Has school destroyed your creativity and self-confidence? I'm working on a book called Recovering From School, to help you heal the damage caused. Join the Patreon or Newsletter to be notified about updates. Paid Patreon members will get early draft previews, as well as a free digital copy when it's done.

Things school never taught you

We spend all those years sitting in classrooms, memorizing facts, and taking tests, but does anyone ever teach us how to deal with real-life stuff? Nope.

Here are just a few things school never bothers to mention:

1. How to deal with anxiety and stress. Like, seriously, it's no joke how overwhelming school can be sometimes. But did anyone ever teach us coping mechanisms? Nope, we're just supposed to figure it out on our own.

2. Self-love and acceptance. Ever notice how school is always telling us to be better, do better, achieve more? But what about loving ourselves just the way we are? Yeah, that never gets mentioned.

3. Mental health awareness. Depression, anxiety, ADHD – these are real things that affect a lot of us, but does school ever talk about them? Rarely.

4. Financial literacy. We graduate high school knowing all about algebra and Shakespeare, but ask us how to do taxes or budget our money, and we're clueless.

5. Communication skills. Sure, we learn how to write essays and give presentations, but what about actually communicating with others in a meaningful way? Not so much.

6. Time management. How many times have you found yourself cramming for a test at the last minute because you didn't manage your time well? Yeah, me too.

7. Critical thinking. School teaches us to regurgitate information, but does it ever encourage us to question things, think for ourselves, and form our own opinions? More like the opposite.

8. Conflict resolution. We're bound to have disagreements with people throughout our lives, but does school ever teach us how to resolve conflicts peacefully? Nope.

9. Creativity and passion. School can be so focused on conformity and following the rules that it often squashes our creativity and passion. But that's what makes us unique and interesting!

10. The importance of failure. In school, failure is often seen as the end of the world. But in reality, it's just a natural part of learning and growing.

School may not have taught us these things, but that doesn't mean we can't learn them ourselves.

There are also alternatives to school out there, like unschooling or online school, where you have more control over your education. And even if you're stuck in traditional school for now, remember that you still have power. Maybe you can't leave without parental permission, but you can still practice self-kindness, stand up for yourself as much as you can, and seek out resources and support.

Posted in: Blog on March 15, 2024 @ 11:55 AM

If you like what we're doing here, you can become a Patron and sign up for our newsletter!