Now, you might think I’ve included schools on this list just because I’m a teen who hates school like every other teen in this world. And yes, this is kind of true. But have you ever asked yourself why kids / teens hate school so much?! Well, you might have, and here are some of the things you might’ve thought of:

  • They hate to get up early
  • They don’t like doing homeworks (or any other school work)
  • They can’t stay quiet for 5 (or more) lessons and just listen to someone talk about something they don’t care
  • … and some others…

“So what’s the problem? They’re just being lazy! That’s all!”, you might be thinking.  Well, yes that’s mostly true, but usually if you ask a student about it, they’ll tell you they’re bored. And in fact 91% (as shown by a survey made in 2003) of students are bored in class on daily basis! Now, doesn’t this sound a bit suspicious?  It does, right?! So, what’s the source of boredom? In my opinion it’s the school system itself.

As you know, primary school is meant to teach you the basics of life. And that’s exactly what they teach us, right?! NO! In fact, they teach us anything, but that!

Not sure what I’m trying to say? Well, for example: One of the “most important” subjects in primary school (and every other school) is math! Again, sounds logical, right? I mean, they teach you the basics of how to make sure the cashier gave you the right amount of change as well as a whole bunch of other things which can be very useful in life. And I completely agree! These things should be taught to everybody! Everyone should know these things! So if I agree with this, what’s the problem then? Well, the problem is that they don’t only teach us the basics. We are forced to learn a whole bunch of other things which most of us will never use! And I’m not saying this because I hate maths. In fact, I love maths! As a programmer I couldn’t do much without the knowledge of maths! But I really think that more advanced parts of maths (i.e. things most people don’t use on regular basis) shouldn’t be required! Instead they should be introduced to the students and then offered to them as additional classes they could take. And this doesn’t apply to maths only. This should apply to all subjects. Just ask yourself: “Will the majority of the students ever use this on regular basis?”, and if your answer to this simple question is “no” then no one should be forced to learn it. Also, I’ve noticed a lot of classes which are actually completely useless to most students. Unlike maths where you use at least some of the knowledge on regular basis these classes just give your some random stuff to learn just because, with no real reason or use behind it. Good examples of this kind of classes are music and art. Like anyone is ever going to need to know the full biography of over 20 different composers or a whole bunch of art terms which, truth be told, no one even knows what they mean.

Now, I still have a few things to say about schools, but I’m not going to mention them as I’m trying to keep this as short as possible.

Tadej Gašparovič, 9.a