Why I Hate School But Love Education
“There is more than one way in this world to be an educated man.”
I am an educated women. I graduated from elementary school, graduated from high school and graduated from university. I am waiting to hear if I have been accepted into college and if I am I will graduate from that. I am an educated woman. This is something not all young girls and women have the opportunity to achieve but this does not actually mean I am more educated then they are. After 16 years of schooling I can tell you that without a doubt the most value things I’ve learned in life were not in school. I learned them by living. School does not mean education and education does not mean school but currently our society only recognizes those pieces of paper that you went into debt for.
I am guilty of thinking that I am “better” because I went to university and that is a belief that is supported by my country but it is not true. Here is my reality:
I have a 4 year bachelor degree which has not gotten me a job since I graduated from university in June 2011.
I have almost $28,000 in student debt which I have been unable to pay off since graduating in June 2011 despite having a 4 year bachelor degree.
I am hoping to go back to college for a diploma in ECE which in theory should get me a job. This will lead to more debt.
I work alongside other “educated” people but also with high school students. We make the same amount of money. My 4 year bachelor degree earns me the same amount as a kid who doesn’t have their high school diploma yet.
I have almost 4 years experience working with children and even more years of experience doing mental health work. No one cares.
The paper talks.
Posted on December 4, 2012, in Also Important! and tagged art, college, common sense, degree, diploma, education, school, spoken word, student debt, Suli Breaks, university, value. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
I hated school. School is about all the right things in all the wrong ways if you as me. The idea is probably good, but the way it’s carried out is definitely not.
I’m a drop out. I never received a dimploma in anything. Okay, I graduated from elementary school. But that’s it. That I have serious anxiety issues with getting evaluated and rated made school torture. I ended up being labelled having a “borderline IQ” as in: bordering on being retarded, but I’m not really. I was just afraid to do seatwork or sheetwork or any work so much I couldn’t think any clear thought anymore. I think had school truly been about education, I would not have done so poorly. But the way it was, it was only about the illusion of education. It was measuring performance and comparing people like they were apples or something under the guise of calling it education. But it’s not. I believe true education comes from wanting to know things, from wanting to learn and understand, and not from having to study random stuff for the sake of making a good score on anything, only to see who can memorize stuff better. What that, all the comparing, even has to do with education, I don’t know. It just makes some people be losers. The whole idea of school as it is, is designed to make winners and losers. I really hate that.
Human beings are born with a quest for knowledge, and school often squelches that. My son homeschooled and then decided to give high school a try. He lasted a few months before announcing, “I’m leaving school so I can continue my education.” He has since graduated college, has a job in his field, and most importantly, still loves to learn.
That’s great! There are so many ways we can achieve our goals! It’s unfortunate that the first world countries still try and push one way.