Students don't take school seriously...

[zerorelations]

Many students don't take school seriously anymore.

Most students see education as a chore and a hassle, even though they should be considering it a privilege.

What is happening to our country! What kind of mindset do we have?

 

[9sublime]

Probably what the older generation said about the middle aged people of today.

 

[vyo476]

Regardless of what past generations have had to say, I'm with hereyago. There are a number of reasons for this trend, though, and having seen it day in and day out for four years of public high school I had a long, long time to wonder why my classmates were such dingbats.

Reason 1: A lot of people ask themselves, "How is this going to help me in my life?" and when they can't answer that they rebel against the school. That question isn't about the diploma - that has undeniable use - but about the classes themselves. It's hard to focus on the goal when you're in a whole bunch of classes you dislike and can't understand the purpose of.

Reason 2: Kids don't like to be forced to do anything. They're forced to go to school, on average for seven hours a day (that's what it was in my high school anyway). Seven hours is a long, long time and it feels a lot longer when you're being forced to do something.

Reason 3: Some kids just don't get it. I mean that literally, they just don't understand the subject matter and for one reason or another aren't receiving the care they require. In that situation school becomes torturous; every day going to to the same place and failing in the same way in front of the same people. Sound like your idea of a good time? How about useful?

Reason 4: And there's the stratification. Cliques, clubs, and gangs rule our high schools, even in places where there is no violence. There's a very set and ordered social hierarchy at most public high schools and it is stifling to put up with. It was one of the chief reasons my own high school experience was poor. At some point, if you're halfway intelligent, the idea of spending another minute around a group of people who idolize the girl amongst them who looks the most like Britney Spears is rather akin to rolling in a pit sprinkled with broken glass and salt.

So there you have it. That's what's going on in high schools today and those are the primary reasons kids don't want to go. As for assuaging these situations, well, there are a number of alternatives - none of which has ever worked very well.

 

[RadicalActor]

Vyo,

do you have any suggestions that could help kids value education more?

I think we need to go back to our traditional ways of beating kids' asses if they don't do their work. We're being way too lenient to the kids these days. They're taking the rights they have right now for granted. They don't know how much our ancestors had to fight for such rights...

 

[vyo476]

I think "beating their asses" would just exacerbate the problem. For one thing, I think all limitations on cultural expression should be tossed from high schools, staring with guidelines for proper language. I think we all know by the time we're 14 that people swear, and that people swear a lot. Implementing policies that encourage individual expression is a good idea and diversifying the types of courses taught, too - branching out from the model of the three "R's" to include more programs for trade and the arts - give kids more choices in high school and they'll feel a little more free. Require all teachers to have attained a Master's Degree in education which includes at least one course in child psychology. Abolish homework - many kids who are planning on entering the workforce out of high school look at their parents, whose 9-5 jobs don't give them extra work to complete outside of 9-5, and cry fowl at the amount of work they are expected to do when not at school.

Most important - don't try too hard to end the stratification I was talking about. For many teenagers their social standing is an open sore and trying to "help" them too much would be akin to pouring salt on it. Encouraging the socially disenfranchised to participate in activities that cater to their particular interests and abilities not only makes them more productive but introduces them to a caste of high school students who are like them, effectively giving them a higher level in the stratification of the school.

 

[TheWaffle]

Honestly I think the issue comes from poor school administration. They often tend to focus on disciplining minor infringements and they often favor harsh discipline over trust.

The problem with high schools is that it comes at a rebellious stage in the human life. And putting kids in a regimented system with buzzers to tell them when to go to the next class is just plain dehumanizing. Administrators get caught up with punishing the "bad seeds" to the point where they can do no right. The fact that you can't even walk in the hallway without getting hassled is reason enough to hate the school.

It's not hard to understand why kids hate school when you start adding up all of these factors. Also the little things (atleast at my school): dysfunctional air conditioning and heating, hall passes, chalk dust in the air, classrooms devoid of windows, boring subjects. And somewhere along the way teachers thought up that detention was a good way of preventing bad behavior.

