To prove that our school system is broken, one need only look at the past. If the educational system is broken at some point, a look backward would reveal an end to progress. Yet that isn’t at all the picture that emerges. Instead, one can see that across many generations, the schools have slowly and steadily improved.
If you’re struggling with motivation to pursue your studies just know that despite what Gen-Z wants you to think, our school system can teach you a lot of things. Being born in 1998, I’m technically a Gen-z, but I somewhat relate to both millennials and Gen-z and I am here to demystify the misconceptions that the most influential people of our generation (aka influencers) want you to believe: School isn’t for us.
You might have noticed that in the last few years more and more people started to drop out of school to pursue careers that don’t require diplomas, that they can learn by themselves. This phenomenon was started by a few millennials but really took off when the first people born between 1995 and 2005 were of age to quit school and pursue their dreams.
Journalists and bloggers from all over the globe were already criticizing North America’s school system as “[i]t aged, declined, and broke” and it just became much easier for them to find evidence that our school system was outdated as the emergence of “influencers” who were are everywhere stating that they dropped out of college, or even high school, because it just wasn’t for them and they felt like they weren’t doing anything.
Now, I am not saying that you should stay in school if you are CERTAIN that it isn’t for you. If that is your case, you should (and I know you already did) consider dropping out, especially if your targeted career doesn’t require a specific education. But if you are pursuing a career that requires a high level of education, such a BA or higher, you probably struggle with motivation from time to time. We all do, but there are ways to cope with that motivational loss.
1- Keep your goal in mind!
Whether you want to become a surgeon to save lives, a politician to start a revolution, a soldier to protect our nation or anything else, remember that idea. Have you noticed that I stated a purpose after the careers I wrote? You should do the same when thinking about your future job; it will help define your future and give you a reason to keep pushing through hard times to emerge an improved person.
2- Remember that you’re still learning.
This one is more for those of you who are still in high school or maybe college, for those optional courses that you “just took because [you] had to choose one”. Remember that even though you hate a particular class or teacher, you are still learning something. I remember that I hated working on Excel in my Quantitative methods class (but not as much as the theory part!), but it helped me to be better at data analysis, document searching and more. That wasn’t a total loss after all! The same thing goes for any other class, I once had this teacher (I can’t seem to remember what he was teaching, see how bad it was?) who was sharing a whole bunch of personal experiences with us, giving us life advice on a large variety of subjects, so, again, this class wasn’t a total loss. If I would’ve met him in the street, I probably would’ve never heard of his career path, which was a total shit show, and how he managed to find a career that suited him. I sometimes think about that teacher when I struggle with my career path.
3- Our school system has improved over the years
Despite what the critics say, it improved. To prove that our school system is broken, one need only look at the past. If the educational system is broken at some point, a look backward would reveal an end to progress. Yet that isn’t at all the picture that emerges. Instead, one can see that across many generations, the schools have slowly and steadily improved. I know that it isn’t the best motivational tip but I just had to say it. It’s not as bad as it once was. For example, there was a time when teachers received no training prior to being hired. Nowadays, you need a BA or higher and a series of internships to “be qualified” as a potential candidate. Also, prior to the 20th century, schools focused heavily on Latin and Greek, required coursework in subjects like zoology and mechanical drawing, and rarely offered any math beyond algebra. That just isn’t true anymore. Sure, schools (especially high schools) aren’t particularly familiar with new technologies, some teachers are underqualified and have a few other lacks here and there, it is better than it was and that leads to my next tip:
4- Approach school with the right attitude
Most people, when talking about school, approach it as an unpleasant chore or even a burden. Those students aren’t usually very successful. On the other hand, some usually triumphant ones talk about their education as a gift of opportunity.
That’s the way you should approach your education. If you are fortunate enough to have access to knowledge thought by highly educated and competent teachers, you should take advantage of that by making the most out of it! The students who thrive are not content with being average or just skating by. Instead, they focus on using their time in school to maximize their individual potential as much as possible. And that’s how you should approach school: as a huge opportunity to learn as much as possible.
5- Setting up achievable goals
Setting up goals, such as studying a certain amount of pages per day for your mid-terms or reading 50 pages of a book are the types that are achievable and will help keep you on track. If you, for example, have to read an entire 300-400 pages novel in 1 day, you’ll get discouraged and distracted very easily. Trust me, I’ve been there! You should set up little goals for each day and without even realizing it you could end up doing more than you intended to. Remember that college isn’t a sprint. It’s more like a marathon. So you may have to lessen your expectation for instant gratification. Successful students tend to understand that part of learning how to stay motivated in school is learning how to stay patient and trusting the process. Avoid getting too far ahead of yourself so that you can enjoy the present and keep up your momentum.
Those were just 5 tips on how to stay motivated in school, I hope they will help you achieve your career goals! You should see some future updates on this article as well.
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Broke Pupil 