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Argumentative Research Abigail Cothern Megan Keaton English 112 23 April 2013

Recently there has been much attention towards students and the material taught in schools, along with these students futures. Many people today ask, Are students being adequately prepared for their future? No matter what side people support in this issue, these said students are decent part of our future and whether or not they are being rightfully prepared effects not only their future, but adults futures as well. In this paper, I will explain to you why students are not being prepared for their future and also use authors and such to back up my opinion. I think this because of my past experiences with education myself. I dont think I was truthfully prepared for my college career and future. We are assuming students arent being prepared because we dont have any schools that starts with the students and are interested in what they want to learn. Many people dont know the full effect of the students today being readily prepared for their future. Whether they are prepared or not could decide their grades, career, potential jobs and much more. Also, these students one day are going to grow up to be adults and basically run our community. Im sure the adults today would want our students to be equipped enough to take on that responsibility. There are many different reasons that what our students are being taught could not be preparing them for their future. For example, an author by the name of Will Richardson proposes that the world today is being taken over by technology and the web and how the future is going to require such different skills and dispositions than in current day. He

states, This reason is exactly why students today need to focus more on transcendent skills that are more demanding to know for the future (Are Your Students Ready for Future Work?). In essence, schools need to go above and beyond by teaching students surpassing information instead of the limit we have on material now. The most important reason that the information students are portraying in school, could not be preparing them for their future is because all the way up to college, students already have a pre-set education, which doesnt allow them to choose their own path. Education has many purposes but one of the main drives is the skills that need to be established for students to be able to deal with the issues of life BEYOND school. Education exists so students can find their own paths to their own dreams. In my opinion, to prepare students for a future that we cant even think of, a personalized education system allows room for creativity and the ability to do things on their own. Elliot Washor, another author, says for a student to have a successful future, the school must be student-orientated (Personalized Learning; Chapter 1). Saying that the student must come first, not the pre-set education that usually does. This is true, most people choose their career path so why not choose their education path? Which brings us to why teachers should obtain the role of mentors rather than instructors to guide students in the direction they would like to go. Which is another point from Elliot Washor, meaning that teachers should provide enough information so that the students can comprehend the task but leave the rest independently. Once again, allowing room for creativity and self-sufficient skills. One last reason students could be shorted with the information they are learning could be that schools dont really provide real life situations or hand on material. By engaging students in real projects with adults, this is what could prepare them for college, jobs, and even citizenship in the community. Learning anything other than real life conditions seems futile because what

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are students going to face when they are sent off to the real working world? Nothing but real life situations. A doctor named Costa agrees by stating, Students need to obtain more problem solving circumstances, and less traditional learning (Preparing Students for Complex Futures). Traditional learning is an example of what needs to change. Traditional learning means learning that is an older style and handed down by other generations. So much has changed since the past, so dont you think our style of learning should too? However, some sources would actually disagree with my research and previous opinions. Tamra Excell is an author of an article in a magazine called Preparing Students for the Future. She believes that students are on the right path for being rightfully prepared for their future. She thinks that all it is, is a process, a couple of steps and students will have a successful future. She states, The education system today sufficiently prepares its students for their future because schools are given the proper resources to do so. The education system has the appropriate tools to fix any problems and well-educated teachers to do so (Preparing Students for the Future). She commented any prior issue in schools, have found a way to become resolved. The only way these problems get resolved is because of the effective education system we have today. Many people through their own research dont comprehend that one of the main issues in the education system is how schools continue to be non-student-orientated. Excell refuses to see this problem because it in fact is existing today. Therefore, her comment on all issues getting resolved is deceitful, because this certain issue is still getting resolved today. There have been many ideas and proposals to this specific issue, not all being realistic. Through my research, I believe I have found the best candidate for a solution. This suggestion was introduced by Elliot Washor, the author mentioned before. He agrees mainly with the point that schools need to concentrate on the students and what they desire to learn themselves, not what is put in front of

them without a say. He came up with the Met Program. This is a school that from the very beginning starts with the students. It has a solution for every downfall I have mentioned previously. For example, this type of school would use real life experiences to build knowledge. It also provides teachers but only for guidance, not for necessarily instructing. Washor declares, Schools today are delivering a highly predictable experience for a highly unpredictable future. (Personalized Learning; Chapter 1). This statement is pretty accurate because nobody knows what the future of education will hold so how can anyone predict what information is right to teach. So why not start with the students? Provide them with just enough direction, that they can do the rest self-sufficiently. Believe it or not, this could be the answer to students being ready to take on their future. This is ultimately good for students because it gives them a taste of what their future is going to consist of. Now, that Im right and Ive discovered a solution, I feel the next step should be taken by integrating this type of school into our community. Not eliminating the other types of schools, so this way everyone is content. Students and parents will have the option of which school they believe would be more successful in their own personal situations. Also, this could even provide more school jobs since the need for that recently has been lowering. Then depending on how effective this type of school is, the government could decide whether or not to incorporate more or leave schools the way they were traditionally. I feel like this could be a breakthrough for education and could eventually increase preparedness.

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Richardson, Will. "Are Your Students Ready for Future Work?." District Administration. (2013): n. page. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. <http://www.districtadministration.com/article/are-your-studentsready-future-work>.

Washor, Elliot. "Personalized Learning: Preparing High School Students to Create Their Futures." Big Picture Learning . Chapter 1. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. <http://www.bigpicture.org/2002/12/when-learning-matters-using-learning-plans-to-educateone-student-at-a-time/>.

Costa, Art, and Bena Kallick. "21st Century Learning: Preparing Students for Complex Futures." Teach Thought. n. page. Web. <http://www.teachthought.com/learning/21st-century-learningpreparing-students-for-complex-futures/>.