Random Works

My World, My Words (Aka I Hate School)

Task: The Independent [newspaper] is setting up a column for teenagers in its Saturday supplement entitled 'My World, My Words'. The column will feature the views of young people and their comments about school, work or politics. They have asked you to contribute a 300 word column article. Write your column.

If this really was "My World" then I would be able to say anything I wanted- so let's try that, shall we?

School is one of the worst things in this world. Education is essential for survival, that's true, but I'm not sure sending young people to prison everyday is really the best way to go about it.

Uniforms.

What do they wear in prison? Uniforms. What do we wear in school? Uniforms.

In History class we study the Second World War and learn that in concentration camps prisoners were forced to wear uniforms and be referred to by numbers because it dehumanised them. Now, I'm not comparing the education system to the horrifying and tragic Nazi regime, but the idea of dehumanisation is very evident in the modern school system. Dress the same, act the same, be known as a statistic and a grade on a page. That's some pretty grotesque stuff. Where's the personality? Where's the colour? Where are the sharp badges you put on your blazer in case that bully tries to hurt you again?

The thing that infuriates me the most about school is not the routine of it all- which is something they also have in prison, just saying- it's the hypocrisy of teachers. Not every teacher, granted, but some teachers are devilish little creatures. They'll tell you why you shouldn't judge other people and then proceed to treat you like dirt because you're not in love with their subject. You'll be led to believe you have freedom of speech, but god forbid you should suggest an improvement for the school. You'll be told to simply try your best but just remember that your sister was a sports star and we're very proud of her.

There are a lot of things worse than school. There's murder, rape, violence, starvation, inequality... but I wasn't asked to write about them. School was my subject, these are "My Words", and I'll leave you with two more in conclusion: school sucks.