Individuality And Conformity In Education

Individuality and Conformity in Education

“Common sense to improve student achievement that too few have implemented: let teens sleep more, start school later[.]”—Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education. The disputes over schools’ demands for conformity have all been drawn-out for far too long with little change. The justification for this ongoing discussion is the belief that mass public schooling holds that students should be able to become unique and independent individuals while also promoting conformity in effort to socialize students. While both objectives are significant, they may come with a price. An abundance of individuality given to the students may cause an issue over maintaining control over them, whereas ample conformity can

The way that school is mercilessly scheduled affects students mental and physical health, in turn giving reason to support its adaptability to each individual student. As exemplified in the bell schedule, copious schools have an immensely restricting schedule, with this particular school forcing students to spend six hours and forty-five minutes in eight back-to-back classes with four minutes to get to each class. For my case in particular, my school starts at 7:30 a.m., with my bus arriving by 6:40 a.m. at my house for pickup, and in result my reason as to why I am up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready and walk to the bus stop. This inflexible schedule, due to my own personal experiences and scientific studies, leaves no room for the brain or body to rest, realign, or be creative, at the least. As stated by UCLA Sleep Disorders Center, “ Teens can throw off their body clocks by often staying up late at night... When their internal clocks are not set right, teens can become very sleepy when they should be wide awake...There is a shift in the timing of your circadian rhythms...When puberty begins, this rhythm shifts a couple hours later...While they begin going to sleep later, they

Individuality should be encouraged to the point where students feel fulfilled, are creative, and can stand out amongst others in future occupations and colleges. Conformity should be enforced only to the point where it isn’t affecting students’ mental and physical health due to loss of sleep, increases sociability, and teaches responsibility and independence. This could be done by changing school’s scheduling to have a later start time, provide the students with electives that promote interest in education and creativity, and even adjusting scheduling within the classroom to benefit the students’ sociability traits. Homework could reflect on this schedule, ensuring a close comparability with college scheduling and studying, thus promising students a better success rate in their future. Individuality and conformity in scheduling go hand in hand in students’ success, and should therefore work together to ensure their propitious