People get to my column in many ways, but quite often they just type something into Google. Here is what they typed into Google this week that got them to various columns I have written about school. (The country the writers came from is listed first.):
US: how many kids hate high school
Romania: hating high school
Morocco: advice to students who hate school
Serbia: hating high school
Guam: school subjects are useless
France: why do students not like school
South Africa: school taught me of how useless aim
US: why i hated high school
Romania: why school is pointless
US: reasons why high school is useless
Kuwait: why I hate high school educational
US: i hate high schoolers
US: highschool is useless
US: useless high school classes
US: i hate high school and i dont want to be there
Canada: why high school is useless
Canada: why high school is useless
UK: why do we have education
US: how to not hate high school
US: isnt school useless
Canada: why high school is useless
US: why school is pointless
US: useless school subjects
US: school is bad for children
US: useless information learned in highschool
UK: what to do when you hate high school
Spain: hate high school
US: i despise high school
US: what does high school teach you
Canada: i hate high school
Canada: books about kids hating high school
Australia: high school for kids who hate school
Brazil: a great deal of what students learn in school these days is a waste of time
US: high school dont teach you anything
India: academic knowledge taught in high school is worthless if they don't prepare us for own decision
US: useless school subjects
I just though I’d take note of this phenomenon. While people debate Common Core, or worry about evaluating teachers, or raising test scores, or getting their kids into a good school, try to remember this. Most kids are miserable in school. We need to stop teaching the silly stuff we teach in high school and stop creating high schools that make students miserable. Apparently we do this in most every country.
It is easy to change all this. (Amazingly the answer is not MOOCs.)
We can change it my letting kids learn what they want to learn in way that is fun. It is that simple. Technology can help with this. A reasonable curriculum could help with this. Thinking kids have a right enjoy their lives could help with this. Unfortunately, politicians who talk about reform aren’t helping nor are they trying to address the real issues. They never really worry about the kids at all.
The people who wrote these things into Google are right. School is useless. Time to do something about it.
