Why do children hate school?

 School is supposed to be a place of learning, critical thinking, and joy, where young minds can enhance their abilities to read and write and develop a sense of independence—preparing them for the real world. But nowadays, if you go and ask any regular child, “Hey, do you like school?” I can assure you, the majority of children will say no without hesitation.

Here is the question lingering in all our minds: why do children hate school? It’s actually much deeper than just laziness or unwillingness to study.

Natural Curiosity

Children are born curious; it’s a survival instinct. They can spend hours figuring out why ants move in lines or why the sky is blue. The system is supposed to support that and use these questions as an advantage to help them learn, but instead, it tends to squash their free-spirited questions into little boxes. By the time those boxes are opened, it’s far too late—they’ve lost their will and curiosity, falling into the molds the system wanted them to fall into.

Equality

“No two minds are the same” is a popular quote. And while equality does seem good on the surface, when several unique and different students gather, they are all expected to learn in the same way. Some grasp topics quickly, some are slower but think more deeply, and some need to learn through different methods. When children cannot comprehend what the teacher is telling them, they are outcast as “idiots” or kids who “don’t pay attention.” In reality, all they need is a learning style that suits them. They are not factory workers, and they should not be treated as such.

Pressure

School doesn’t just end after eight devoted hours of a person’s day given to obtaining knowledge. In fact, parents don’t even consider that “studying time.” When a child can’t understand a topic or has a different learning style, chances are they might struggle for hours at home trying to understand it.

And then—homework. Homework is school’s reminder that “Hey, we exist!” right after you just came back and are trying to sleep or take a break. Why would you want kids to worry about the workload of school when that’s the last thing they want to think about at home?

Exams as well are good in theory; they’re meant to be a lighthearted way to check how much a student understands a topic. But when a person’s IQ or self-worth is measured by them, the lines get blurry. Not to mention, cheating exists. But why would children feel the need to cheat if they weren’t being tested for their self-worth, and simply for how much they learned? There has to be some sort of pressure behind it.

Trapped

You’re in a classroom, sitting down for eight hours with a small break and a textbook full of notes. You can’t discuss openly with your peers or stand up and move around, as that would be considered disruptive behavior—which is somewhat justified in lectures, as it would be too noisy, this is incredibly inconvenient for neurodivergent youngsters aswell. 

That doesn’t change the fact that children still feel trapped, and therefore begin hating school.

Irrelevancy

A lot of older people may understand that what children are being taught in school will help them later in life. But when that isn’t explained to children, it’s no surprise that they feel school is just bombarding them with irrelevant information. If they don’t see how it connects to their future, they develop a sense of hate and begin to neglect their studies, thinking, “What’s the point?" 

Social Pressures

s the Later on in life, middle school or high school drama might seem hilarious to look back on, but in the moment, it seriously affects the said person's mental health, let's be honest-- when a child feels unsafe, insecure or scared, they won't go to their teachers, why would they? All they do is scream and make them write pages upon pages of work, even if bullying is reported -- it doesn't end, there's layers beneath the surface that the average adult just can't see, sabotaging, manipulating, guilt tripping and blackmail-- your boss isn't the only one capable of doing these things. 

 Popularity contests, fights, bullying— most schools have become a survival game rather than a safe space to learn.

My Opinion

I think that the education system is perfectly designed—for the past. It was made to enhance workers and laborers, to make them smarter. But nowadays, what we need are creative and critical thinkers. We need innovation. We need people to think outside the box. I think the education system should do a serious re-evaluation on that!

Although my points might be biased since I am a student myself, I believe a student is the best person to explain why we hate school. Our future generations’ experiences might be enhanced if we take action.

Thank you.