WHAT
IS SCHOOL
FOR?
Feel free to call me slow but,
I spent 16 years going to school
and I still don't know.
When I finished,
I didn't know how to do my own taxes,
purchase a home,
or apply for a loan.
I didn't know a thing about investments,
building credit or getting a job.
I graduated at the top of my class
and what did I have?
This fancy diploma to sit at home with...
my mom.
But luckily,
they did teach me some important skills
like factoring trinomials and
how mitochondria
is the powerhouse of the cell.
I'm so happy I remember
the Pythagorean theorem
'cause it helped me a lot.
Ok, I'm lying let me stop.
Because all the stuff they taught me
truthfully, I forgot.
Mom, remember when you would ask me:
"What did you learn in school today?"
And I would say:
"Nothin' much."
I wasn't being modest
The truth about it mom is
I had already forgotten.
And it's not just me--
millions of students sing the same song.
How many of you guys
avoid eye contact with the teacher
to try not to get called upon?
Afraid to raise your hand
for fear of being wrong,
which proves that school
isn't an environment
for learning or building up the intellect.
It's just a game you play for grades
and how many A's you can collect.
But I guess what do you expect
when the most commonly
asked question in class is:
"Is this gonna be on the test?"
Is this gonna be on the test?
See if school really put learning
instead of testing and memorizing
as the top standard
then the letter "F"
would not stand for "Failure."
It would stand for
"Find another Answer."
And if school was really interested
in our personal and academic success,
students would wake up later,
have more freedom and homework...
a lot less.
And that's not my opinion,
this conclusion has been
scientifically tested and proven.
And any teacher that doesn't believe me
feel free to check
my works cited page to inspect.
Oh, and I did it in MLA format
because I know that's all you will accept.
See students would get more benefit
from an extra hour of sleep
than putting them through
the torture of an extra essay,
reading 150 pages,
doing problems 1-60 on the worksheet,
and having 3 projects
due by the end of the week.
Not only is it pointless pain
but it's also dim-witted.
Because we get so much work,
but they don't teach
the time management skills
to deal with it.
See in school we are controlled by bells.
We have to learn in rooms
with the Feng shui of a prison cell.
We have to ask permission
to relieve bodily functions
but not before the teacher
asks a million questions like:
"Why Didn't you go before class"
I'm sorry
my bladder is kinda on its own schedule
and it's not always timely.
See teachers always say:
"Use your time wisely."
But that never made sense to me.
'Cause these six cruel hours
of our lives we call "school"
might literally be the worst use of
time management ever in history.
Think about it,
the traditional teaching method is foolish.
No, it's useless
multiplied by the square root of...
stupid
What they do is:
They cram information in your head,
force-feeding ya
And then you throw it up on the test.
THAT'S NOT EDUCATION....
that's bulimia.
And the more bulimic you are
the better you will do on assessments.
So it's no wonder why
so many students graduate
mentally and emotionally anorexic.
See school teaches you
how to memorize dots.
TRUE education SHOULD teach you
how to connect them.
TRUE education teaches you
how to catch a fish.
School teaches you:
yeah you caught the fish
but u didn't show your work
so it doesn't count.
Throw it back!
I'm just asking
What is school for?
It's not education,
that's just not true.
If you still think that, you
might be sniffing the glue.
See the word education
comes from the Latin root "educe"
meaning "bring out"
i.e bring the gifts out of a person
and make them viable.
But school doesn't bring out much.
It just stuffs more facts inside of you.
Now some of that stuff is justifiable.
We need reading, writing,
and some arithmetic-- that's fair.
But are you telling me metamorphic
and igneous rocks
are more important than self-care?
If suicide is the 3rd leading cause
of death of ages 10-24
and Harvard studies suggest
the biggest predictor for success
is self-control and emotional health,
then why the heck
aren't we taught how to handle stress,
bullies or rejection?
How about anxiety or depression?
You know-- skills we need
for our entire lives.
Bro, I don't even know how to cook.
I'm honestly surprised I'm still alive.
But hey at least I can name all the battles
that happened in the civil war.
Seriously, what is school for?
Some say you need it to be successful
and that's something we do not doubt.
But do you own a MacBook or iPhone?
Did you know they both
were created by a dropout?
Are you watching this video
on Facebook or YouTube?
Doesn't matter which you choose.
They both were created by dropouts.
Ever used Snapchat, WhatsApp,
shopped at Whole Foods?
Well, Thanks a dropout.
Does your home furniture come from IKEA?
OK don't get the wrong idea--
he was not a dropout,
don't be a fool.
I mean how could he drop out,
Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA
never even went to school.
I know what you're thinking:
"He's just picking and choosing,
there's millions who didn't go to school
that aren't successful.
Who is he fooling?"
And You're right!
But open your history books
and start perusing.
You'll find the very people
we idolize in school
never really had formal
and/or secondary schooling.
I'm talking George Washington
Abe Lincoln
Americas best presidents
had zero school between them.
Ben Franklin
Thomas Edison
Shall I proceed?
Ernest Hemingway
Mark Twain
Teddy Roosevelt
Margaret Mead
Now, please!
I'm not saying drop out.
'Cause some schools are great
and many teachers are rare treasures.
I'm saying that there's a difference
between people who are smart
and people who score better.
I'm saying that your future
is something no test
will ever measure.
Even if that test begins in 3 letters
like SAT, ACT.
It's BS if they say those determine
your L.I.F.E
No, your destiny is in your hands.
You must shape it to be great.
So don't expect school to open doors
'Cause it's more likely to slam them
in your face.
Sometimes I wonder
about all the dreams lost in school
and how much potential goes to waste.
If it wasn't for music
and YouTube then I
would have been just another lost case.
Everybody watching this
please close your eyes.
Imagine a child sitting in the back
of some teachers class
in some town,
he never raises his hand,
he fails most of his classes
but inside of him lives a passion.
And if nurtured and brought out
will lead him to discover
the cure for cancer.
But you see,
I'm afraid that child's gift
will never come out.
He will never win the Nobel Prize award
because in class he was ignored
and his worth was judged only
by his scores.
So teachers, principals,
parents, advisors, and students,
I ask one more time:
"What
is school
for?"