A Series of Rants

Here's a list of topics I intend on tackling in this post:

• School system and why it sucks
• Everyone's own kind of happiness

I'm going to talk about the second one first because it's what has been on my mind since I had a conversation with my mom before we prayed Asr.

Here's how the conversation went (paraphrased into my own words according to my horrible memory).

I told my mom that I like English class. "Why?" she asked. "Because everyone likes you?"

"Yes," I confirmed. She kept silent.

"What?" I asked. "You got a problem with that?"

"No. I just think it's weird that you are only happy when people like you."

"Well, yeah! People don't usually like me."

"I don't know. It's basically showing that you don't think you're worth anything."

"Yeah, I don't! I'm not."

"Why? You should be happy about the things you are good at. Not everyone is going to like you."

"Yeah, but I feel like if I tell everyone about the things I'm good at it feels like bragging, so I just don't do it."

"You don't have to tell people! Just do your own thing by yourself."

"Yeah, well, it just makes me happy that people actually like me. And they're non-Muslims too. Usually non-Muslims don't really like me or care about me. But this time, everyone does. I don't know, maybe it's because I've gotten used to the system of [insert name of comm. college] and I've gotten used to being around non-Muslims and I've learned to be more extroverted around them. I don't know, that could be it."

"So non-Muslims are better than Muslims?"

"Well..." Absently, I smashed a black beetle I saw on the carpet. "Yeah, I mean, sometimes non-Muslims are friendlier than Muslims."

"Yeah..."

"Yeah, they're petty." And that was the last thing I said before the boys came home and we started prayer.

What I want you all to take away from this conversation is happiness. What makes you happy? Do we usually think about what makes us happy? Or do we just let life pass us by and happiness come whenever circumstances allow us to?

From reading this short back-and-forth between my mom and myself, it's evident that knowing people like me is the source of my happiness at school, more specifically English class. Is that a bad thing? I mean, if I'm happy, everything else is fine. Right?

To tell you the truth, I don't have a prepared point here. I'm putting this out here; more of a question to you all. Is it bad that little things such as people liking me make me happy? Should other things make me happy? Should I as a person be making me happy? As long as I'm happy, that's cool, right? Tell me what you think.

Moving on to the next topic...

Frankly, I believe the school system sucks.

This is an expanding issue among society. I say expanding because it's getting worse and worse, and also because more people are beginning to realize that it does indeed suck. How come? Let me tell you.

1. Do we even learn anything anymore? Or are we just being fed information for upcoming assignments, tests, pop quizzes, and all the rest of that trash? Learning is fun, you say, and yes, it used to be, but now all we do is work for a grade. A grade which is nothing more than a single letter, number, or percentage that somehow evaluates our educational worth. And what do we get out of it at the end? We forget everything we were forced to learn and go do our jobs. Why are we struggling in school and work, suffering from stress and looking forward only to the weekends or moments of solitude? Do we love what we do? Are we taught to do what we love? Some of us do, some not. Most not. Why? Because in school, we are taught subjects we aren't interested in but are somehow required to learn about. We aren't really allowed to explore our passions and look further into what we love. Why should we learn about the history of America? Is that sort of information useful to us? Sure, that's what happened, but it's in the past. How exactly is it supposed to affect us right now? If you ask me, that kind of stuff sounds more like a source of entertainment rather than material for teaching. Okay, maybe it would give us a better understanding of how the world works, but that topic could be weaved into an entirely different lesson centered on learning how to live by oneself in this world. Children shouldn't be forced to learn what they do not care about. If they do not care about what they learn, then they won't take it seriously and that is what leads to what you call "bad grades." Why are kids supposed to absorb all different subjects taught to them by several different people? Wouldn't it make sense for one person to teach a bunch of kids the one subject they are all interested in? An English teacher should teach those who are only interested in pursuing writing of some sort. An art teacher should teach those who are pursuing art. A history teacher should teach those who are interested in becoming historians. Nobody should be forced into a class they do not care about and feel stupid as a result just because it isn't their strong area. However, there should also be classes on preparing for the real world. Why don't we have classes about insurance, bank deposits, how to manage a house by oneself, and all kinds of things that we will need to learn when we graduate? We also need a cooking class for those who lack cooking skills and also lack physical health just because they can't cook nutritious food for themselves! We need classes for things we will need to know later on! What are we even learning anymore and are we even getting anything out of it? Why are we forced to take these accursed tests which we fry our brains studying for, only to forget it all when it's over? We need to change the way the school system works!
2. Not only do schools need to focus on catering to each child's interest, but they also need to focus on making each child emotionally happy. Bullying, homework, even treatment of students within class, is the cause behind a child's emotional breakdowns. Bullying is one thing, and telling the bully to cut it out won't change anything. We need to have a system in school where people are not afraid to tell someone of their problems. Better yet, we need to have a system where we make sure everyone is happy and kind to each other. Why don't we start out every school year by giving a random student a gift, for example? And no one would ever tell anyone who gave who what. And this would lead to everyone in harmony because despite not knowing who gifted them, they will still appreciate their gift and feel loved. And our teachers need to be nicer to their students. You wanted to be a teach, didn't you? That means dealing with a crowd of people who you will need to explain your subject to. It also means helping them with what they need, praising them when they do a great job, and gently pointing out their mistakes. In addition, teachers need to shine the light on their students' strong points, and help them with their weak points. Why, why, why would teachers ever feel the need to be rude to a student? A nice teacher will lead to nice students. A mean teacher will lead to not only mean, but rebellious students. What kind of students do we want to impact the world? We need to focus on everyone's state of happiness and ensure that school is the place that makes them happy, if not any other place. No child should hate school or learning. No one.
3. School never remembers physical health. Sure, there is physical education, but will yelling at people to run for five laps sound like proper physical education? P.E. should be fun! Even those who dislike physical activity should enjoy it! When people have fun, they are also happy, and happiness is important in everyone's life! Also, schools should stop starting so early in the morning. 8 a.m. is much too early for anything to happen! Why don't we start after 10 a.m., when everyone's brain is by then functioning properly? Kids don't even have time to eat breakfast in the morning! And what if some people live far away from the school? They don't have time to get up two hours before to shower, eat breakfast, and head out! If anything, the ideal hours for school should be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the latest. Kids need time to relax at home, spend time with their families, and do whatever homework they were assigned. Most importantly, kids need their sleep! Nowadays, students are staying up late to do their homework and lacking sleep, which leads them to come to classes late or not at all, which leads to them falling behind in the course, and this cycle continues! That is not good! Sure, maybe they should manage their time better, but everyone's lives are different. What if they have housework on top of homework? What if there is a family issue preventing them from doing their homework? 
4. That brings me to my next point. Why do we even assign homework? What do kids get out of it? Perhaps they do learn a little more from the homework, but otherwise, does it help the student in any way? I personally think school should be a place we go to in order to learn about things, and then go home to think about. Why do we have to focus more on it at home? If we are genuinely interested in the subject, we will try our best to learn more on our own outside of class! This ties back to what I said about learning what we care about! Homework is unnecessary!

I may not fully understand the school system, but I do find several things wrong with it. And that's why I wrote this. I don't know too much about this topic, so I may have sounded rather ignorant in what I said, but I am confident in what I say. We need to change everything for the better. Right now. As soon as possible. We need to love learning. We should never look at education in a negative light and never make others think of it in a negative light. And we can do that by changing this crappy school system.

Until next time!