Young Writers Society

On Education within the Multiverses and How they Compare and Contrast, with Specific Emphasis on the Schools of Belecthoria circa the 1992-2017 and the Modern Tennessean School System, with Information on American Schooling Provided by Sinestra Hopkins-Jones

by Her Majesty the Queen Mother Esmeralda Dragonheart née vra Jeanardé

I. The school systems formed in Belecthoria by my husband, myself, and our advisers in 1992 lasted until the year 2017, when my son came to the throne. Given that I myself have acted as a part time teacher, my young cousin Carolina is a Professor of History and Mythology at St. Vilnius's Academy, and I have access to Her Highness Sinestra, I have deemed it appropriate to compare a foreign area outside of our multiverse to the education system I helped establish.

II. Before education reforms came into place, Belecthorian high school education was rather messy. Students were required to have a total of 30 school credits: 5 in language, 5 in math, 5 in science, 3 in history, 7 in fine hearts, and 5 in a course of study. Experts, including Dr. Andrewus Hibbert, a human studies expert that studied at and now works for Laenalaen University, and his team found that this put extreme pressure on students and families, resulting in the radical changes made in 1992. The necessary credits required to graduate was lowered to 11, with emphasis on skills that would enable students to succeed in life rather than force them to learn unnecessary material that takes up their valuable time. To graduate, a student would need 2 math credits, 3 language credits (at least one being foreign), a history credit, a government credit, and 4 cluster credits (Footnote 1).

III. Dr. Hibbert's research for the new system found that students were less stressed and found time to do more things they wanted to do, thus improving their qualities of life. Test grades improved nationwide and more funding was able to be devoted to clusters than before. Additionally, studies by Hamilton University in Allegoria (Footnote 2) showed that students were able to devote more time to helping their communities, their families, and one another. Families with lower incomes were also enabled by students graduating at a faster pace than what had been in place before, as graduates would be able to find jobs much more quickly.

III. By comparison, the state of Tennessee in the United States has a horrible education system that fails to meet the needs of its students and families. The United States once was a first-rate nation in education. In 1990, it placed sixth; as of 2018, it ranks 27th. Tennessee in turn ranks 35; however, this is mostly due to the affordability of schooling in Tennessee rather than focusing solely on how much students learn, what the quality of that education is, and the rate at which students graduate.

IV. Between 1992 and 2017, Belecthoria consistently ranked second in education (the Campaignian education system was second to none until 2038, when Meretica's modified 15 credit system was implemented). We maintained a high school graduation rate average of 98.7%, and our college graduation rate was about 79.4% during these years. Tennessee, by comparison, had a 89.6% high school graduation rate (the highest it has ever had), and it's college graduation rate is about 58.02% (also the highest it has ever had). Belecthoria peaked with a high school graduation rate of 98.9% in 2006 and a 99.32% college graduation rate in 2010. Further research must be done to determine all of the causes for these figures from Belecthoria and Tennessee being so different, but I believe that it has something to do with the way the United States funds its schools.

V. In Tennessee, students are required to have 22 credits to graduate. However, they are not allowed to take certain classes unless they have reached a certain level of education: for example, English IV is a class that can only be taken by seniors. This forces students in Tennessee to remain apart of a four-year-long education that simply isn't needed, as reorganizing this system would save schools funding. Also, many schools in Tennessee are apart of a "block schedule," or a type of academic scheduling used in schools in the American K-12 system in which each pupil has fewer classes per day. However, by increasing the amount of time a student remains in one class, they are also shortening how much time a student has to study for their finals. Rather than having a school year to ensure they understand the Pythagorean Theorem, students have a single semester, which will not be enough for some students as they have additional classes and responsibilities that need attending to.

VI. As I mentioned, in Tennessee, students are required to attend four years of high school. While this would not normally be an issue on its own, it does not help that many students are shoved into broad courses of study, many of which do not pertain to any plans students have after high school. Specifically, Lawrence County has a lopsided amount of health science education classes in addition to hands-on-learning classes. These classes do not address the needs of future lawyers, writers, aspiring politicians, teachers, architects, researchers, or historians. Even though Lawrence County receives enough funding to create classes for each of these career clusters, the county education board instead invests solely into health science and hands-on learning. This forces students to take classes that will not help them further their careers. Research done by Americans has shown that students disinterested in classes will make worse grades (Footnote 3).

VII. "What is the result of this?" one might wonder. "How does this affect my life?" Students making poorer grades results in funding shifting from schools that succeed to schools that "need" additional funding to properly "teach" their students. Much of this funding (particularly in the American South) is then wasted on sports rather than actual learning (Footnote 4).

VIII. In conclusion, I propose that Americans make attempts to fix education. So long as they reallocate the funding and cut defense cost by a percentage point or two, they could all end up having better lives under an 11 credit system (or a modified version thereof). Students will be happier, healthier, less stressed. Please, Americans-- do the right thing for once and educate your children.

Footnotes

1. Clusters differ from courses of study, as clusters focus on classes based more on specific careers whereas courses of study provide a full view of an entire subject.

2. Queen Ismelda, my mother, wished to see if the Belecthorian education program could be implemented in Allegoria. The modified Allegorian credits system did not see the same results as the Belecthorian system, but it was an improvement nonetheless. These studies were done by Professor Gallica Montressor, a Thiran researcher, and Portman Brown, a Professor of Psychology from Campaignia University.

3. "Interested students engage better in classes" by Julianne Hodges

4. Schools Spend More on Athletes than Education