Today while at work I had a conversation with a young child. I asked her if she was enjoying school… the answer she gave me nearly broke my heart. She looked up at me and said, “I hate school.” It hurt me so much to realize a child who barely has even started school, hates it so much. But this little girl honestly got me thinking…any time any of us really talk about school we constantly are complaining.

Whether it be middle school or high school we constantly complain about nearly everything involving school. We complain about the time we wake up, the teachers we have, the homework we are given and even the food. The only thing we seem to truly enjoy about these years in school are the extra-curricular clubs and the sports we play. But even sometimes we tend to complain about that. We complain about the meetings and the practices. It almost seems as if we are always complaining about school.

And it doesn’t seem to get much better. We constantly complain about college as well. We complain still about the homework, the food, teachers and hours. It is terrible how much we complain about something that not everyone is given the opportunity for. College education although expensive is a blessing in disguise. Not everyone is given the chance of going to college whether it be because of family or just money in general. And we tend to make college seem like it is only for the new high school graduate. We make it seem like a terrible horrible thing if you don’t go to high school right out of high school. This causes nontraditional students to feel awkward going back to school after many years. And in all honesty I find it inspiring. I think to go back and accomplish something you want is something so amazing. We also tend to make it a terrible thing to not earn your degree and graduate within four years. Personally I am a transfer student and did not earn my degree after four years. And sometimes I let that bother me so much. In all honesty I should just be proud that I am still in school and still running the race to earn my degree.

But this little girl helped remind me that I am definitely in the right career path. Although I would rather teach high school and not elementary I know that I want to help create an environment where a student should not hate school. I want to create a learning environment where a student has a desire and thirst to learn more. I want to create an environment where it is okay to enjoy and love school. If I teach High schoolers to love and enjoy school maybe I can also create the reminder that college is a blessing and that it is okay to take the adventure slower.