Should I scrap going to school?

[hamworld05]

Hamze here. I've decided to stop trying to better my situation and instead better myself. I figure it's like this: The better I am, the better my situation becomes. I've run into a question that stumps me a little: What to make of "school"?

I hate sitting on my butt for hours and being told to do stuff. It's so boring. I'm trying to better myself and this man with glasses tell me to pay attention.

How should I use school?

I hope the answer isn't "School will serve whatever purpose you want it to serve."

[Plays With Life]

Originally Posted by hamworld05

How should I use school?

Who knows. I didn't go to school.

[Noelle]

yes, it is boring, but you will be happy you did it when you finish.

[Plays With Life]

Originally Posted by Noelle

yes, it is boring, but you will be happy you did it when you finish.

Maybe you'll happy you didn't do it, too, if you don't go.

[Noelle]

Originally Posted by Plays With Life

Maybe you'll happy you didn't do it, too, if you don't go.

lol maybe, but in my experience it is less boring than work. unless you really need money right away, I would stick with school

[Plays With Life]

Originally Posted by Noelle

lol maybe, but in my experience it is less boring than work. unless you really need money right away, I would stick with school

Well, you could find exciting work.

Hamze, I vote you scrap both school and work, and travel instead.

[Noelle]

Originally Posted by Plays With Life

Hamze, I vote you scrap both school and work, and travel instead.

Oh if you have that option, do that definitely! traveling beats both school and work by miles

[IEvo]

What the answer depends on is what you want to do with your life.

Want to get a 9 - 5 job with benefits, 'security' and a boss for the rest of your life? Go to school.

Want to run a business and earn a passive income? It gets a little more complicated. Unless you've got a business oriented mind or you're just extremely intelligent, I would suggest going to school for either finance or business. It's long and drawn out and it's ultimately much faster to do the research on your own, but a lot of people can't/don't know how/won't do that.

Decide what you want to do and you'll be in a much better position to decide on what you should do with school.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Plays With Life

Who knows. I didn't go to school.

Not even primary school? Like NO school at all...or you left half way through school? Or were you home-schooled?

[metamorph]

Originally Posted by hamworld05

I hope the answer isn't "School will serve whatever purpose you want it to serve."

LMAO

We should one day start a parody thread of typical steve pavlina forum advice. Does not hurt laughing about ourselves...

School: maybe you want to decide upon your career goals and see if school would be of benefit or required to get there. I know a lot of people who took over dad's business or farm, and most agree that some high-school was beneficial. Not all of it of course.

[Plays With Life]

Originally Posted by elucidate

Not even primary school? Like NO school at all...or you left half way through school? Or were you home-schooled?

All of the above. I entered and left school several times. My parents gave me the option every year. A couple times I left halfway through the school year.

Originally Posted by metamorph

LMAO

We should one day start a parody thread of typical steve pavlina forum advice. Does not hurt laughing about ourselves...

Lmao.
"You feel bad? You created it."
"You want to feel good? Think about what you want."
"You said 'should'?? Didn't we ban that word?"

[elucidate]

You're parents sound cool man

Originally Posted by Plays With Life

All of the above. I entered and left school several times. My parents gave me the option every year. A couple times I left halfway through the school year.



Lmao.
"You feel bad? You created it."
"You want to feel good? Think about what you want."
"You said 'should'?? Didn't we ban that word?"

[Plays With Life]

Originally Posted by elucidate

You're parents sound cool man

I think they were kind of torn. My mother didn't see the use of school, and my father thought it was important. So they just sort of left it up to me.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Plays With Life

I think they were kind of torn. My mother didn't see the use of school, and my father thought it was important. So they just sort of left it up to me.

That's incredibly cool in my books.

It's interesting that you chose not to go. I think most kids would, but I also wonder if, given the choice, would they WANT to learn more and therefore choose to go. I think being forced to go can be the determining factor for why alot of kids do badly at school!

That's just a theory though. Interesting...

[Plays With Life]

Originally Posted by elucidate

It's interesting that you chose not to go. I think most kids would, but I also wonder if, given the choice, would they WANT to learn more and therefore choose to go. I think being forced to go can be the determining factor for why alot of kids do badly at school!

Well - I might say that I chose not to go *because* I enjoyed learning. I never learned much in junior high or high school, when I did go. It wasn't happening there, so I didn't go there.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Plays With Life

Well - I might say that I chose not to go *because* I enjoyed learning. I never learned much in junior high or high school, when I did go. It wasn't happening there, so I didn't go there.

