A 14 Year Old's Perspective Of The International School System - An Insider's Investigation!
As a Student at an International School in Malaysia I experience many problems within the school system. Schools are expensive and homogeneous which I don't believe is appropriate. I don't feel its best use of time for a lot of people like me. Doing 8 hours of school and only getting 1 hour of learning out of it. Doing 3 hours of something you like will teach you much more.
Time vs. Money
Eight hours for five days in a week - that's 50 hours a week, and let's say at least 3-10 hours of homework every week. I feel I am only learning approximately for 5 hours, and all those other hours are wasted time.
Now you know what I mean!
Another problem is the money. It costs my dad USD $18,305 every year for the tuition fees. And the real cost is probably double that, adding the uniform, transportation, food, and sundries. This probably equates to USD $36,000 a year. I don't feel it's worth the cost.
What Is Being Taught?
As a 14-year-old student who is currently going through the school system, I have several problems - and here they are:
My history teacher teaching my class about earthquakes and volcanoes instead of teaching us about real history. Having problems with homework is a common thing, but going up to a teacher and telling her: ”I don't understand” is unusual. When I ask for help my teachers come up with terrible excuses and send me to detention.
I honestly don't think detention makes any sense because it isn't helping me beside it's just bringing me down.
What I Would Change
The first thing would be changing the uniform code to no uniform. Parents already have to pay taxes, rent, school fees, food, and sundries. I estimate that the cost for a school uniform including (t-shirt, pants, shoes, and backpacks) will be four times as expensive as buying clothes on the open market.
Another solution of mine would be free food because my average school food costs USD $16.22 a day, and all I get is:
- Two chocolate rolls
- Two wraps
- Four drinks
How cool does it sound that Finland assigns only little homework. The Finnish system believes that homework isn't necessary and that home time should be about self and family time. I agree with the Finnish Philosophy that every hours worth of learning should include 15 minutes of break time.
A New Approach For The Future
I don't think the school system is working. It's expensive and takes a lot of time. It's not appropriate wasting a young person's time like that. I guess what I have been taught isn't very good and it could be improved in a lot of areas. I have suggested changes, and I agree with Finland's philosophy and why aren't schools adopting.
Let's hope we see a better school system in the near future before I have to leave it!
how dare you!
the prussian school system was implemented worldwide over the last two centuries so that we churn out identikit unthinking free range slaves who believe what they're told by the rulers and never venture outside of the reservation because they don't even realise they're in one.
thus, school uniforms, long, boring and pointless lessons, and the reduction of all individual and original, creative thought and play will be the order of the day, along with making tests easier and easier so that last generation's thickos are this year's genii, and nobody realises they know nothing.
as soon as you can, go learn a trade, or several. school is just part of the mind-programming system, they don't have God, truth or your childrens' best interests at heart. you can teach basic maths, english, history (real history) etc. at home in no time at all.
there is no area of society that does not need radical re-thinking. peace.
Awesome! What an excellent article. I especially like your video links and pictures to illustrate it. It seems like you are doing your own learning for yourself, for which you don't need school. And you're doing it so well. I especially like that pic of the 19th century classroom, reminding us that just like everything else, school has also evolved, or at least it was supposed to. Unfortunately, in many places it's not understood that things are not necessarily better if you only follow the way it has always been.
So so true it is just to teach us to conform and be good slaves. We need to shop this system children should be taught what they are interested in we would see such development in society. We live in a world of parrot learning repeat and regurgitate the shit we are told it true. Time for a change 💯🐒
Thanks for agreeing
Not a problem I am passionate about this and often try to promote an alternative. Unfortunately many are to brainwashed to see the problem, although recently people are becoming disheartened with the current education system 💯🐒
That is a great @liltrip I hope we see more! UPvoted and resteemed with pleasure! =)
Yikes, $18,000 for tuition fees alone? I live in Finland where public education itself is free (well, payed from tax money, nothing is free after all) so it's quite incomprehensible for me to hear about these massive amounts it takes just to learn things - education should be human right, despite one's financial capabilities!
Also, we have free or very cheap lunch here.
Eight hours is definitely too much for studying in a day, especially for your age. Even when I was in high school, my longest day wouldn't usually be longer than 6 hours consisting of four 75 minute classes. Even adults can't usually do more than few hours of deep work, so it's ridiculous to demand that from children. Absorbing information takes a lot of attention and that attention can be held only so long until performance starts to drop radically. It would be best to learn intensily for a short period and then rest (sleep) well - that is when the new knowledge gets internalized.
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Very very true
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