We’ve all heard it said a million different ways: school is hard.
I hate school. We’re constantly tested over random, useless information and smothered with assignments we struggle to keep up with. While trying to meet these demands, we’re also encouraged to participate in anything and everything our school has to offer. Just thinking about it is exhausting.
On the other hand, I love learning. I thrive off of new information. I want to know about cultures, languages, and literature. I want to be able to explore new possibilities and truly understand the concepts I am being taught. Learning really is a passion of mine but it’s just not that easy to acquire the knowledge that interests me through our education system.
High schoolers today are faced with expectations from just about everyone, be it parents or teachers or college administrators. We’re all expected to get the grades, participate in extracurricular activities, and somehow have time for a social life. Not to mention the actual purpose of high school, which, of course, is to learn. All of these demands take up a lot of time, but even teenagers need sleep, driving some people to do drastic things, such as cheating.
Our whole future can be based on how well we do in school, so we often put aside our real interests for the ‘A’. We’ve all done it; copied our friend’s math homework at lunch or sent pictures of our history assignment late at night. It becomes a routine for us. If any task becomes just slightly challenging, we shoot out a text to the same five people, asking if anyone has already done the assignment.
Honestly, who can blame us? We’ve been told since before we could pronounce the words “Stanford University” just how important college is. And of course, the only way to get accepted into a good college is by receiving impressive grades in high school. The extreme pressure is enough to force even the most honorable among us to sneak a peek at the test of that really smart kid sitting next to them. For most, it becomes about the grade rather than the knowledge, and it really is no one’s fault; it’s just how our society functions.
So there isn’t really a choice anymore. We all want the grade so that’s what we strive for, but why not pick up a little insight along the way? Today’s education system isn’t perfect but it was designed for a purpose. It’s possible to achieve both: real learning and good grades. It won’t be easy, but then again, when hasn’t school been a challenge?
