A Student Gave A Pretty Immaculate Speech About Why Our Education System Is So Messed Up

We live in a world predicated on quantifiable numbers, and data-backed results. We oftentimes rely on these metrics to evaluate productivity and measure quality of performance. Generally, this makes sense. But sometimes, dependence on the numbers can be bad news.*

*I’ve watched Season 4 of The Wire. 

As it goes, the bureaucratic scope of public education has created a system dependent on the numbers, when it fact this dependence might be doing education more harm than good — creating a assembly line of minds trained to produce specific results, which do little more than enable teachers to keep their jobs and give school districts tax breaks, all at the expense of free and critical thought.

This five minute speech, beautifully orated, captures this idea rather magnificently and then some.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PprP5TCZBRI&w=584&h=390]

Ethan Young’s message, given at a November Knox County (TN) School Board meeting  is simple: “Share this video and spread the message: we will not accept these issues with education.”