No Fun at School
by This is an essay that my oldest son, who is now at college, wrote a couple of years ago when he was a high school senior. Time has passed but the truth remains: school is boring for a vast portion of the student population. Without much improvement, we cannot reverse the trend that this country’s education quality is falling further behind that of the world leaders.
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“I don’t want to go to school!” I hear my 6-year old sister yelling one morning. My dad drags the reluctant little girl out of bed and soon she’s on the bus heading to a place she doesn’t want to go.
And why should she? School is boring.
My kid brother and sister are bright, curious, and intelligent children. They read books and write silly stories. My sister loves art and my brother dreams of being a science teacher.
But they’d much rather stay home than go to school.
The purpose of a good education is to increase students’ chances for a better future. The skills they learn today prepare them for everyday tasks tomorrow. By studying in high school and college, they acquire knowledge for specialized careers. Having the population educated also increases the standards of living for society, as more people are more capable in managing their lives.
But the truth is, kids just aren’t interested.
The problem here is that students are losing interest in school at an early stage in their lives. They don’t understand why they need to learn things. Adults tell them that it’s for the future and a good life, but at that age, kids just want to play. With television and video games becoming more and more prevalent in a child’s life at an earlier age, it is especially difficult to keep a child on track.
Elementary school is a child’s first exposure to the public education system. It is critical for the student to get interested in learning because if the student gets lost here, it’s only going to get harder.
This is where the role of the teacher comes in. The teacher serves as an intermediary between the child and the information. We picture this person as someone who gives lessons, corrects mistakes, and presents subjects like math and English in a stimulating and fun way, essentially coaching students along in their mental development.
This is also where the problem is: not every teacher is like that.
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