<p>Topic: Does education, rather than improving us, actually constrain us at times?</p>
<p>"Education is one of the most important tools we have to be successful in a society where knowledge and intelligence give great advantage to those who possess them. This is why so many immigrants escaping from a foreign country want their US-born child to get an education;this is why so many less-than deserving people want their kids to go to college to avoid the children from following the parents' footsteps. Yet is there ever a time when education actually constrains us, confining ourselves from progress? Although the purpose, of education is not meant to constrain us, there are indeed periods throughout history when certain education were actually restraining younger generations from fully maturing into an individual who can be successful in society and advancing him or herself for the progress of society. People think that this type of immuring education only existed in the ancient days of the Dark Ages because now the modern society is just flourishing with advancement. Yet, as history tells us, this constraint not only existed during the Catholic Church's supremacy in the medieval ages, but also in the modern time as of the 21st Century. </p>
<p>Although the US is the most powerful nation in the world, we are far behind in our education when we compare ourselves to other countries such as Finland and Korea. In fact, according to an international reoprt, the US ranked 26 out of the top 50 countries with the highest academic scores among hte younger generations. As a result of this discovery, along with many other reports verifying the lower standards of education in the US, President Bush enacted the No Child Left Behind Act to provide sufficient education to areas that were lacking in this necessary provision. To test and to enforce this act, however, the act requires that a school overall must pass a certain level of proficiency else the federal government would not give federal funding to that school. As a result, schools are now teaching students not to think individualy and creatively, but to pass a test. This issue has been censured by many people, especially teachers, because this standard did not teach students how to live successfully through creativity and idividual intelligence but rather through rote memorization, which they purport to be inadquately replacing the purpose of eduation. And as the reports show, this NCLB Act that the Bush Administration implemented proved to be disastrous for the US: scores were either the same or slowly decreasing, schools were being shut down for failing to pass the level of proficiency, teachers were desperately trying to cheat in order to meet the standard, and the education itself focused on rote memorization rather than tools to help kids succeed in the adult world. This act proved through its results that it actually constrained kids in their learning, confining them to only a small aspect of education that is entirely inadequate in teachings young kids life lessons not just in general terms but also in the realm of academics.</p>
<h2>Mark Twain once said, "History doesn't repeat itself. History rhymes." This quote provides an accurate description of the education taught both in the Middle Ages and in the modern society: both caused the younger generation to be impeded in their progress for society. However, just as the Catholic education ended for a new age of Renaissance and Enlightenment education, so can we change and reform the constraining education we have today for a new age of creativity and progress. But we must act now, or the young generations that are learning the education right now will be deprived from the necessary tools that could lead them to successful lives in the adult world."</h2>
<p>It's a little longer than usual but that's because I typed this up instead of writing with a pen/pencil. Since I type much faster than the average person, I wrote a lot more than if I were to have wrote it with a pen. But please critique my essay based on what it is and not how it is. Thanks :)</p>