This post could either interest you and you could relate to it or it will bore the life out of you. I’m just voicing my opinion on a matter that I feel needs to be addressed and someone needs to take a stand on how school’s go about education. 

I’m a seventeen year old boy who was born in Stevenage, England. I moved to America when I was six years old. I attended a rather small private school on the Upper West Side of New York City and quite frankly it is the reason I hate school as much as I do today. I didn’t ever get graded on anything, nor did I ever have a quiz or test and it set me up for some large struggles once I got to High School. The first day of freshman year I sat down in Algebra and had to take a test to see where I was at with my arithmetic, and to be honest I didn’t have a clue as to what I was supposed to do. I didn’t want to be at school. I wanted to be out playing baseball, trying to be the best I could be at the game and to achieve my dream of becoming a New York Yankee. At the High School I attended I was a minority. Like a major minority. I was a white kid amongst what felt like a million black and hispanic kids. Did I have a problem with this? Not at all. Why is this necessary for me to bring up? Because I learned and I learned a lot. Just from associating with the people around me.  I actually couldn’t have been any happier with where I was at. But the people I did surround myself with influenced me to hate school a little more each day. But they made me love something, and that was to learn. 

As each day went by I saw the importance of what we were learning because as it was freshman year, it was basic stuff. But I thought to myself, “Other then taxes and money. Where am I really going to need to find the value of X?” I realized, I didn’t and won’t need too. Maybe the kid that sat next to me will need too but I knew I wouldn’t. I thought to myself  I had to take two regents exams freshman year and failed one of them and couldn’t even imagine being held back a year simply because I did not pass an exam. I didn’t feel it was right.

A year later I moved to New Jersey where things were done a little differently and the way lots of the teachers taught was very and still today towards the end of my year, the way they teach is very one track minded. Which from what I’ve observed has left certain kids with incredible potential, behind. Kid’s have failed mid-terms and the most simple test simply because they weren’t good test takers. Is it right for kids who have different learning abilities that are equally as intelligent as the student in the class with that A+ to be assessed the same way? Because if that kid with the A+ can get a 2300 on the SAT and make honor roll all through high school. The other kid who is equally intelligent is being held back in life because he was taught one way and never given the opportunity to prove his intelligence or prove that he is something more then what was shown on his report card.  

Obviously school is important as it educates you. Is there any point or specific message I’m trying to send through this post? No, not this post. I’m just trying to voice my opinion and share a little piece of my experience with school. For the world to know that I don’t know what’s ahead in my future because I wasn’t able to achieve that A on that math test or that 1800 on the SAT. Simply because of school and how it is run in today’s society. Do you really need college to move forward in life? Doesn’t college hold you back because you know it leaves you in debt for practically your whole life.

There’s an incredible importance in school and education. But no one should have to miss out on any opportunities to make it in life because they can’t pass an exam, or because they got a D over an A.