27 February 2013
COMPROMISE: Problem solving, in all aspects of life, needs to be improved.
By Kate Doak, Staff Writer
We’ve all seen it: two separate parties push aside an issue because neither side wants to compromise. This happens in every field of modern human existence: politics, school, and even home life are all affected by this “winners and losers” mentality. The government cannot make decisions, students are frustrated with school administration (and vice versa) and the modern home life seems to be a cycle of children and parents butting heads. Unless society learns some new ways to solve problems and learn to get along, nothing will ever be resolved.
One of the worst offenders of broken problem solving is the American government. Our Congress in particular seems to be the cause of most of the unrest in resolving major issues. Just this past year Congress displayed greater procrastination than any high school student ever has. The debt ceiling and the fiscal cliff have been major issues for a long time, but they did not get much attention until the second half of last year. What most people do not know is that Congress had a year to come to a decision, but instead waited until the very last hours to resolve the fiscal cliff issue, and waited even longer to address the debt ceiling.
Other popular and controversial issues have seen even less action, like gun control. Brett Joshpe, a New York attorney and author, stated that: “On the gun debate—and seemingly on every other issue facing our nation—the loudest voices frame our choices as binary. We’re led to believe we have to pick one extreme or the other, because every compromise is cast as a betrayal of some principle or value.” Joshpe is absolutely right. Neither side is content with sacrificing any of its demands. This is not biased towards either party, seeing as both Democrats and Republicans participate. The conservatives are afraid that if they budge even an inch the liberals are going to create a full-force ban and the liberals fear that a compromise on their part could lead to a massive gun rebellion. The problem here is neither side is willing to budge; the only option is a one-sided, extremist option.
As far as school is concerned, a lot of students find themselves frustrated with school staff, and teachers and administrators are not always students’ biggest fans. A lazy student, one who gave up and does not really care, is a common sight, one who gave up and does not really care. Those students are not the concern. The students who are simply misguided or having trouble and want help but have a hard time getting it are the ones schools should be concentrate on. However, too many students have to face frustrated teachers and administration and end up becoming frustrated themselves. The problem on the students’ side is that their teachers are focused on other issues and on students who simply do not care, and thus more students give up. When students have non-educational issues with administration and each other they are often the last to be listened to and are given traditional and, for the most part, ineffective punishments that just make students more bitter about school.
Problem solving is a skill that we are encouraged to learn and practice from a young age, but how can we when the people around us lack the proper ability to resolve important and sometimes simple issues? There needs to be some kind of technique for each area of life. There needs to be some sort of legislation to keep Congress from avoiding the topic (thought with its record one would think that Congress would not be able to come to a decision about that legislation either). Schools need to develop more effective punishments or even find ways to solve problems before punishment is necessary. If we can manage to improve problem solving, society’s biggest issues might finally be resolved.