If a person were to rent out their broken, hundred year old house but every tenant has complained that it needs to be modernized, or at the very least, fixed so that it’s livable, the logical thing to do would be to make some renovations, right? Well, the school system doesn’t seem to agree. 

Despite these troubling times, the stress and level of difficulty of classes for students only seems to have increased. Not only do students have less class time to process, understand, and retain the information taught, but the way the information is given has taken on a format most had been unfamiliar with until now. One would think that with this change, something else would too in order to be more accommodating towards students. And yet schools refuse to give such accommodation despite the system remaining relatively the same throughout it’s century of use. And so, the topic at hand today are the flaws in the school system, and how it needs change.

When a school’s only concern is placing high in terms of graduation rates and test scores, the pressure and worries students feel goes unrecognized. A prime example of this are gifted children programs, where students are taught at a young age that they’re smarter than everyone else. When children are placed on these pedestals at young ages, they don’t pick up good study habits that general students would have since they’ve never felt the same difficulty understanding topics. And due to this supposed “maturity,” teachers don’t often assist them since they believe they’re capable enough to do everything by themselves, which only adds to the pile of burdens placed upon them. 

Effects of being pushed to maturity at a young age is explained in a study run by Cambridge University, in their article “The Relationship Between Social-Emotional Difficulties and Underachievement of Gifted Students,” where some of the most common effects of these high expectations are procrastination, lesser social skills, self depreciation, difficulty asking others for help, difficulty enjoying something they’re not immediately good at, perfectionism, and burnout. Any of these combined can make gifted students incredibly vulnerable to self destruction, which doesn’t exactly rank the school system high in terms of regard for students’ mental health.

Now, the comparison of the “lesser” and “greater” accomplished doesn’t just harm gifted students, it also harms those in general education. These children, who are frequently compared to others, probable effects are overwhelming stress, an inferiority complex, insomnia, social anxiety, unwarranted hatred towards others, as well as withdrawal from family and people their age. When those in general education, or any child in general, are constantly compared to someone of “more capability” they are more likely to feel insignificant and less motivated to do their best because there will always be someone ahead of them. The pushing of these roles onto young minds is only harmful to their growth and development since they’re likely to either fall into the roles they’re given or push themselves until they break.

These experiences in the school system aren’t coincidences; they’re a display of the effects of a system where grades are prioritized over your well being rather than actually learning the material. Instead of teaching students that mental and physical health are important, they are taught that their worth is determined by how high their grades are, sometimes even ridiculed and criticized when they try taking care of themselves. So, when you grew up with that mentality, it’s difficult to escape it, but it is possible.

What makes things even worse is that humans aren’t even supposed to be awake for 16 hours straight, let alone, sit still for half of that time. Until sometime around the 1920’s, people globally would refer to something  “first sleep” and “second sleep”. 16 years worth of research published by Roger Ekrich in his book, At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past, shows around 500 references of these segmented sleep patterns that mention it as if common knowledge. In other research titled “Letter of Recommendation: Segmented Sleep,” author Jesse Barron unintentionally self experimented segmented sleep, which only showed that good comes when your body isn’t forced into an unaccommodating schedule.

To combat all the negatives, a way to improve school life is giving the students some kind of outlet. Stress and anxiety can affect a person’s mental state in many ways, especially in the classroom, so even something simple such as allowing students to listen to their own music that studies have displayed their increase in productivity.

Another simple answer, fidget toys. Not only are fidget toys accommodating to the neurodivergent community, it is by using them in the classroom, it normalizes them when it would have to otherwise be seen as bizarre for having. It also doesn’t have to be anything huge at first, something simple like a squeeze toy or even just a soft plushie. Just the reassurance of something soft or squeezable can be comforting when digesting difficult topics. Using something like small fidget toys that could even work in an occupational setting could definitely help against the rising levels of stress and anxiety amongst youth in America.

All in all, the school system pushes students too far every which way, but whether the solution is an outlet like fidgets or something else, the school system needs to change.

Balzer, Cass. “Music Can Boost Your Productivity While Working from Home – Here's How.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Apr. 2020.
Barron, Jesse. “Letter of Recommendation: Segmented Sleep.”  The New York Times, The New York Times, 31 Mar. 2016.
Blaas, Sabrina. “The Relationship Between Social-Emotional Difficulties and Underachievement of Gifted Students: Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools.”  Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 10 Mar. 2014.

CHADD. “Fidget toys and ADHD: Still paying attention?” CHADD, 31 Jan. 2019.

Unknown, Daniel. “6 Negative Effects Of Comparing A Child With Others; You Would Surely Not Want No. 5 To Happen.” Parent Herald, 21 May 2020.

Otterman, Sharon. “Study Faults School Accountability System.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 June 2010.