The future seems to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind. We often hear that the next generation is the future of our community, our state, our country. What I don’t understand is if my classmates and I are the future, why aren’t schools doing more for us? 

Most teachers chose to teach because they want to help the next generation. They enjoy teaching and want to see students succeed. There are some teachers, however, who shouldn’t be teachers. They don’t seem to have the ability to grasp the fact that students don’t all learn at the same pace or the same way. 

It’s not fair for students to be stuck into a class with a teacher who sits at his or her desk for 90 minutes and assigns worksheets. It’s fairly difficult to learn course material from worksheets. It’s akin to understanding how to put furniture together with instructions written in another language. I need a teacher to discuss concepts and explain them; I need a facilitator who guides my learning. 

Not all teachers do that, though. Some of them simply don’t seem to want to teach and are also the ones who will blame students for poor performance in class and low grades. It’s not always the students’ fault that they have difficulty grasping a concept. 

School should be an inclusive environment. Students should not feel judged at school. They shouldn’t feel ashamed about falling behind in classes and having to get help. Unfortunately the very idea of needing help in a class causes people to be judged. We need to teach our students that it’s ok to ask for help.

Schools also need to stop inequality by ending things like sexist dress codes. Female students can’t feel comfortable in an environment where their bodies are sexualized. This environment is telling them that the education of males is more important than the education of females. It results in a non-inclusive environment. 

It is imperative that students be prepared for the real world. Schools should require a class that teaches students things they will need in college and beyond. Things like cooking, sewing, handling finances and balancing checkbooks should be deemed more important to the curriculum. They are vital things that every person needs to know. Schools should teach students these things because not every student has someone to teach them.

John F Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Maybe it’s time schools stopped telling us what we need and started asking what they can do for us and our future. We MUST ensure the success of future generations because if they fail, we all do.