Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment Education System topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Porter High senior urges New Caney ISD trustees to address systemic problems in public education
Summary
A Porter High School senior told the New Caney ISD Board of Trustees that standardized testing and one-size-fits-all instruction have eroded student curiosity and called for systemic change; he said he will present a student survey at the next meeting.
Luke Kasprzak, a senior at Porter High School, told the New Caney ISD Board of Trustees on Feb. 17 that he believes the public education system conditions students to focus on grades and testing rather than curiosity and learning. He urged trustees to “listen to the people living in the education system,” including students and teachers, and to consider systemic changes.
Kasprzak said many classes follow a repetitive cycle of lecture, assignments and quizzes that conditions students to prioritize diplomas or grade-point averages over genuine interest in learning. “We are humans, not robots,” he said during the board’s open‑forum public comments.
Kasprzak cited long‑term trends in proficiency and said reading and math scores have declined in recent years; he attributed part of the recent falloff to COVID-19. He said changing instruction would require substantial efforts — from how teachers are trained to grading and curriculum design — and that students are unlikely to take risks in class when grades and GPA dominate decisions about college and careers.
To gather student perspectives, Kasprzak said he has created a peer‑to‑peer survey and expects to share results at the board’s next regular meeting.
The remarks came during the board’s open forum; trustees did not take action on the points Kasprzak raised during the meeting.
