Like many people, I don’t see school as this magical place that turns its students into happy, fulfilled, or successful people. I finished high school a little while ago, so I think it’s time for me to explain the things I learned/ figured out by going through school. SPOILER ALERT! These points have nothing to do with general studies such as science, math, history, English, foreign languages, etc. The real takeaways come from what school instills within you: passivity, cowardice, mental feebleness, and dependence. Without further ado here are my takeaways from school.
1st takeaway- We waste a lot of time in school
I think about the sheer amount of opportunities and options available for all of us, and it makes me sick that most of us are forced through one dismal option. If you could imagine, for a second, the amount of productive activities we could have done instead of school, you would assert that there is a better way to use those 12(or 13) years.
You could have written a book, become an apprentice in order to learn a useful trade, started a business, read good books, traveled, connected with more people, worked, provide value in an adult’s world, donated your time to a worthy cause, and so much more. You could have developed self confidence while providing value to other people. That time could have been spent doing productive, valuable things, but instead you are forced to go through a meaningless gauntlet of judgement, poor self esteem, unreasonably high expectations, and unnatural human automation.
Of course, you may say that time in school can be used in meaningful ways. However, most of the good things that go on in school do not happen in the 6 or 7 hour block that you are forced to go through.
2nd takeaway- True learning takes a back seat in school
The ingredients for genuine learning are in abundance on this planet. It is so easy to learn and become educated with the internet now. A lot of the things you go through in school are utterly unnecessary in the pursuit of real skills/ knowledge. All of those non-learning aspects of school are put in place to control bright and inquisitive young kids. Control structures in school fog up the practice of real learning. In school, control> learning.
3rd takeaway- It can put toxic thoughts into your head
School successfully bogs you down by its imposed nonsense. That’s bad enough, but school adds another layer on top of that unhealthy landscape. School teaches you that you you will be a failure without it, and it teaches you to feel disdain for those who don’t perform well in that system.
School is like that witch who kidnaps Rapunzel in tangled. She tells Rapunzel that she knows what’s best for her, and she shouldn’t question her or explore the world outside. Rapunzel would have discovered her “mother’s” lies sooner if she could have left. This is similar to what school teaches. School is hanging on a thin rope, and it wants to hold on for as long as it can. If young people decided to actually learn things and explore the world around them, they would discover that school is mostly redundant and decide to divorce themselves from mandatory schooling or college.
School instills certain lessons into kid’s heads to keep itself from imploding. In reality, school performance isn’t very important in the grand scheme of life.
4th takeaway- It doesn’t help you become fulfilled
You never get a chance to figure things out independently in school. Cast away are your passions, goals, and desires. Never receiving guidance on the things that matter to you means you will have a hard time finding fulfillment. What would you expect in an institution like school? School would rather not nurture the minds of innovative, creative people. Innovation and creativity is the antithesis of school itself. Obedient factory workers and soldiers were the product of school back then. School sells itself as a magical land where you learn how to make a lot of money and become respected by jumping through the hoops of compulsion.
So many people believe the lie that doing well in school equals success, but that kind of thinking can be harmful. People who could have achieved fulfillment without school get caught up in the pressure cooker school creates, and then, they don’t live up to their potential.
12-16 years go by while there is a hole in your heart.
5th takeaway- School doesn’t make things clear for you
School likes to give you orders, and tell you the correct way to live life. In reality, school doesn’t offer real solutions and real answers. Get good grades, devote your entire life to school, go to college, and you will become successful, right? Not quite. With the amount of college debt that needs to be paid off in America(1.7 trillion), you can say that school doesn’t provide the right conclusions or answers to problems. Beyond financial security, a lot of people don’t feel fulfilled in America. They feel trapped and defeated in a game they don’t want to play anymore. School offered a blueprint, didn’t it? What happened? Why aren’t people more successful and happy? That’s strange!
Perhaps following traditional wisdom led to their downfall. Well-schooled people fail to see what’s possible beyond school. They don’t consider other options to their problems. They don’t want to separate themselves from the toxic culture of school because toxic school culture is all they know. Conventional wisdom knows how to sell a bag of rotten fruit.
6th takeaway- You almost never get a chance to do meaningful work
Meaningful work has different definitions among different people. My definition of meaningful work is work that sets you apart from other people. It needs to be real and have the potential to provide value to people. The work you do in school (the 7 hour block) doesn’t set you apart from other people (everyone does the same thing), it isn’t real (school isn’t the real world.), and it doesn’t provide value to other people (or maybe it provides value to teachers who profit off of you being forced to be there, ha ha!). It would be amazing, I’m sure, if students were allowed to be a part of their communities and make a difference in an adult’s world. School tries to fool you into thinking that schoolwork is meaningful, but it isn’t.
The best thing to do is just start doing something productive when you’re not in school. Writing poetry is meaningful to me, so that’s what I did.
7th takeaway- School doesn’t help you figure out your talents, ambitions, and interests
When you’re forced to do things other people tell you to do, you don’t learn much about yourself. (or you learn you are an unwitting sheep, but that’s okay, you will grow out of that) You complete your schooling experience feeling lost, confused, and unsure of your qualities. What would you expect if you did that? Imagine the future prosperity of people who know themselves and spend time cultivating their passion. Of course, even if you knew your value as a human being, school isn’t going to help you achieve your goals.
8th takeaway- It’s frustrating dealing with people who are so engrossed into old values
Hopefully this will change soon, but as of now, most people think school is a necessary part of life. They think true learning happens when you make kids do things they would rather not do. Believing kids are just lazy, and they wouldn’t want to do anything impactful even if they were given that option. The truth is that kids want to be a part of something important and meaningful, but they are not allowed to be a part of such a thing in school. Not all people will agree with you about the problems of school, but some people think that there is almost nothing wrong with school. “The kids are just lazy!”
9th takeaway- It has remained unchanged for 150+ years
When you think of something that has lasted for very long, you would think that it would need to update itself and improve, but that can’t be said about school. School has remained the same for about a century and a half. Of course, we have smart boards and computers now, but the lessons of obedience and subservience are still taught in school. The school system we have today was taken from the authoritarian state in Prussia during the 1800s. The goal of this system was produce soldiers and workers who wouldn’t think for themselves. Kids sat at desks, followed a teacher’s tasks, and performed simple tasks. Kids do the same thing today. The system remains unchanged because it serves its purpose to train kids to work for other people.
10th takeaway- The bad lessons hurt
When I think about the person I am today, I can say that school successfully turned me into a dependent order follower who can’t fully serve himself. I will depend on the money other people give me in exchange of work instead of working for myself and setting up my own business. For now, I lack the knowledge or resources to be truly self-sufficient. I still have to ask for permission to do certain things. I’m uncertain of my goals, talents, and skills. When I think about my deficits, school wouldn’t have it any other way.
In closing those are the things I learned while going through school. There are other things I learned, but maybe I will save those for another blog post. I challenge anyone who reads this to go against the doctrines of school and become truly independent. It’s a hard undertaking, but I know it’s possible.
If you agree with what I have said please consider buying my book Poetic Pondering: Poetry For Free-Thinking Young People on Amazon. The link is right here.
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Keep your independent spirit alive!