America’s Broken School System

After 200 years, it’s time for a change.

David Cutler
11 min readMar 17, 2013
Photo purchased from Bigstock.com.

In an October Washington Post article, author T. Rees Shapiro reveals that Diane Ravitch, former U.S. assistant secretary of education, endorses Nikhil Goyal, 17, for the department’s top job.

Goyal’s prestige has skyrocketed since the September release of his book, One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of School, which unapologetically condemns America’s education system. He has since appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC Nightly News, NPR, MSNBC, FOX, and Huffington Post — to name a few.

After being assimilated into the Syosset High School ecosystem, I noticed that I was bored as hell in class and absolutely nothing I was taught was relevant to real life. I was trained to be a drone. Outside of school, I was engaged with fascinating projects, having conversations with brilliant people, and enjoying life.

It would be foolish to dismiss Goyal as some disgruntled young hotshot. He’s a brilliant journalist, whose lucid reporting rivals that of the best in the business

I am eager to chat with Goyal via Skype, having recently spoken with Erica Goldson, the high school valedictorian who used her surprise graduation speech to condemn the public school education system.

--

--

David Cutler

A high school history and journalism teacher from Massachusetts.