I went to a private school in middle school that had a very relaxed college campus atmosphere. Classes were 45 minutes and teachers were understanding of students being late and there was no god-forsaken buzzer. When I went to a public high school many things shocked me. The complete lack of respect for the students and a complete lack of trust between staff and students. It didn't help that you were quite literally not allowed to leave the single building for all 7 hours of the day. Then there's the crappy food.

Immediately after my graduation year the school had the ceiling tiles ripped out to remove the asbestos from the ceilings, then the school said they couldn't afford to put the tiles back in. Now every classroom looks like Costco with ducts and wires hanging down. Not to mention that every pencil tapping on every desk reverberates everywhere.

It's unfortunate but so many of our schools are just awful places to be. Bad facilities combined with overburdening administrations create disinterested students.

 

[9sublime]

At my school they gave bikes to the bad kids when they were good and nothing to the good kids when they were good all the time so. And seriously, thats pretty much how straighfoward it was. In the end, a lot of the good kids gave up inside and outside of lessons and started messing around.

 

[TheWaffle]

At my school they gave bikes to the bad kids when they were good and nothing to the good kids when they were good all the time so. And seriously, thats pretty much how straighfoward it was. In the end, a lot of the good kids gave up inside and outside of lessons and started messing around.

What the hell kind of school did you go to?

 

[r0beph]

I agree with vyo and waffle in this.
my points;


I am 100% for uniforms. I just think it's less of a hassle. No worrying about do you look good today, do you have enough money for the latest prada panties or whatever

Homework is not a problem directly, but teachers who pile it on like crazy are, there should be a limitation to the homework amount a teacher can force upon someone.

The overzealous policing of schools damages children greatly in my opinion. Eg. http://www.thestar.com/News/article/208693 what a waste of resources that principle is, hire someone who cares for education not policing.

One local highschool here has several ultra-restrictive rules/actions. At graduation if a student throws their hat, they don't get their diploma (they hand out blank sheets), they receive their diploma after something like 80 hours of community service. Normally students had a break between their blocks that was 15 minutes. this was removed and they're forced to remain in class beyond the break bell and go at the 3 minute warning. Sorry if you needed a bathroom break. They removed this because one night someone TP'd the school, break is gone until someone admits it. Several students admitted to it in an attempt to get breaks back, but weren't believed so it remains in effect. I'm sure there are tons of other strange police measures instituted by free reigning principles who have no checks.

 

[zerorelations]

I think we need to show the children that education is a privilege...

More discipline doesn't mean children will take education seriously

 

[Dude111]

I think 1 thing wrong with school today is TRYING TO KEEP RELIGION OUT OF THE CLASSROOM!

Why should they not wanna teach about God or whatever in school?? (When its a part of thier lives)

I think school would be a BETTER place if there was MORE LOVE AND COMPAASION shown... (Trying to keep religion out is like KEEPING LOVE OUT and w/o love,its NO GOOD (Not a nice place))

 

[n0spam4me]

Ya,
just think.....

If you do religion the way that the State likes,
You get a big fat juicy Tax Exemption.
and if you do NOT do religion the way that the State likes,
you get NOTHING!

can U dig it?

 

[VicSmith]

Like you said, kids these days just don't take school seriously. When I was in school, I used to wonder what the purpose of some pointless classes were, and I couldn't think of an answer. I believe that the teachers are the fault of our education problems. The teachers aren't stimulating the students enough, and thus, kids these days just don't possess the desire to learn. Also, teachers have to find a way to link the "pointless" classes to each child's real life. If the teachers can't, drop the course—there's no point in learning something that you won't use in real life, it would be just a waste of time.

Don't take this personally, all you parents out there, but it's also partly the parents' fault. They're the ones who are supposed to be supporting the child nurturing their desire to learn. Luckily, I took my education seriously, had decent teachers and supporting parents. But the same can't be said for every child. We need to do something about the way today's teachers teach our children, and NOW.

 

[Dude111]

Unfortunately religion is one of the biggest causes of pain mankind has ever experienced.

Yes i know,many say it causes MORE HARM THAN GOOD... (Might be why they keep it out)

 

[VicSmith]

Religion aren't schools' business, and the schools should keep their noses out of it. If the children want to go to church, let their parents take them.