Dear Teachers, 

 

We are not kindergartners

I am seventeen years old

Not seven.

So treat me according to my age and I shall do the same

 

I don't need a grammar lesson before I go to the bathroom

Cause one I don't care

Two...well I have to pee

You know what I mean when I say "can" 

So please act like it

 

Often times you expect to much of us

You forget that we are only human

Hopelessly imperfect creatures

We need to eat

We need to drink

And sometimes we need caffeine for your class

 

Procrastination is not laziness

It is taking a break

A time where we schedule to relieve tension by breathing....or spending time on the Internet

Besides we, the students, all know that you do it too

 

You are not my top priority

Get over it

Neither is your class

Cause frankly I have a life brimming with other commitments, responsibilities, and hardships

Our lives are imperfect and should be allowed to have hiccups

So when we can't turn something in because our printer broke

Then we actually mean it

 And we should be given a reprieve

 

We are not all the same

Contrary to popular belief, we are not all wasted, sex-crazed, arrogant, disrespectful, rebellious potheads

We are capable of intelligence

Sometimes not in the ways you may expect

In fact you might even learn something if you looked closer

But instead you baby us 

Look down on us

As if we are poor, sweet, innocent, little puppies 

That need everything explained to them

S L O W L Y

 

We don't all think the same either

There is more to us than meet the eye

There is more than one way to solve a problem

Math only teaches one of those ways

Kinda limited, don't you think?

 So don't tell us we are stupid

Because by doing so you may bury rare intellect, confidence and potential under negative thoughts you initiated

 

We all want to learn something worth learning

I want to learn something I will actually use in my short life 

Not just puff up my head with useless knowledge until it explodes

Only to forget it all after I take an exam

To be honest I don't even remember the tests themselves

 

Instead of history, why not politics?

In the place of calculus, why not study world economics?

We have an obesity epidemic

Why not expand the physical education system? The science department?

I beg you please teach us something we will use ALL of our lives

With an impact that resonates longer than a couple weeks

 

We all exhibit different talents

Some of us are more than "English-oriented" or "Math-oriented"

Give us a chance to show you what WE DO BEST

Even if it is wildly original and not something you are used to

 

Education is not everything

It does not always lead to success

Neither do tests define a person's worth or ability

Now don't be mistaken

I love learning and I do think some know-how is necessary

But it is not everything

And I refuse to define it as everything

Knowledge is a noble quality

But it is useless without passion, determination, and application

 

Sincerely,  

 A Student Concerned about Our School Systems