Shapes of Your Choosing

Duel is a very interesting piece. The assembly line knowledge crammed into each kid’s head is rather reminiscent of America’s focus on standardized tests, and the suppression of any fun or creativity just reinforces that point. I feel like it’s becoming a real problem in today’s education system. Kids aren’t taught to enjoy learning in most public school environments and instead are pushed to mindlessly memorize exactly what the school district wants them to in order to pass tests, make the school look good, and secure more funding. Then society continues that process by saying, “This is what successful people do. This is what good people do. Graduate, work, and pay taxes until you die.”

It’s really a bleak picture in my opinion. Although yes, some conformity is good, and it’s not a bad thing to have some planning and predictability, creativity is also a necessity. There have been countless hugely impactful businesses started by people who eschewed the traditional path and went with their ideas. Now, granted, not everyone has the ability to do this, but almost everyone has something to offer, even if it’s not as big as Apple or Tesla. Kids should want to learn, and the education system should help accommodate that.