*This article was modeled on ‘In Praise of the F word’ by Mary Shelley, in which the F word is failure.*
Tens of thousands of students will join a school for the first time this year, beginning a journey that will define the rest of their lives. These students will spend a quarter of their lives preparing themselves for the real world. Yet, the validity of their preparation seems to fall apart when tested by higher facilities.
A fortunate few - the intrinsically motivated will find themselves quickly learning how to fit into the real world and make use of what they have learned. However, students with less glaring ambitions will find themselves cheated by the education system.
As I explore my options after high school, I learn a lot about our schools. Early in my search, I discovered I was not passionate about any career or my future, mildly excited at best. See, the problem is, my school has been preparing me for the outside world without actually telling me what exactly one does there. I have taken several engineering courses and still have a very vague idea of what engineers do at their jobs. How am I supposed to pick a career path without knowing much about what jobs in that field require me to do? How am I supposed to find the information I need when school leaves me so unmotivated to find out? I continue to feel as if my time is running out the closer I get to college. And most of all, I am sick of having my life revolve around schoolwork. So, how does this stop?
I will never forget when a teacher explained that our current school system works a lot like a factory line. We go through our classes each day while our teachers try to fit a new part of information to us, the product.
When you think about it, it makes so much sense why we come out waiting for a purpose, apart from the few who can determine it for themselves early on. To avoid turning us into factory products with the ability to comprehend the world in chunks of objective tests, schools must teach us how to learn on our own rather than preparing us for tests. I want to learn how to apply my studies to the world. I want to learn something for the joy of it. I understand that there are few students who do not need school to help us develop this method of thinking, because they are capable of doing it on their own. Still, so many aren’t and schools must cater to every student’s needs.
To combat this, schools must start pushing students to develop their interests and not rely on existing systems to decide what is best for them. Many students at the schools I have attended could give expert testimony on the high stress and anxiety that school has caused. All because of its focus on grades over the content and rapid memorization. The unnatural aim of being good at everything is terrible to students’ mental health.
This endless cycle of continually preparing for the next thing is detrimental to the mental health of students. The need for a creative and more motivating system of education is dire. Most importantly, we need students to love learning by making it accessible, whether that is clubs or anything they are impassioned with. It's time we return learning to the students who need it.
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Written by: Volunteer Navya Swali
Date Published: 05/09/2021
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