Flaws In The Education System #2

You Aren't Learning Anything Beneficial

Around 55 million kids in America are enrolled in elementary or secondary schools. Every day, approximately 55 MILLION American students sit in classrooms. Yet, according to Ecudemic, the United States isn't even one of the world's top 10 education systems. So what is everyone in our country doing? To sit in classrooms (1,680 hours each year, by the way)…does that even benefit us at all? Are we learning the wrong things?

Half the things you're taught in school don't help you succeed.

Everyone has wondered this. Everyone has sat in a classroom and groaned internally, knowing that this curriculum would never be used outside of the school walls. This is a question commonly asked by a confused math student: "When are we ever going to use any of this?"

Upon being asked this, I've found that most teachers respond with one of two things:

1. They'll list a specific job category that uses this curriculum (sometimes minimally), and often it's something that no one wants to grow up and pursue. For example, "Construction workers use this all the time!" or "My husband's sister's daughter majored in ophthalmology, and she uses this every day!"

2. Either that, or the teacher will sigh and make the student feel guilty for asking the question. I have a theory that this is just a ploy to get out of the situation without answering the question at all. They'll say something like, "This is the worst question. I hate this question, I absolutely hate it. I'm just…I'm going to pretend that you didn't just ask that. Wow…" Then they'll pause, let everyone wade in the uncomfortable silence, and say, "Alright then, let's get on with the lesson."

Teacher being a teacher
Photo Courtesy

But the thing is, school doesn't really teach you anything worth knowing.

We're not taught how to get to know people or how to make someone laugh. We're not taught how raise a dog or how much to tip the waiter at a restaurant. We're not taught how to manage 4 hours of homework after 5 hours of schoolwork, and we're not taught how to cope with the stress or the anxiety or the pressure. We're not even taught how to pay taxes. I have no idea what a mortgage is. Instead, we're taught the plot of Greek literature and the history of Israel's wars. We're taught how to formulate arithmetic sequences and how to label the protons and electrons of a Phosphate. We're taught such unnecessary things. And what do we learn? I don't know about everyone else, but so far I've mastered how to befriend teachers and how to bullshit three-page essays in under an hour.

School is supposed to be a privilege. Kids are supposed to wake up and want to learn things. Our education is being sucked out from under us, and now we are confused high schoolers with monotone answers to questions we don't care about.

Look at us. We're learning nothing useful.