Undergraduate / "develop expanded thought" - UT admission essay [3]

Instructions: write an essay in which you explain any problem important to you, your family, or your generation.

Higher thought and its implementation has been the staple of our existence as a species. In the brief time of our being, we have shown a level of understanding and ability that is unparalleled by any animal ever before. The establishment of agriculture, the discovery of writing, the harnessing of electricity, and the realization of a higher power all point back to the potential we possess. This potential, though, has been sadly under estimated by our national public school system.

Our current public schools are designed in a similar banal format to integrate learners into four major subjects. Each subject, math, English, science, and history receives an equal amount of attention. Everything else is generally a social expression one way or another; extra circulars like art, physical education, band, etc. Each day is a routine; we take simple steps toward the standards set by a board of education. The standards are, more or less, set in stone. Teachers are consequently incapacitated and will get censure from their superiors, or brazen parents, for overshooting the bar of education. This basic format is used from kindergarten to graduation, with exceptionally low expectations for preadolescents and younger. The factor of public education that cannot be expressed with a cursory characterization is the depth of education. The scope of thought and emotion that we drink in every day is a courtesy that few will ever experience, something beautiful that is cheapened by tangible desires and consistently prolonged in the protection of "innocence". We should not, then, let public schools over look this strong mental presence that is embedded inside of us. It should, in fact, be strengthened throughout a student's education.

It is one of the most pressing problems in education today: the encouragement of a flat mental process, and the inability to encourage and develop expanded thought. This factor has been largely ignored because it is viewed beyond the average student's ability. It's much easier to learn one dimensional concepts and grade the students on how many concepts they can memorize and how well they can implement them. We memorize vocabulary in English, formulas in math, dates in history, and chemicals in science.

COULD USE ANY POINTERS ON ESSAY. ESPECIALLY THE LAST PARAGRAPH, I CAN'T THINK OF HOW TO EXPAND MY POINT AND IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM TO FLOW RIGHT TO ME. ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.