Remember the back to school blues of your childhood? The end of summer depression and feeling of dread that came with the impending return to the classroom every fall?
It's hard for a child to understand the importance of going to school every day and receiving a well-rounded education and what it means to have one.
That said, public education for all is also the cornerstone of a civilized society and standardized education evens the playing field for all citizens regardless of race, gender or financial status. Studies have consistently shown that Canada has one of the best education systems in the world, and as boring and dull as some students may find attending their classes, it is important not to take what we have here for granted and to take advantage of it to the fullest.
Education is about more than memorizing scientific charts, answering questions about a Shakespeare play on a quiz, or determining the area of an isosceles triangle. It's about learning to think and critically assess and try to understand the world you live in. It's about upward social and professional mobility and making a better world for yourself, your family and your neighbours. It is in your own self-interest to know as much as possible.
It's hard to say why exactly, but more and more young people seem to be realizing this and are taking their education more seriously as is evidenced by the drastically decreasing number of high school dropouts in Canada in the last 30 years. In 1990, roughly one in five people aged 25-34 had not graduated from high school.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2016, only 8.5 per cent of Canadian men aged 25 to 34 had not graduated from high school, compared to 22 per cent in 1990. Likewise, 5.4 per cent of Canadian women in the same age demographic had not graduated from high school, compared to 19 per cent in 1990.
Life should be a never ending quest for knowledge, so read as much as possible, befriend and surround yourself with intelligent and experienced people, listen and learn from them and acknowledge that there are different forms of intelligence and different types of people and you can benefit by learning from all of them.
So listen to your teachers and stay in school kids. It will open your mind and a whole realm of possibilities for the future.
