A Nostalgic Rant About Why School Is Awesome

There’s no time like the present. And this couldn’t be more true when it comes to your child’s time at high school.

As a result of running The Study Gurus we have spent a while reflecting on our own time at school. We’ve talked a lot about how awesome it was, and how in some ways we really miss it!

There were so many opportunities right at our fingertips – music, sport, field trips, productions, and community work. Plus we got to hang out with our best friends every day!

Of course, we didn’t appreciate school as much at the time. At the time, school was just what you did. It was all we knew.

Now we are both so so grateful for our time at school.

Apart from giving us a good educational grounding, school gave us invaluable experiences that we wouldn't get the chance to do now.

For example, just playing a sport once you leave school is quite a mission. You have to organise it yourself, travel to trainings after work or uni when you’re already knackered. Not to mention the exorbitant fees!

At school you don’t have to do anything – you just write your name on a piece of paper, have a coach assigned to you, then go to trainings in your lunch hour or directly after school (very often on school grounds!).

Obviously our lovely parents kindly pay the fees (thanks mum and dad!), but other than that, everything’s sorted for you.

The point of this nostalgic ramble is that school is the time to go for it.

It’s the easiest time in your life to learn new skills. You’re young, healthy and energetic. Your brain is still a sponge that readily takes on new information. You can try your hand at pretty much anything without needing to pay anything (financially or otherwise) yourself.

It’s just a great time to make the most of because, before you know it, you’ll be at university or in a job, and the harsh realities of life will kick in.

I strongly believe that it’s incredibly hard to pick up a new skill or change a habit once you’ve left school.

First of all, it’s a lot harder to fit everything in when you’re in the real world. There are simply not enough hours in the week to play a sport, to be in a band, to do charity work, to see your family and friends, put down a part time job, and of course study!

And secondly, it’s hard to change. If you’ve been a slack bum at school – simply turning up at 9am, just to stare at the board for 6 hours, only to go home and watch TV for four hours – you’re not going to suddenly live life to the full when you leave.

So it’s vital that your child makes the most of such opportunities while they’re at school.

If your child goes for it at school, works hard and plays hard, they’ll carry that attitude and those good habits through into adult life.

And they’ll always have the skills they learnt and experiences they had at school. Your child may not continue doing all the things they did at school, but the skills they obtained will always serve them in some positive capacity. (You never know when a skill you haven’t used in 15 years is going to come in handy!)

So what can you do?

If you haven’t already, make sure you encourage your child to take advantage of every opportunity they can at school.

If they have the chance to join a team of some sorts – go for it.

If they get the chance to travel with a team – go for it. It’ll be a fantastic learning experience.

If they have the chance to get really good at sport or instrument with the help of the school – go for it.

Don’t let your child miss out.

Because before you know it they’ll be off to start university/work/an apprenticeship, and they can either be less than average compared to many of their peers, or they can be a skilled and motivated young man or woman with the world at their feet.

Which do you think your child wants to be?

Image Credit: Cletch on Flickr