The Student Room Group

Feeling like you'd do better if you didn't go into school?

I honestly just feel like school is such a huge waste of time.

We have to stay for the full 6 hours, whether we have loads of frees or not. Thing is, I really can't study in school for multiple reasons (distractions, lack of resources, and lack of freedom - at home I'm going over a full unit at a time and sticking at it until I get my target percentage, and it's so much more effective than doing a set time of every subject all at once).

And in lessons I usually feel like I don't pick anything up. When I'm at home, I read stuff, take notes, think about it and go at my own pace so I end up understanding it. If I don't get something, I can ask a question on TSR or check a different resource and I'll know when I understand it.

Everything I learn in lessons I end up doing again entirely at home because I forgot it/didn't pick enough up/didn't understand so much. This would be fine, but my time is limited at home.

I feel like I'm wasting 6 hours every day when I could get so much more done in that time. Worst part is, we don't get study leave.

So I guess I'm just wondering if I'm alone in feeling like this, or if other people feel similarly?
Reply 1
Original post by JordanL_
So I guess I'm just wondering if I'm alone in feeling like this, or if other people feel similarly?


I can relate with you about the free periods. I always get distracted and would prefer to go home and do work because I end up talking to my mates and not doing anything lol.

Luckily for me, most of my free periods fall at the end of the day and I am allowed to go home during them so I finish early on 3/5 days of the week.

It's pretty awful that you don't get study leave though, it would definitely screw me over because I get really nervous when I'm at school on the day of the exam.
Reply 2
I many people who agree with you :redface:
School education is nothing. At the end of the day it is survival to get a job. If i didn't go to school I would live on a farm and live of the land. Ahh the joy. No stress and no trouble.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 4
Original post by Electricity
Ahh the joy. No stress and no trouble.

Posted from TSR Mobile


And no fun.
Original post by Pulse.
And no fun.


Plenty of fun. No city pollution or noise too.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 6
Original post by Electricity
Plenty of fun. No city pollution or noise too.

Posted from TSR Mobile


Fair enoughnoughnough; I certainly couldn't do it.
Original post by JordanL_
I honestly just feel like school is such a huge waste of time.

We have to stay for the full 6 hours, whether we have loads of frees or not. Thing is, I really can't study in school for multiple reasons (distractions, lack of resources, and lack of freedom - at home I'm going over a full unit at a time and sticking at it until I get my target percentage, and it's so much more effective than doing a set time of every subject all at once).

And in lessons I usually feel like I don't pick anything up. When I'm at home, I read stuff, take notes, think about it and go at my own pace so I end up understanding it. If I don't get something, I can ask a question on TSR or check a different resource and I'll know when I understand it.

Everything I learn in lessons I end up doing again entirely at home because I forgot it/didn't pick enough up/didn't understand so much. This would be fine, but my time is limited at home.

I feel like I'm wasting 6 hours every day when I could get so much more done in that time. Worst part is, we don't get study leave.

So I guess I'm just wondering if I'm alone in feeling like this, or if other people feel similarly?


I totally agree. My teenage life would've been a lot less stressful if I didn't have the pressures of school. Personally, I think it's a dated method of keeping kids off the streets. We don't need schools anymore. We have youth clubs and football clubs and dance clubs, every kind of club you could imagine that actually engage learning because it's NOT school. There are environments that teach you things in a fun way. Schools, in my opinion, will never be able to do that. Also, I find the Options thing quite stupid... How can a fourteen year old that's being flooded with hormones and puberty stuff decide their future? Being honest, I don't think I've met a fourteen year old with REALISTIC life goals yet. I've never had to use the Pythagorean Theorem ONCE since I left school. Not once. School spends so many resources teaching kids pointless and quite ridiculous things that they are probably never going to need instead of spending them resources wisely on teaching kids now to pay bills and rent and mortgages!!!!

#rantover
Reply 8
Original post by JordanL_
I honestly just feel like school is such a huge waste of time.

We have to stay for the full 6 hours, whether we have loads of frees or not. Thing is, I really can't study in school for multiple reasons (distractions, lack of resources, and lack of freedom - at home I'm going over a full unit at a time and sticking at it until I get my target percentage, and it's so much more effective than doing a set time of every subject all at once).

And in lessons I usually feel like I don't pick anything up. When I'm at home, I read stuff, take notes, think about it and go at my own pace so I end up understanding it. If I don't get something, I can ask a question on TSR or check a different resource and I'll know when I understand it.

Everything I learn in lessons I end up doing again entirely at home because I forgot it/didn't pick enough up/didn't understand so much. This would be fine, but my time is limited at home.

I feel like I'm wasting 6 hours every day when I could get so much more done in that time. Worst part is, we don't get study leave.

So I guess I'm just wondering if I'm alone in feeling like this, or if other people feel similarly?

I feel (well felt, since i am on study leave for our final exams) the same way, especially when you have really bad teachers. When i come home from school, i feel tired and have no appetite to do the work. But i am pretty sure if i stayed home i can do a lot more work. I only go to school because of some subjects such as Accounting and Maths which need help from the teachers. The highest achiever in my class actually gets deliberately absent because he felt the same way. I can't do it because of my parents. He has a really cool, my-son-knows-what-he-is-doing kind of mother, which means he can not attend classes whenever he wanted. Only if i can get a mother like her
(edited 10 years ago)
To clarify because I think I worded it badly, what I mean is that I feel like I could do a lot better in my exams if I was given some independence rather than being 'taught' and going into school for revision lessons.
Original post by demhka
I feel (well felt, since i am on study leave for our final exams) the same way, especially when you have really bad teachers. When i come home from school, i feel tired and have no appetite to do the work. But i am pretty sure if i stayed home i can do a lot more work. I only go to school because of some subjects such as Accounting and Maths which needs the help of the teachers. The highest achiever in my class actually gets deliberately absent because he felt the same way. I can't do it because of my parents. He has a really cool, my-son-knows-what-he-is-doing kind of mother, which means he can not attend classes whenever he wanted. Only if i can get a mother like her


How's study leave going for you - are you getting as much work done as you'd have thought?

Before I started AS levels my mum was the same as the one you described. She let me take time off during my GCSE exams when I needed it and it worked out nicely. But my grades dropped badly at AS and all my teachers at parents' evening pretty much said I'm ****, so I don't know now. I'm hoping I can convince her to let me stay off.
Original post by demhka
I feel (well felt, since i am on study leave for our final exams) the same way, especially when you have really bad teachers. When i come home from school, i feel tired and have no appetite to do the work. But i am pretty sure if i stayed home i can do a lot more work. I only go to school because of some subjects such as Accounting and Maths which needs the help of the teachers. The highest achiever in my class actually gets deliberately absent because he felt the same way. I can't do it because of my parents. He has a really cool, my-son-knows-what-he-is-doing kind of mother, which means he can not attend classes whenever he wanted. Only if i can get a mother like her


I feel exactly the same way too. I had horrible crappy teachers for both years of A Levels and it was only through books and the internet (I need to write a personal thank-you letter to Jim Clark, of chemguide, for giving me the chance to finally understand A2 chemistry). All school did to me was add a lot of unnecessary pressure and make me super anxious all the time. I guess the only reason why I went in the first place was for the sake of attendance :rolleyes:
(edited 10 years ago)
I completely understand this just before easter/exams. I much prefer doing revision on my own and then going to my teachers for help rather than them telling me what I 'should be' doing around exam time.
In revision lessons, you always have to do what everyone wants, which I understand, but is not particularly helpful when you're worse at another part of the course.

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