it teaches you elementary school skills, but then you realize there’s a system where you don’t have to try that hard to get good results. Then when you get to middle school and high school, your work ethic is just gone because you don’t know how to work harder than you have to. Gifted kids need to be challenged in middle school to better prepare them for highschool and life after graduation. Gifted kids have spent so long being able to do homework in class five minutes before it’s due and still getting good grades. No one ever really holds them accountable to spend time on their work beforehand and challenge themselves to produce their best work. My middle school teacher assigned work that was due every week, and she’d check on our progress and she’d set aside a portion of class time for us to work on our projects. Instead of having long, flexible deadlines, she had strict due dates and check-ins that were worth about 10 points. If you weren’t where you needed to be and you weren’t pacing yourself well, you could see it in your grades. That system kinda forced us to set goals and work at a reasonable rate. I feel like we should implement this system with the elementary school gifted program so students can get used to these healthier habits and hopefully so you can develop those skills for your future.”

What are your thoughts on the American education system? Let us know in the comments below.