The Meaning of School

As you lean back in your chair that is allegedly designed for ergonomic support, but in truth is no more than a poorly constructed, rigid piece of plastic you may ask yourself, “What am I doing here?”

As you look around the fluorescently lit room and see the faces of your peers undoubtedly thinking the same thing, the question lingers.

For the many of us who have lived in an over-privileged and sheltered society, school may seem as pointless as counting the grains of sand on a beach. Practically speaking, much of what we learn in school is useless. Will you need to know how to graph a quadratic function or understand the socio-economic impacts of the French Revolution?

For most of us the answer is no.

Then why are we tangled in this web of trivial assignment and papers, test and projects. The most basic function of our secondary education system is to spur an interest. Students are presented with an immense variety of different subject matter to allow them to discover for themselves what they are interested in and what they can be successful in.

From there, guidance councilors, teachers and support staff help students find a career path that is best suited for one’s strengths and interests.

As a student it is imperative to discover for yourself what you may consider yourself doing in the future. At the end of the day, the job that will provide you with most fulfillment is not the one where the most money is made but the one in which you enjoy. Unfortunately we live in a Darwinist society where only the most prepared and adept individuals will be successful. School is meant to expose us to these realities as early on as possible in life and give us the means and tools to follow our dreams. Children across the world would kill for the opportunity to have any schooling as a means of improving their livelihood .So as you sift through your daily routine and ponder why you must listen to your teacher ramble on about that battle that means nothing to you remember that the people beside you might, one day, be your competition for a job that you love. Will you let them be more prepared for it than you? Or will you allow your frustrations prevent from the path to success?

I’ll leave the answer up to you.