The main goal of every student is (or should be) to acquire a well-rounded education so that he is prepared to succeed in whatever career he should choose later in life. The ideal student absorbs and is able to apply all that he is taught. He is an intellectual individual, one who can express his opinions clearly and intelligently and has an understanding of both the important topics of the time and some knowledge of events of the past.
Unfortunately, the way our schools teach students today has veered away from the quality education that they used to provide. In place of this is a way of teaching that offers no motivation for students and provides no will to learn. The students have one objective in the modern-day classroom: memorize and regurgitate. Once the student takes his test on the information he learned in class, he forgets it. His slate is wiped clean to make room for the next day's lesson, and more emphasis is placed on cramming overwhelmingly-extensive curriculums into a 180 day school year than allowing students to take their time and absorb knowledge. What good is going to school everyday if the student won't remember 90% of what they are taught six months from when they first learned it.
There is a definitive trend that is sending the effectiveness of our country's schools down a steep and steady decline. If a student is motivated to actually learn, not memorize to pass a test, but LEARN a subject and then apply it in their daily lives, he will be much better off. As it is, students are too concerned about getting good grades, being accepted to good colleges, and earning the big bucks at a high-end job that they forget why they are going to school in the first place. The students of our society need motivation to work hard, and districts need to wise up about how they go about teaching students. It is the responsibility of the districts to enstill a value of education in students that as of now seems to be missing all together.