Zevanya
Carrie Hall
English 1101
April 4, 2019
Too Cool for School
“ Hey! Can I copy your homework? I was really busy yesterday.”
Busy? But your Snapchat story says you were at the karaoke.
“ Why is our math teacher mad all the time? Does she know we all have a life?”
Why? Probably because 95 percent of the class never submits the homework.
“ I can’t believe I failed!”
Why is it hard to believe you failed when you put zero effort into studying and cheated off someone else?
Must be nice to have parents that can afford your tuition even when you have to repeat the same grade twice. Must be nice living under a three-story house with three maids and not worry about anything because mommy’s credit card got you covered. Honestly, why are you even in school? Why are you guys so proud of wearing branded clothing from head to toe when your parents were the ones who paid for it anyways. Instead of wasting time on trivial things like “should I buy Coach or Gucci”, start thinking about your future. Stop being spoiled teens that take education for granted because there are thousands of kids in Indonesia that are willing to die for one.
Before I moved to New York, I attended an international school in Indonesia. My school adopted Singapore’s education system and we also followed the Cambridge examinations curriculum. In this system, we were taught solely based on textbooks and worksheets. I don’t entirely agree with this method of teaching as it creates a closed discussion on other possible answers and theories. Nevertheless, the school was still known to excel students in academics and human skills. We were taught advanced mathematics, chemistry, biology, and physics during the eighth grade. Later on, during the ninth grade, we were split into two majors: business and science.
I admit that the school gave us a very narrow choice but regardless of which major we chose, all of us entered college with our own desired majors instead of just “business and science.” I chose the science major and ended up choosing hospitality management in college but that didn’t affect me negatively. In fact, I was able to use my knowledge from my science classes into my hospitality courses. It was mandatory for the science students to take advanced mathematics and thanks to my school I was able to understand and ace my college math class. Another example is my friend, Yolanda. She was in the same science major as me and drifted to interior design when she started college. Surprisingly, she said that she was able to understand certain concepts of interior design thanks to the physics class we took. Sometimes I look back and think to myself “what if our school had already planned everything? What if they knew that these two majors would be beneficial in any field the students go to?”
I can’t say this is and will be the same case for every student that went to my school because it depends entirely on the student. I’ve had a few classmates that couldn’t care less if they had to repeat the same grade because well, their parents could afford it. The way they spend their money has no correlation to me in any way but for some reason, it bothers me seeing them waste not only their parents’ money but also their hard work. Earning money isn’t easy regardless if your family owns their own company or manages their own business it still takes hard work and dedication to keep the business alive. On the other hand, I can’t entirely blame the kids because their parents were the ones who raised them to become spoiled. They’ve always given their kids the easy way out and never taught them how harsh and competitive the real world is.
In Indonesia, numerous children around the age of five to thirteen are unable to receive an education. They had no choice but to help their parents earn money by selling water, tissues, and cigarettes. Also, you would find numerous kids on the streets in Jakarta playing the role as an unofficial parking ranger. Keep in mind that the government does not pay these kids, they receive their income from small tips from people riding cars, motorcycles or trucks. Around four years ago my mother’s company held a volunteer work trip. My mother asked around ten kids what their future goals were and every one of them replied the same, they all wanted to go to school, wear uniforms and learn something.
It broke my heart to hear that these kids only wanted something so simple but was something most of us took for granted. Gatto states that “your children should have a more meaningful life, and they can.”(5) I am aware that not all schools are like my school and private schools are indeed not on the affordable side but I was able to have “a more meaningful life” because I actually learned. Not only did they help students excel in academics, but they also promoted fund-raising events to help the less fortunate. We would visit orphanages and hold talent shows where the students themselves would put on small shows like singing or acting. We would also come to school earlier to make packaged meals for the kids and staff. It was also the school’s idea to chip in a few extra changes from our pocket money to donate for families living in the villages that needed assistance for giving their children a chance of receiving a proper education.
My classmates that were “too cool for school” never really participated in these events so they weren’t able to visually see what the less fortunate were going through. The teachers thought holding activities and events like this would open the students’ minds and for those who actually did participate, it built a whole new perspective for us. I matured sooner than most people my age, learned to appreciate more for what I have than what I don’t and apply what I learned in high school into college and the real world.
Works Cited
Gatto, John Taylor “Against School”
