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The Standardized Testing Paradox (rant journal)
12 years ago
I had been grumbling since Monday this week because of how my teachers had been scolding me/my class about how important The Big Test is going to be. It just drove me insane with all this bullshit.
From how I see it, The Certificate (or whatever it is you have at your place) is like fake gold; It has no real value, its only for showing off, its for better appeal to companies and nowadays, even affordable at a very cheap price. Yes, you can actually buy forged certificates right off the streets and get away with it.
And then, the actual paradox; You're 'learning' something ONLY for the test, never for yourself (unless you actually have interest in it), and you forget what you have learned the year after you graduate. So, effectively, you're learning something, only to forget it not too long later.Even the teachers themselves say that the value of the Certificate had declined over the years. In their time; a solid A is harder to achieve than it is today.
The teacher then continued that "It will bring you satisfaction and fulfillment when you score those 'A's". I could not laugh at this any more louder. First of all; it bullshit. Well, for me it is, because I'm not getting those 'A's for myself, no. I'm getting these 'A's JUST so that I can get a job and get my mother's approval; effectively removing ANY sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. So, the way they see it is that I have to sit down and "learn" all this that I never wanted/liked and then forget the next year and then be happy about it? No. Of course not. That's fucking wrong!
The Certificate should not be used as a rule; it should not be a standard of how "smart" you are. The Certificate should help you appeal to your future-bosses, but never actually be a form of currency. It should either be abolished or downgraded to a proper rank of importance; An idiot an actually get a high ranking job if he had the proper paperwork and the money, leaving the ones that actually had potential in the dust, doing otherwise low-wage labor.
I really have no hope for my country (or the educational system, for that matter) until they promise to actually rebuild this 100+ year old and VERY dated system for a new, better and much more flexible system that caters to everybody by interest/capabilities and not academics.
Or maybe more capable teachers ...
From how I see it, The Certificate (or whatever it is you have at your place) is like fake gold; It has no real value, its only for showing off, its for better appeal to companies and nowadays, even affordable at a very cheap price. Yes, you can actually buy forged certificates right off the streets and get away with it.
And then, the actual paradox; You're 'learning' something ONLY for the test, never for yourself (unless you actually have interest in it), and you forget what you have learned the year after you graduate. So, effectively, you're learning something, only to forget it not too long later.Even the teachers themselves say that the value of the Certificate had declined over the years. In their time; a solid A is harder to achieve than it is today.
The teacher then continued that "It will bring you satisfaction and fulfillment when you score those 'A's". I could not laugh at this any more louder. First of all; it bullshit. Well, for me it is, because I'm not getting those 'A's for myself, no. I'm getting these 'A's JUST so that I can get a job and get my mother's approval; effectively removing ANY sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. So, the way they see it is that I have to sit down and "learn" all this that I never wanted/liked and then forget the next year and then be happy about it? No. Of course not. That's fucking wrong!
The Certificate should not be used as a rule; it should not be a standard of how "smart" you are. The Certificate should help you appeal to your future-bosses, but never actually be a form of currency. It should either be abolished or downgraded to a proper rank of importance; An idiot an actually get a high ranking job if he had the proper paperwork and the money, leaving the ones that actually had potential in the dust, doing otherwise low-wage labor.
I really have no hope for my country (or the educational system, for that matter) until they promise to actually rebuild this 100+ year old and VERY dated system for a new, better and much more flexible system that caters to everybody by interest/capabilities and not academics.
Or maybe more capable teachers ...
but what i can really relate to is the part about learning pretty everything only for the test itself and not for yourself. (or for actually practical uses as i would put it)
I assent with your rant. And it irks me that someone can just go out and buy the paper, this 'fake gold/golden ticket,' off the streets in little time at all. I had to work for it. =/ Then of course later, this paper's only significance is as you mentioned above. The certificate is a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's factory. =P I seriously hope the educational system changes for the better,...but I doubt it will anytime soon. =(
Anywhozzle, go stuff your noggin with that seemingly unnecessary info., and good luck to you~! :3 mew mew~