Two methods to possibly improve our (broken) education system

The problems in today's educational system stem directly from today's societal problems and although we would like to dive in to discussing methods to improve our broken educational system, we first have to address problems in today's society. 

Commonly offered up as a solution to fixing our educational system is an increase in financial support to help pay faculty, upgrade buildings, provide learning tools and keep creative programs open. While I agree with the premise of increased finances, I believe that the problem is prevalent in education only because the same problem exists in our society as a whole. 

The fact is that the problems we face as a part of the Hayward Unified School District may not be the same problems that school districts like San Ramon Valley or Mountain View-Los Altos, to name more affluent neighborhoods in close proximity, face. Until we can figure out a method to fairly distribute wealth in society, the idea of distributing wealth among school districts is unattainable.

One solution that may be more realizable is the elimination of standardized testing.

The use of standardized testing as a measuring stick in education can be looked at as a tool to oppress those who aren't given the proper financial support to succeed. While I believe in individually raising standards for students, holding groups of students from differentiating economical backgrounds to the same standard, only to reward those who perform better, is simply another example of "the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer." 

Holding students from a lower economical background to a higher standard and continuing to raise that standard should be placed on the shoulders of the teachers and principals who are in direct contact with those students and not by a government who does not seek growth for these students. As a child, the bribery of standardized testing wasn't motivating to me, but what was motivating was the individual teachers who made an effort to help me and my classmates grow in knowledge of the subject, knowledge of the world and knowledge of ourselves.

Financially rewarding the school districts, schools, and to some extent, the teachers whose classes perform well in a standardized test, only rewards those whose students actually care to do well. One objective of oppression is to force the subject into a state of carelessness, hopelessness. The issue with standardized testing exists because many of the students who come from oppressive backgrounds have already given up that hope. So how can we expect that these students perform well on these tests when, in many cases, they've already given up hope.

As much as I'd love to see our broken educational system fixed, the reality of our situation is that until serious societal reform begins, any serious changes to our educational system can not be realized. Until then it is up to the individual teachers and students to rebuild our understanding of what education is, what it can be and what we should be using it for.