Yes, well that's a good point as well.

Kids naturally love to learn and if they are just being bored to death with textbook facts crammed down their throats, and no participation involved in learning, well, they are probably better off staying home and reading a book anyway.

Come to think of it, that could be the new motto for education everywhere..."If it's not fun, don't go"(;

[lifetimelearner]

I hate the school system in the USA so I offered the choice of home school to my kids and they wanted to do it

it's very laid back and basically self-taught on the computer
and they learn about the real world stuff too

what type of school are you in ?

[Leesah]

Are you talking school school? Or uni/college? .... Isn't it the law to go to school?

I think it depends what your ALTERNATIVE is. You say you want to improve yourself, and that perhaps school is holding you back, so what will you do instead of school that will be of more benefit than school?
What will you miss out on if you don't go to school? Do you still have a way to socialise regularly if you don't go to school? Is there any 'stuff' that might be important to learn?

A lot of school is pointless, I agree on that. If I'd dropped out of school early, I probably wouldn't have done so well in..anything. What would I have done instead? I left school at 16 (which is when you leave in the UK, unless you wanna stay 2 more years but I didn't)... and went right into working - it was a drag. Surrounded by boring 30 year olds (from my 16 year old perspective), having responsibilities, everything so serious... ugh. I collapsed under the stress, it was the worst time of my life. If I'd stayed on at school at least I would have been hanging out with friends every day. And really, the school day is pretty short, there's plenty of time after school to learn other stuff that interests you.


If you have an actual alternative to school that will serve you better and be a better way to spend your time (besides socialising, school is like 90% irrelevant in my opinion) then I say go for it. But if there's no alternative think about what you might be giving up.

[metamorph]

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

...so I offered the choice of home school to my kids and they wanted to do it

it's very laid back and basically self-taught on the computer
and they learn about the real world stuff too

Wow, how old are your kids to make such an important decision for themselves? If my parents would have asked me when I was 6 y/o, I probably would have said I'd rather play all day

How does this computer-based learing work? Do they have an online teacher, or just software and ebooks? How did they learn to read and write with the computer?

Originally Posted by Plays With Life

"You said 'should'?? Didn't we ban that word?"

Classic!

[Plays With Life]

Originally Posted by Leesah

Are you talking school school? Or uni/college? .... Isn't it the law to go to school?

I don't know the situation in England!

In California, a parent can register to school their children at home. I think most (all?) U.S. states allow a similar situation. In my experience, that's normally the end of it. Nobody comes to check on the child's education, or anything of that sort. Occasionally someone does come to check (social services, I think). If they judge the child hasn't been / won't be receiving proper education, they can demand legally that the child be sent to public school. I know someone who went through a divorce, and had that review. His homeschooled child was required to attend public school.

Originally Posted by Leesah

And really, the school day is pretty short, there's plenty of time after school to learn other stuff that interests you.

It seems like the public schools I went to tried to keep students busy at all times, as far as possible. They would give loads of homework. I don't recall having much free time, if I did all the homework. The schools had the idea that it was their responsibility to keep children occupied at all times. So teachers would give busy work.

[secrets0stolen]

Originally Posted by Plays With Life

I don't know the situation in England!

In California, a parent can register to school their children at home. I think most (all?) U.S. states allow a similar situation. In my experience, that's normally the end of it. Nobody comes to check on the child's education, or anything of that sort. Occasionally someone does come to check (social services, I think). If they judge the child hasn't been / won't be receiving proper education, they can demand legally that the child be sent to public school. I know someone who went through a divorce, and had that review. His homeschooled child was required to attend public school.

It works pretty much like that in all states, but in some, like South Carolina, there's more regulation. Because otherwise, a bunch of parents would take their kids out of school and make them work on their farm all day
It really amazes me how different the culture can be in different parts of the same country!

sorry for the slight derailment

[stewartM]

There's no real rules about home schooling in the UK, there's no set curriculum or testing requirement...

[metamorph]

Originally Posted by stewartM

There's no real rules about home schooling in the UK, there's no set curriculum or testing requirement...

???? To the best of my knowledge we have a compulsory school age of 5-16 y. You can google it if you want.

Now, I am not sure about some remote places (Outer Hebrides). I am sure they can study at home via computer.

