Do We Really Hate Education?

“Do you really hate education?” is a question that I frequently ask my friends and myself which always end up with some of these responses “Yes, I definitely hate school” or “Who really likes going to school!”. To be honest, – though I started learning animation when I was 10 years old then learned programming – since I was a kid until I graduated from school, I never liked it, yet I enjoyed learning by myself.

Throughout all these years I felt that I did not like school and kept worrying about it. I thought I hated it because I was forced to learn everything including the subjects that I am not interested in. I believed that once I go to University I will finally enjoy education because it will be focused on what I like. So, did I enjoy the education during my University years? Well, not really. While studying I figured out why the majority of students hate education or let’s say, they do not feel motivated to go to school and learn. Let me share with you my thoughts and observations regarding this matter.

Education IS NOT School

First, one of the common things that most of us misunderstand and mix, is that we connect the term education or knowledge with “school” directly, which leads us to say that we hate education and school. But in reality, the two are not necessarily connected. As a matter of fact, all of us love knowledge and education to some extent. You don’t believe me, right? So, let me ask you this question, “Do you know how to drive?”, “Do you know how to use your phone?” or “Do you know how to play games?” In most cases, you’ll have at least one yes. Well, all these skills are learnable, so they are considered as knowledge and non-academic education.

Accordingly, most of us learn from now and then, whether to adapt to new technology or obtaining a new set of skills. So since the majority enjoys learning outside of school, why don’t we enjoy learning in schools and universities?

Why do we hate school, though we like to learn?

As you may have noticed, you already know where I’m going with this. If we enjoy learning new things away from formal education, why don’t we enjoy it when we’re being taught in schools (In some cases it might be the same skill, but we feel motivated to learn and read about it more when we’re not doing it for school). Mainly, that is because we don’t enjoy the academic approach (Why Everyone Should Teach). I believe there are few key reasons and here are some of them:

Traditional Education System

We still use the traditional way of teaching – everyone should be taught everything and expected to get straight A’s-. Basically, it is simply described with Albert Einstein’s quote: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”. Unfortunately, as harsh as it sounds, this is the current education system in most schools. Plenty of subjects, and expecting all students to be good at every single one of them. (Do schools kill creativity? : Ted Talk)

Spoon-feeding

In some schools and universities, the teachers want to help the students to pass their subjects and get A+ or a good grade. The way that they use to help, is actually harmful to the students. They use “spoon-feeding”, which is giving the class the answers. Even when they ask for homework or assignment, instead of giving the desired output/result, they would give the step-by-step instructions. By giving the student all the instructions on how to create that assignment, you are discouraging him or her from thinking which affects their creativity. The more they get used to it, the more their brain will be lazy and expect to see the “How-To Manual” whenever any situation faces him.

Theory vs. Practical

One system for all doesn’t fit everyone, especially that there are different types of styles for learning (What’s Your Learning Style?). We simply can’t force theory education for all students. Some students are auditory, visual, and tactile learners. Overall, it is preferable to give real-world examples of the subjects that the school teaches. So at least the students will understand where this subject takes place in the big picture. Having multiple approaches will be good for students with different learning styles, and even better, different approach for each style.

Final Thoughts

As bad as we see our education system, it doesn’t mean that we stop going to schools. It still has its importance especially that there are no alternatives yet. What we can do, is start by modifying it with trying different methods of learning. Again, remember that education and school are not the same. Everyone is willing to learn, what makes us afraid of the word education is that we relate it to school.

The majority of kids are not motivated to go to school due to the traditional education system that is not tailored for each student but rather teaches all for all. They stop kids’ creativity by spoon-feeding which makes them less independent and more reliable on ready and easy solutions. Finally, focusing on theory more than practical without giving many real-world examples and usages. Don’t get me wrong, schools are important but we only need to fix our teaching methods so we have a brighter and more creative generation.