From the day we are born until the day we die, our brains constantly seek out new stimuli. As creatures of habit, we must strive to balance the feeling of security from routine, with excitement and spontaneity. Although many of us realize this as adults, the same must be true for children. The education system should be built around a framework, but should also include the possibility for the teachers and students to be able to improvise, like in jazz.
The United State's educational system has not changed much since the 1950's. School's have largely been the same since there have been schools. A teacher stands at the front of the class, and lectures to the students. The teacher prepares them for a test, that will tell the teacher whether the students understand the material. The students then go home, and review the material from the day's lecture, and do homework of some kind. This procedure became more standardized after the First World War. This was when the United States needed workers that were educated enough, to fill the factories that would rebuild the economy. However, with the great technological leaps that have been made since then, I believe the time has come for a change to the educational system.
Schools would be better structured as a place to build on what students learn at home. A place where they are free to learn about things they are interested in, outside of the normal curriculum. We are in the age of the internet now; instead of working on homework at home, students should be watching lectures online, and bringing their practice problems to school. This way they could work with the teachers, to ensure that they fully understand necessary concepts. Most of math and science classes I've taken, always begin with a few questions regarding the homework from the previous night; that time would still be used to answer questions. Instead, it could be utilized for questions regarding the lecture the students viewed the previous night.
