The United States education system is regarded as one of the most funded and advanced in the world among developed nations. However, the US system needs to start taking hints from other countries to increase the productivity and mental health of its students. By implementing certain practices and procedures, I believe it would greatly improve the happiness of students and improve our overall standing among other countries.
The United Kingdom is widely known for “the gap year,” usually a semester or full year, where students take a break from their academic pursuits to embark on personal enrichment through hands-on learning, such as interning, teaching, traveling, learning a foreign language or volunteering. This was typically taken between secondary school graduation (the UK equivalent of high school) and the start of university studies. The benefits for US students adopting the gap year are numerous and life-changing, offering students opportunities to partake in deeper self discovery, explore other cultures, improve mental health and boost their personal resume. I believe if this was encouraged in the US, this would give many students a well needed rest between the difficulty of high school and the upcoming stress of college. Giving American students time to rest and enjoy time between this period would drastically decrease the daunting pressures a student faces coming into college.
In France, the school year lasts from late September to June or July, and students only attend four days a week having no school on Wednesdays. During COVID, this break in a school week was implemented here in the US, but is no longer in effect. The “Flex Wednesday” was a great pause from school where I was able to either catch up on assignments or take some time to keep my mental health in check. Many students would take advantage of the ability to relax, spend time with family and friends, or take personal time for themselves to reduce anxiety and stress, many factors that are now affecting the current generation.
Chinese students are incentivized not with gold stars or candy like their US peers, but by the opportunity to earn points or “extra credit” on their college entrance exams, known as the “Gaokao.” The Gaokao is a college entrance exam taken in the student’s last year of high school, and is the only criteria used for admission. Many students take additional classes and receive hours of tutoring with the goal of greater success on their Gaokao. Furthermore, from as early as elementary school up to high school, students are banned from using a calculator on any school assignment. This forces students to focus on strength and accuracy, which in turn increases retention. If these practices in China were implemented in the United States, I believe many students would take advantage of additional points added to either an SAT or ACT score, hoping to better impress their dream school. With these added points, I believe that this would greatly relieve much of the stress faced by American students when it comes to their standardized test scores.
In Germany, all students are separated at age ten into classes based on their grades and academic success. This means the honors class system in America doesn’t apply in Germany, as successful students are already placed together from a young age. This allows for competition among higher level students to push each other, and for kids placed in lower level classes to climb the academic ladder. Compared to the honors and AP classes in the US, this would allow students to be in classes with other peers of the same standing, striving for success and incentivising students to work harder. As a fun fact, there is also no dress code in Germany, so it is acceptable for students to wear high heels, crop tops, etc.
The US system is struggling to meet the ever-changing needs of its students. With mental health issues heavily impacting today’s generation, America needs to take a page out of the playbook of other countries to improve our school system. Implementing small adjustments would greatly increase the overall happiness of students and increase productivity as well.
