Dear Public Schools

Why do you not teach stuff that we will actually use? The only time I have ever used trigonometry in my adult life was in college. The thing is that not everyone goes to college. In my adult life, knowing that "the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell" has never helped me in any way, shape, or form. Now I do understand why some Math like decimals are needed and that English and History are absolutely necessary. I was not taught a lot of useful things that I would need to function in the world like, how to do my taxes, how to take care of my mental health, or even how to find a job. Stuff that would have been good to know before I entered adulthood. There needs to be more government classes so that, people can better understand current issues, events, and how our government works. When teaching history, the effects that historical events have on society should be discussed. Standardized tests should not exist because they do not often measure a student's knowledge on any given subject because not every student is a good test taker. When I was in school, I would memorize facts for a standardized test and then forget a lot of them the following summer.

School should be about understanding new ideas, different perspectives, and some memorization rather than just memorizing facts. Schools exist to teach students what they need to know to function in society which are not always the same things that parents want their children to learn. School administration should not be allowed to force teachers to cater to the parents. Grades are supposed to be earned. If a student does not do the work then they should not pass. I do understand that it is harder for some students to complete their work than others but there should at least be a solid attempt made. There should be less homework, so that students will get more sleep and take care of their mental health. Just moving the start times later will not help because students will just stay up later to finish their assignments. All students need to feel loved and cared for at school. School staff need to promote tolerance and the negative consequences of discrimination should be discussed between teachers and students.