Tracking in schools - Finley

On the topic of whether or not tracking should be eliminated from our school systems, the answer to this question for me would have to be both yes and no. I believe that, at a young age, tracking can completely destroy a child emotionally as well as on an educational level, but as they get older, tracking can allow students to challenge themselves in topics that they are passionate about. It is completely unfair to place kids into levels before they have a chance to grow into themselves as students. The tracking systems in lower and middle schools put children into boxes and prevents them from pushing their education limits, perpetuating a system where the the kids who start on the bottom stay on the bottom and those who start on the top stay on the top. Although our system claims to be a purely meritocratic system that was created to put children "where they belong", the system is unable to function when children are prematurely placed in one of these levels and then are stranded on a level that they may grow out of. Those in favor of the tracking system preach that it allows for teachers to specialize the lessons for students on different levels rather than just teaching to the middle. While I believe this is a valid point, I think that tracking should only be implemented once a student reaches high school and in all prior grades, classes should be taught as a group with specialization within the class. By doing this, students will grow up in a setting where they are not automatically assumed to be better or worse than those in their class and those struggling will be able to get help from their peers. When students have reached high school,  I believe that the tracking system will allow the students who wish to delve more deeply into certain subjects the opportunity to do so and will also allow those who may not have an affinity for certain subjects to stay at the speed that they are content with.