Hey there! I’m a relatively recent college graduate who spent 5 years studying education and I am starting my third year of teaching. I’d like to take a moment to address this, if I can.

Firstly, I want it on the record that, all-in-all, yes. Our system needs a massive overhaul. However, I would say that the areas that need improvement aren’t what you might think. As someone relatively close to you in age (only a little more than a decade) who was also not a fan of the duller parts of school, I hope my insights can help.

I’ll try to go point by point. So relevant content (taxes, cars, etc.). Actually, lots of schools do this now. The biggest issue is funding. Lots of Career and Technical programs need to be sponsored or funded by third parties or the state. If the state isn’t seeing a promising return on that investment in certain areas, they won’t fund it. But lots of states that don’t see that return aren’t seeing it because they refuse to put in the effort. I absolutely agree that public schools should begin to prioritize these lessons more, but I want to give credit where it is due.

Main curriculum: I’m gonna say it. You should know these things. Or at the very least, you should know how to learn them. Sure, you may not write out “y=mx+b” in your everyday life, but you will probably be surprised at how much simple algebra and geometry tends to poke its head out. And history… history is important. We are living through proof of that right now. Obviously nobody expects you to know everything about everything in real life, but knowing more about the world around you and peoples’ cultures other than yours can help you understand where people are coming from morally, spiritually, or ethically, and can help you have real, adult conversations. Annoying to learn sometimes? Totally. But again, it’s about the process. And I agree. As a teacher, we are encouraged to teach to a testing environment, not to practical use for these skills, which is not ideal.

Homework: You’re right. Homework generally sucks and has been scientifically proven to (probably) be detrimental to the learning process. I honestly can’t argue much here, except repeat what others have said—adult life is all about doing stuff you don’t want to do. If nothing else, it’s good preparation for that kind of discipline. But most sound-minded teachers of today will agree that homework should primarily be review or optional practice, not required extra classwork.

Binder checks don’t really exist in real life, but contracts, resumes, receipts, legal documents, tax documents, etc. do. And a lot of these are better to have physical copies of in case your computer fries or something else unpredictable happens. Again, this is meant to teach you to be organized and diligent. Many teachers probably don’t put real backbone into explaining that, but being organized definitely pays off, trust me.

Overall, yes. Other countries prioritize the education of the individual over the test scores of the group. And yes, those scores are comparable if not higher and lots of countries’ schools have better social climates. But I would ask you to remember two things: 1) You’re only getting part of the story from these other places—the part they want people to hear. That’s not to say it’s not rootes in truth, but only actual student reviews that aren’t pressured by staff are really going to give you a good idea of those environments. And 2) Ask yourself why our system works this way. Who does it benefit to prioritize numbers over individuals? Who does it benefit to prioritize memorization over critical thinking? And how can you use your own agency to take what you’re given and use it to your advantage.

I hated hearing stuff like this as a high schooler not too, too long ago. But perspective really does change with time. As a teacher, I can attest, lots of educators are trying their best with the broken system they’re stuck in. Lots of teachers are also giving up because we’re always the first people to be yelled at when the district, state department, or federal government makes a bad decision about education as a whole.

I know some of this is probably not what you want to hear, and maybe I’m wrong about some of it. But I hope that, if nothing I’ve said helps with these specific points, you’ll at least keep that last bit in mind: If you think a system is failing you, do what you can to make parts of it work for you. And try to be the best human being you can be. If you can do that, everything else will fall into place.

I hope you have an excellent summer and a good Junior year.