Often, success and failure in school are determined by a number or a letter on a paper filled with ticks and crosses. This piece of paper would then determine your reward or punishment, and supposedly even your future.
This is the case for too many students around the world. The word “school” has become synonymous with standardized tests, instead of a place of learning as it was intended to be. This creates enormous pressure on students to get good grades on tests to be seen as “smart”. Isn’t it sad that people kill themselves over a statistic that is fully incapable of defining them as a person? The numbers don’t lie.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2016 alone, there were 62,118 suicides globally from people aged 10-19 years old, and WHO says that for each adult that dies by suicide, there may have been more than 20 others attempting suicide. Childhood is supposed to be one of the happiest periods of your life, growing up and learning new things, but yet it is scarred by schooling. A child’s limitless potential is barred by a piece of paper telling him or her that they are not good enough. This not only demotivates them, but it also encourages unhealthy competition amongst themselves just to get a 100 or an A.
Those of you who have been through this are familiar with this process. Take the notes, memorize it, regurgitate it during the exam, and hope for the best. A few weeks later, you forget everything that you have “learned”.
Albert Einstein once said, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” The current education system puts all students through the same tests, but this is simply unacceptable. Everybody is unique in their own way and everyone has different talents, dreams, and needs. However, students are placed in classes where they are all taught the same thing the same way without any customization whatsoever. Because of this, some students may never find their gifts and continue to think that they are stupid, being subject to mental health issues such as depression. In fact, the World Health Organisation estimates that 10-20% of adolescents globally experience mental health conditions, yet these remain underdiagnosed and undertreated.
How many of you can say that you were truly happy at school? How many of you can say that school was filled with memorable moments that make you smile when you think of them? How many of you can say that school made you feel passionate about learning?
Students are taught to listen to authority instead of questioning it, and that what teachers say is always correct. Most of us are driven by the possibility that grades may affect whether you get employed or not. At the end of the day, all you get are robots who once had the creativity and capability to innovate, but now are only capable of so-called success: getting high scores on pieces of paper.
The very essence of imagination and creativity lies in a child’s mind, and yet the system that was built to harness that potential instead utterly shatters and destroys it. Teachers have one of the most important jobs in the world for they have the ability to reach and inspire hundreds and thousands of students, teaching them to aspire to fulfill their dreams, yet they are restricted by a system that is obsessed with grades.
Grades don’t determine success, for the ability to memorize and regurgitate information is far too primitive. If there was one word that could determine success, it would be “character”.
It is clear that the system needs to be changed, so let us be the ones who do it. Don’t give up just yet, for there is still hope. Let this be a lesson to every one of us to appreciate our individuality and different abilities. Let us make a system where students are not forced to compete, but instead, learn to collaborate and innovate. Let us make a system where education and schooling mean the same things. Let us make a system where a school is a playground and people enjoy the time they spend there instead of a jail where suicidal thoughts and depression manifest. If we achieve this, we would have truly been successful.
Image credit: klimkin
Interesting to compare the typical western response tot he traumas of education with other cultures. Our libraries are full of migrant children who are determined to set themselves up economically and use the system for their betterment.
Aussie children on the other hand are too busy having a trauma over some marks that actually reflect their refusal to work. But then four letter words are traumatic. In turn our systems are too busy pathologizing anyone who wants to express their feelings …. instead of facing the horrors of ‘work.’
It will be interesting to see in 20 yrs time if people with influence will still be as interested in funding ‘support’ for those who obsessed with their traumas. When our society is run by those who came from nothing but are determined to make the best of opportunities in front of them.