[AlmostGodess]

Originally Posted by hamworld05

How should I use school?

Hello, Hamze!

To my understanding, school is just one option you have in life. You can go to school or not. You can be in school and try to make it a successful experience, or you can leave it and do something else. My questions in deciding on this issue would be:

1) Do I have the environment that will support my choices? If not, can I unconditionally offer myself the needed support in the short as well as in the long-run?

2) Do I have all the information for making the best choice? Here you should take into account your age, your desires, your goals etc?

Keep in mind that we live in a reversible world. You can try one thing, move to something totally different and then come back to the initial point. Nothing is wrong with this. And most importantly, we are here to share our experience, not to decide for you. Never let anyone take the privilege of choosing from you.

[Mounds]

I'd say stick with school. Here's why...

In North America, we put a lot of value on that piece of paper. Doesn't matter if thats right or not, thats just the way it is. The bosses of the world want to see credentials. You can find a job without but it's unlikely you'll find something that your really going to enjoy.
Another reason is that if you do decide to go back and get it, things are going to be a little more complicated. I'm assuming your talking about grade school here but imagine that your working a full-time job to support yourself and doing courses on the side that cost you $500 a pop. It can be done but it doesn't leave much spare time. I ended up having to do that for a couple of courses.
If your looking to work on yourself, school is a monstrous opportunity! Learn how to learn effectively, sponge up as much information as you can about topics that you enjoy or think will one day be useful. I would love to be where you are right now.
One thing I see from time to time and I think is false is that school leads to 9-5 jobs. People aren't marionettes that get fooled into doing things they don't want to do. If your afraid of that fate, then step up your game and become very efficient. 90% of people are not capable of running a business. School is a very positive environment for learning those skills. Instead of pleasing customers, your pleasing teachers. Your going to learn how to deliver what people want. It's all in how you look at it.

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by metamorph

Wow, how old are your kids to make such an important decision for themselves? If my parents would have asked me when I was 6 y/o, I probably would have said I'd rather play all day

How does this computer-based learing work? Do they have an online teacher, or just software and ebooks? How did they learn to read and write with the computer?



Classic!

you can get a computer program just about anywhere -online,educational stores or electronic stores

and I didn't give them the choice of playing or school
I gave then the choice of homeschool or regular school

[st33med]

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

you can get a computer program just about anywhere -online,educational stores or electronic stores

and I didn't give them the choice of playing or school
I gave then the choice of homeschool or regular school

You are talking about those educational computer 'games'? I loved those as a kid.

I had one that was two grade levels ahead of me in English. I learned very quickly from it.

[Radicalmommy]

I have three children ages 6, 7 and 8. Last year while living in Arkansas, my youngest started kindergarten and during the first week came home and told me he was scared to go there anymore because of his teacher. Come to find out she was yelling at the children and even went so far as to bring a huge wooden paddle into the room and explained to the children how it would be used on them if they didn't behave. When I confronted the principle her exact words to me were " yes I gave her me paddle to use. If she doesn't get control of her classroom, we won't get our test scores. I've already used it on one child from that class."
Needless to say, my children changed schools but in Arkansas one school is just like the other and we finally moved back to our old school district in Texas where they don't use corporal punishment. My kids love this school so I let them go there. Here in Texas you just send a note to the school saying you are going to homeschool and that's the end of it. No one checks on you.
In my opinion, some schools are downright dangerous. I'm not a fan of schools.

Sandra

[Plays With Life]

Originally Posted by Radicalmommy

I have three children ages 6, 7 and 8. Last year while living in Arkansas, my youngest started kindergarten and during the first week came home and told me he was scared to go there anymore because of his teacher. Come to find out she was yelling at the children and even went so far as to bring a huge wooden paddle into the room and explained to the children how it would be used on them if they didn't behave. When I confronted the principle her exact words to me were " yes I gave her me paddle to use. If she doesn't get control of her classroom, we won't get our test scores. I've already used it on one child from that class."

I read this and I thought I was in the 17th century, for a minute.

Originally Posted by Radicalmommy

Here in Texas you just send a note to the school saying you are going to homeschool and that's the end of it. No one checks on you.

Yeah, that's been my experience, too.

Originally Posted by Radicalmommy

In my opinion, some schools are downright dangerous. I'm not a fan of schools.

You are awesome.

[codenamesmiley]

Where'd the OP go? Perhaps it was a "rhetorical post"