We as students,
are the future of America and even though we are students that make up this
school building, we still have Constitutional rights and are protected by the
law. With the institution of
standardized testing in this nation, the federal and state governments have
failed to protect these basic rights by subjecting us to different types of
activities that violate our rights, and it is time that these inappropriate
actions come to an end.
Standardized
testing has cast a black cloud over this nation since the passage of No Child
Left Behind. Since No Child Left Behind,
was implemented the states have had to come up with their own standardized
tests, which led to the creation of the PSSA, which have since been faded-out and
replaced with the Keystone exam. Ever
since these types of tests have been integrated into school, curriculum
students test scores have decreased and numerous studies have shown that most
of the scores aren’t even accurate.
Not only have these tests have been a giant waste of the
school’s time but it has also been been a waste of the state’s money. Currently, the state of Pennsylvania is
paying over $100 million to administer these tests, according to pennlive.com.
Our state is in debt over $131 billion, according to usdebtclock.org, so for
the state to continue to administer these tests is a waste of taxpayer money
and shows the incompetence of those in favor of these tests. By doing basic third grade math, one can see
that in order to lower debt a nation needs to cut spending and raise taxes for
a short period of time. Maybe instead of
giving a test to students to test their mathematical knowledge, our lawmakers
need to take a test to show how little they know.
Currently, the
U.S. also has a failed education system.
In fact, our great nation ranks eighteenth in math, thirty-first in
science, and thirty-first in reading.
According to the Brookings Institute, 50% to 80% of the improvements
made because of No Child Left Behind have been temporary. What this statistic shows is that there are a
few issues with education: the federal government, and the state
government. Currently our education
system is being held captive by the federal government under the Federal
Department of Education. This is not
only unconstitutional by violating the tenth Amendment, but it has also
attributed to destroying the system by giving the U.S. No Child Left
Behind. Not only is there a Federal
Department of Education, but there are also a state department of education in
each state. While this is technically
Constitutional, it is also helping to destroy education as we know it because
the whole state is being required to teach the same curriculum, which will help
to make students the same and not allow them to flourish as an individual, so I
question whether or not any state should have a state department of education
or if the individual school districts or even the county should be in control
of the education system, which seems like a more reasonable proposition.
If a student did
not receive a good score on their Keystone exam, then they were sent off to
tutoring in that subject without the parents consent. A student’s parents are supposed to be
raising their children, not the government.
So, if a parent does not want their child to be in tutoring, than the
student should not be forced into tutoring.
Also, involuntary tutoring is involuntary servitude, which is clearly
outlined by the Constitution in the thirteenth Amendment as being against the
law.
Therefore, the federal government the state government and
this school are violating the Constitutional rights of the juniors that have
been placed in tutoring. Not only are
our thirteenth Amendment rights being violated but since none of us were given
the option to opt-out of the test we have been denied equal protection under
the law, and have been denied our liberties.
Therefore, our fourth, fifth, sixth, eleventh, and fourteenth Amendment
rights have been violated. This means
that every junior in tutoring has the right to sue the Shanksville-Stonycreek
School District.
I am distressed
that our federal and state government along with our school is hurting the
future generation in such an open way.
The worst part of it is that they are not ashamed of these actions. It is time to rethink our education system
and to fix it so the future Americans can be greater than the ones before
them. The time is now to act, I
encourage you all to call your elected officials, your school, your school
board members, and to attend school board meetings.
