So Say We All
dgo@theguidon.com

I am home bumming around after the last day of school, I fired up my laptop and then checked Facebook.

I saw a number of my contacts posting post-school jubilation messages, but, there are a few who say something else. While there were status messages that expressed relief and excitement over the impending vacation, some sound like they had been liberated from a reclusion perpetua sentence. It may seem that some got sick and tired of the autocratic hell that is school.

I buzzed up a few friends and asked them how their last day went. Two common answers emerged from the lot–they were glad that school is over because of all the hard work they put into it, the other was of despair because they had to finish work they didn’t want to do.

Students do not necessarily dislike papers, presentations or tests (though papers will definitely top my list because of my inability to get past 300 words without losing concentration). I think it’s the manner of which they are given that agitates students.

I once had a teacher who gave very good lectures and was very clear with his lessons, but, gave an overnight hell of a final exam. We hated the test; some even hated the teacher, and ultimately the course. Had he explained the purpose of an overnight hell test, we might detest it at first, but would have understood later.

That probably is the problem: we feel like we’re being forced to accomplish schoolwork because its purpose isn’t made clear to us. It seems that there are other, better things to do than an unexplained school requirement.

I think that this is a recurring theme throughout our schooling years. Back in preschool we never liked the thought of going to school because we wanted to play, and that having fun was most important to us. Back then, school wasn’t much fun and we didn’t understand why it was necessary.

Now in college we have enough maturity to recognize that school is indeed a necessary part of our future. We instead question the purpose of specific requirements and whether they are necessary to what we want to do or what we want to become.

However, I still believe students need a decent explanation regarding their requirements. Considering that students devote a considerable amount of time to their academics, the syllabus given might not be enough of an explanation.

My Philosophy teacher made a good case regarding why his requirements were necessary. He didn’t tell us that we were being taught to be men and women for others, or that we will be better people because of what he is going to teach. He instead told us how it will help us in our future endeavore–having a good liberal arts background and being equipped with theories that deal with others can make us good managers or leaders in the future.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that explaining  a requirement will make it, the subject, or even school likable to a student, but it’s a start. In the next few months, when I find myself distressed about a requirement, I’ll make sure to pause and think about how it might help my future.