Couldn't have said it better.
Lots of the things from school program I learned after dropping out, when I was interested and at my pace, not at fixed time with fixed pace for every student in a group regardless of individual learning capabilities or hindrances.
Imagine 30 dogs securely tied to the truck, and the truck starts moving. As the truck moves, one of the dogs loses balance and falls to the ground. Maybe the dog god tired for various reasons, maybe it was thrown off balance by another dog, whatever. The truck has its own schedule, and is not going to stop because some dog fell to the asphalt. Now, instead of running, the downfallen dog is getting dragged, scribing the ground with red, recieves more severe injuries which become even harder to recover from.
That's pretty much my experience with school. I wasn't listening to my body's needs and instead listened to parents and teachers, a serious blunder on my part.
I think school is mostly about socializing these days. Lots of stuff can be learned over the internet, and you don't have to pay people to read the books for you. It's like playing chess IRL with tangible figures and people, vs. playing chess online.
This is spot on. Especially the analogy about the dogs being dragged behind the truck. Right now I am seeing firsthand how much of a scam university is and how it is inherently designed to have the deck stacked against disabled students with learning impairments, those with physical illnesses, or people who simply have miserable life circumstances outside of school and can't operate at the maximum potential expected of them.
The majority of the world seems to cope with this system somehow, so the beurocrats think there is no reason to change it or make it more accommodating for students with a higher level of needs than the average pupil. I mean, I have an ILP at university and it is pretty much useless in my situation.
Extra time on exams doesn't really help me, nor does the potential to have mitigation for assignment/coursework deadlines when each request has to be backed up with a huge paper trail and successfully approved by a beurocratic board of administrators, every single time you request one.
I am supposed to have relaxed attendance requirements due to my plethora of illnesses and this does not happen. I've received condescending emails saying attendance is mandatory and you must have a valid excuse just because I missed ONE 15 minute class zoom meeting. The lecturers are supposed to be informed that I have several disabilities and not push me to speak or be extroverted but they do anyway. I've been scolded for not being a leader when I am literally fucking autistic and can barely speak. So when people tell you to seek help and assistance, it feels disingenuous when the help that is offered is just useless.
People push individualism and say that they don't want hand holding and spoon feeding in education, because you should be a self-directed learner. When you have several disabilities which are impairing your cognitive function, you really need one on one help, and universities don't provide this. They just blame you and say you're not trying hard enough in spite of being ill.
Others defend the ludicrous nature of it all, the arbitrary grading policies, the forced group projects and socialisation, saying it prepares you for the harsh reality of the workplace. Well, I did not choose to be here on this earth nor did I choose to be sick, so why do people see it fit to punish others in the ways they were punished in youth, rather than improving the circumstances? It's beyond me.
I used to love learning and acquiring knowledge. I was a very curious girl. Now I loathe it, because everything is on a timed deadline. There is no time to properly absorb the information. You are always on a clock till the next exam, the next assignment, the next project. How can you properly learn and appreciate something when you barely have a moment to digest the information? It's maddening. At least in primary and secondary school you had more time to be properly immersed in the curriculum or seek help from teachers. At uni you're just thrown to the wolves and told to get over it.
Doing my degree makes me want to ctb every damn day because of how unnecessarily stressful it is!