Why should we send children to school?

By Simran Cheema

As children, most of us dreaded going to school because of the tests, the projects, the work. But, we never realized the reason why we were going to school. Well, let's find out today.

When a child is at school, they don’t have much support to decide what they have to do. Of course, there are always direct activities to guide the children in the decision. But, when times like recess or break time, there is no instructed activity. When there is no instructed activity, the child has no way but to decide for themselves what they want to do and how they are going to do it. They become independent.

Next, they learn how to work with others. From preschool to high school, children are always put in a setting where they are in the sight of other individuals like them. They are grouped to work on projects together or to achieve a common goal. When they work together, the children learn an important skill of collaboration. Collaboration isn’t just a skill used in projects, but is used in everyday life. If you are to get a family, a job or a partner, you need to know how to work with other people before you can start your life outside in the real world. With collaboration, you are taught key traits. Respect, responsibility, and empathy. These traits are what define yourself, and what type of person you are.

In a school setting, you are forced to put yourself in a position where you absorb new information. If summer holidays were forever, would we truly ever put ourselves in an uncomfortable position to learn. No, we wouldn’t, at least not by choice. With a school setting, we would have to get rid of human laziness to stay forever in comfort. When we push ourselves out of our comfort zone, we are to learn new skills and get the even bigger reward of learning more. School teaches us the skills to push ourselves and provides us with the opportunities to push ourselves. Without schooling, people would lack the practice to put themselves in uncomfortable situations and forever be scared of such situations.

As well, school is an important place for children to learn traits such as integrity, respect and morals. These traits are necessary for a child to learn, as they can make the right decisions in the future. Without knowing what is right vs. what is wrong, they wouldn’t be able to make morally right decisions independently. While working with other people and through making mistakes, you would understand different social situations and have social awareness. Having social awareness and interactions are key to creating relationships which define much of our life. And, lastly, they learn about themselves through school. By being put outside of the comfort of our guardian’s hands, we are forced to learn how to take care of ourselves and how to be with ourselves. In school, you learn the different emotions you face, by yourself. While doing this, you learn more about who you are and how to cope with these emotions by yourself.

Lastly, you learn about the outside world, outside your comfortable, safe bubble of a home. In school, it’s not the loving parents that surround you, but the new changes which surround you. You see new people, different faces, new situations. These new situations are what makes life, life. If you are never exposed to the real world, would you ever learn how to deal with losses, with difficult people, with a misunderstanding. No, you wouldn’t. Even as children, being exposed to these situations improves our future trials. In school, we learn each and every time we make a mistake or gain new information. And, each time we do, we become better people.

Works Cited

Friesen, Nelda. “Why Kids' Education Is Important.” ION Future, 9 Dec. 2021, www.ionfuture.org/kids-education/.

Walden University. “The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Comfort-Zones.” Walden University, Walden University, 24 May 2022, www.waldenu.edu/programs/psychology/resource/the-pros-and-cons-of-comfort-zones.

“Why Should I Have My Child Go To School?” ABLEdifferently Why Should I Have My Child Go To School Comments, www.able-differently.org/for-parents/why-should-i-have-my-child-go-to-school/.