Why do students hate school?
In high school, I honestly disliked school. Mornings were a pain, waking up at the last possible second just to rush to the bus stop and sit through classes that often felt disengaged and repetitive. Many explanations seemed unchanged for decades, and learning often felt like something you endured rather than something you enjoyed.
At the time, my motivation for doing well in school wasn’t curiosity or excitement. It was simply to avoid arguments at home and to meet expectations.
It wasn’t until college that I realized something surprising: I actually loved learning.
Reading about the lives of scientists and philosophers, recognizing physical phenomena while driving, or developing the language to describe ideas and experiences made me realize how rewarding understanding the world can be. The problem wasn’t learning itself, it was the way learning had been presented.
Many schools, particularly at the middle and high school levels, unintentionally turn learning into something students tolerate rather than something they pursue. In my experience, this often happens for two main reasons.
- Memorization is not Learning
As students move to more advanced material in high school and college, or even encounter real-world problems, good performance increasingly requires critical, abstract, and complex thinking. Yet many students are still taught to memorize, not learn. I often mentor students who perform well on tests, but struggle with the underlying ideas. For example, a student might earn strong grades in calculus while still feeling uncertain about foundational algebra concepts like the quadratic formula. When knowledge is built primarily on memorization rather than understanding, small gaps compound over time.
- Practice Without Feedback
The second issue is the way practice is often structured.
Students are frequently overwhelmed with worksheets, problem sets, and projects, but receive little feedback on why mistakes occur or how to think differently about the material. Receiving a grade is not feedback, and without feedback, practice becomes frustrating. It can feel like repeatedly hitting a wall and hoping it eventually breaks. Some students will persist, but many become discouraged. Learning improves dramatically when practice is paired with thoughtful feedback and deeper explanations.
Our Mission
At ChicagoBright, we help students understand what they are learning and why it works.