Growing up as a kid, I was introduced to the school system at a very young age. At just three years old and officially enrolled in pre-school, I was ready to begin the long journey to success…at least as much success as a three year old could do at the time. I was raised in a world where education was supposed to be a child’s number one priority. I mean why should it not be?
The next twenty years of my life include an abundance of tests, quizzes, essays, and projects. If I’m one of the lucky ones, I will then pursue the career of my dreams. However, as more time passed and more tests and quizzes were received, I realized that I did not enjoy school as much as I used to. I felt as though school was becoming stricter and my boundaries were seemingly closing in on me, for I knew how to factor a square root, but not how to pay a bill or live on my own.
One day, I decided to ask my Algebra teacher how finding the slope of a line is going to be applicable in my life, and how it will help in achieving where I want to go in order to be successful in my life. Of course many kids stared at me, wide eyed, because it was unheard of for a kid to ask a teacher such thing. My teacher paused. She turned around, putting her hand on her hip, and looked me directly in the eye. “I’m not answering that,” she said.
And she continued writing on the board. I was not satisfied. My teacher eventually came over to me and asked me why I would ask her that. I simply told her that I thought I had a right to know. I couldn’t help but notice how all of these kids seemed to have the same exact thought that I did, yet they continued to scribble the equations on their paper.
In asking the question, it was like I found the voice that the school system tried to suppress. I had a new confidence that maybe I could take advantage of during my time in school. I wanted an answer, just like they always expect one from me. It would always frustrate me that kids have compared the atmosphere of school to that of a prison because they felt as though their success is only driven by how well they can obey a teacher.
As I started becoming more and more vocal, I learned a few lessons: 1) Some have an insightful answer that I never would have thought of. 2) Others say it is so you can get a good grade on the test next week (this one really got to me), and 3) Questioning is good. I never associated curiosity as a bad trait; it is what has evolved the world to where it is today.
Without a question, we never found answers, and if there was never a sense of wonder, we would not have discovered all of the greatness the universe holds. I loved pushing my mind outside of the walls that schools put up, and I realized that even the ones who have gone through years and years of extra education, do not always have an answer either. Many discouraged my inquisitiveness, but that did not stop me. In fact it did that total opposite. I was determined to shed light onto the concept, and I promised myself to never be ashamed of my mental inquisitiveness.
I eventually came to the conclusion that school is not what it was always thought to be. As a little kid, I could not wait to learn how to be an adult, and move to a big city where my dreams would come true. Now I was afraid that god forbid I do not remember Pythagorean’s Theorem, I would never be able to make it on my own. I consider it a problem that I knew all of these postulates, equations, and theories, but I do not know how to do my taxes, manage my money, and conjure the skills necessary to be successful in life. And despite the majority, I valued wisdom much more than knowledge. I simply know that my greatest lessons come from what is outside of the classroom.
I believe that people, kids in particular, have an immense amount of curiosity. Aside from that, we desire efficiency. What will help us, what will take the least amount of time, etc. I put the two together and I questioned the efficiency of school. I did not see how what I was saying was going to help me, and allow me to prosper in this thing called life.
In order to really change “the system”, students should not be afraid to question teachers and the significance of what is being learned. I believe students can have such a powerful voice, and can influence the way education is done on a statewide and national level. I understand that asking such questions in class take a lot of courage and sometimes a student is faced with the discouraged looks from teachers, but no change will occur if no one speaks up. School has always been a main priority in a kid’s life, and I believe that if we are spending most of our time there, it should be worth it in the long run.