Over the years, there has been much talk about the flaws in the education system, whether it is teachers not getting paid enough or students learning information that they will never use in their daily lives.

Yes, engineers or biochemists use math and science every day, but most students nowadays become travel vloggers or work in the fast food industry. Only some become a doctor or a mathematician.

You barely need a high school diploma to get a job. The graduation rate in South Carolina is 86%, according to a study in 2020. While there is nothing wrong with those jobs, the times are changing, and Gen- Z is redefining life as we know it. 

Teachers in Greenville, SC, get a minimum of $25 an hour. If you spent two to three years working at Publix or Costco, you would be getting paid roughly the same amount. Teachers are our at-school parents. They shape their values into our lives. I still remember valuable lessons my teachers in middle school told me.

I can’t speak for other schools, but our teachers care about our well-being here at GMC. Sometimes it is hard to see that, but they care more about how you are doing mentally and physically than you turning the “pepper profit project” in on time.

When we are little, our parents tell us what is right from wrong, but as teenagers, we spend more time at school than at home with our parents. So it is teachers that take that role in our lives. And we are paying them no more than your smiling Costco cashier.

Homework has been a constant since middle school. I have not had a life after school for years because I always have homework I need to do. As a junior, it seems I have a million things to do, but by the time I start, it is already time for dinner.

That is not to mention that if you are a part of a club or do any sport, you are not done till at least 5 pm. And if you want to stay healthy, you need to be in bed by 10 pm; however, you also need to shower, eat, and maybe say hello to your family. By the time you have done all of that, you have a good hour and a half to start one of your projects. And that is not to mention jobs.

Everyone’s schedule is different, but if you want to remain a little sane, you need at least an hour to do whatever you want. Take a step back so you don’t lose yourself in the stress of school and work.

I am not against homework because you need to practice what you learned during the day. However, there is a balance between 30 minutes of homework and the rest of your evening devoted to it.

Homework is slowly deteriorating our mental health, and I do not care how important the government, teachers, or parents say school is because nothing is more important than our sanity.

There are many good things about school; however, school is no longer preparing us for the future. It is not preparing us for the rest of our lives. We spend so much time in school, yet we use so little of what we learn in real life. 

If we are using every bit of knowledge we learn in school, I would have a different opinion; however, after I graduate, I will most likely never use y=mx+b or talk about Pericles. The contact we are learning needs to prepare us for the future.

These things are essential to learning (according to the government); however, we never use them after school. America is all about progress and evolution, always working to make things better than before, yet we still have to learn this impractical information. If we are required to come to school, why do we not learn something we will use in the real world?

My parents always tell me how much fun they had in Home ec (Home economics). They were learning how to cook and sew. Why did the government remove a class setting us up for life?

We should be taught the basics of our core classes. And mainly be taught work ethic, team building, morals, being on time, loyalty, respect for someone’s police beliefs, that people are raised differently, how to write a check, and how to negotiate with car dealers.

Many of these things can be learned in any of Couch Moore’s classes. However, not many people want to take a business class. Many of those things your parents should have taught you; however, many parents did not teach their kids that it is okay for someone else to have an opposing opinion.

Many news outlets and parents have shared their distress about the school system. The school has become less of a place for learning and more of a stress-inducing system. How did we get here? And why are we doing nothing about it?

Work Cited

The education system is failing

9 Billionaires Who Didn’t Graduate High School

111 Successful Dropouts