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High School is a breeding ground of bad ideas.

I have spent the past ten years trying to unlearn much of what was taught in the public high school setting.

The school system has lost its positive influence on society, and what has emerged is a monster with several heads. My high school days were filled with encounters that negatively shaped my opinions on the world.

Bad High School Lesson 1.

"Everybody has to go to college."

I went, and am in debt up to my earlobes, and I didn't learn a thing.
I was a gifted student in high school, but I wasn't college material. I should have gone to a trade school or a tech school.

But that's not what they taught us.

Bad High School Lesson 2.

"I need a girlfriend."

This was not necessarily taught by the school system, but rather reinforced by the student body. The school should have seriously given us some education on the dangers of high school relationships.

I wasted more time and energy on girls than I care to recall.

Honestly, the percentage of high school relationships that make it through are slim. Why encourage the wasting of time and emotion on meaningless juvenile relationships.

I honestly believe that unless you are old enough to consider lifelong commitments, you shouldn't waste time playing childish games.

I differentiate between DATING and EXCLUSIVE DATING. There's nothing wrong iwth taking a girl out for a movie or a burger, but when we tie ourselves down to exclusive commitments before we are emotionally mature, we set ourselves up for heartache and failure, and build a lifetime of relational baggage to carry with us into our future relationships.

Bad High School Lesson 3.

"Sit Still, Pay Attention, and Be Quiet."

Learning is not so linear. You learn through life. High School lectures and note taking are not learning, but rather the regurgitation of facts for the sake of reward.

I firmly believe that learning is meant to be holistic.

The best way to learn a lesson is not in a classroom setting, but in a realistic setting. Calculus means nothing if it is not applied. Literature means nothing if you cannot enjoy it and argue about it's meaning over a cup of coffee.

Physics and chemistry is not about the periodic table, or even about the lab, but about life on the road... and how things react together.

I think it's time we spent less time sitting still and shutting up, and more time preparing kids for life, and giving them the tools they need to be a success.

Learn more about this author, Josh Hatcher.
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