School: A Dreaded Place or a Beloved Sanctuary?

Reading my title, I know you might be thinking “Who would ever call school a beloved sanctuary?” That’s my point. School has become one of the most dreaded places. A place young people are forced to go and “learn” things in styles they are not accustomed to, or able to understand.

School is a place people are afraid of. I, personally, have cried because I didn’t want to go to school. I know countless amounts of people that willingly admit that school is a place that makes them miserable. But why? Because they are unable to understand what is taught? Because the other students are cruel? Maybe a mean teacher, or a problem at home? It may be none of those, or a combination of all of them. Regardless, it is sad to realize that the one thing all young people are forced to do for the majority of their young life is something that makes a lot of them miserable.

There is a quote from Albert Einstein that I believe is spot on when it comes to America’s public education system. “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole live believing it is stupid.” Humans are all different. We all have unique ways of learning and different rates of comprehension. The modern public education system fails to present different methods of teaching.

This leads to students falling behind, feeling stupid because of lack of comprehension, and eventually giving up. The idea that one teacher can teach 30 different students the same thing the same way is ridiculous. On top of this, people are cruel. There is harassment going on at every school. I have found that my teachers are increasingly indifferent every year.

HOWEVER. I did not intend for this article to be negative. I just wanted to highlight the problems in school. Like all problems, there is a solution. Our public education system has remained virtually untouched for almost 200 years… and now common core is even more generalizing education. Working together, and coherently presenting the issue can bring change. And hopefully a brighter, happier future for schooling.