Why do students hate school?

In fact, it is normal behavior for students not to like school; the opposite would be abnormal. Which of us ever went to school happily? However, we have clearly observed in recent years that children have crossed the threshold of not liking school and have now reached the point of hating it.

Going to school every weekday morning before the sun rises and staying in those buildings until the evening has turned into an ordeal for them. Regardless of the age group, from primary school to high school, families are experiencing serious difficulties in sending their children to school and convincing them to go. This situation is not only in Turkey but actually the case all over the world as well.

Recently, it was announced in England that a quarter of students are persistently absent, which sparked serious debates. According to data from the Ministry of National Education (MEB), student absenteeism in Turkey is also increasing every year. According to the latest data, the rate of students in high schools who are absent for twenty days or more has reached twenty-seven percent. It appears that keeping students in school is becoming quite difficult with each passing day.

So, why have students become so detached from school, or even come to hate it? Although some attribute this situation to the pandemic experienced in recent years, I believe the pandemic did not cause this, but merely accelerated this process of detachment. In other words, the flight from school had already begun, and the trend was clear.

The main reason is that school can no longer fulfill its two fundamental functions. What is expected of school is for the child to learn things and to be able to socialize. The fact that information can be accessed from anywhere today, and unfortunately, the decrease in the desire to learn among most students, has rendered this function of school ineffective. As for the socialization function, for us, school was also a place where we saw our friends, spent time with them, and shared things. Therefore, even if we didn't like school, we would miss our friends during holidays and want school to open after a while. However, in this era where communication develops very rapidly, children are in contact 24/7 whenever they want via social media. They can even play games with each other online simultaneously. As such, the school's function of socialization and making friends has also weakened. Moreover, the increasing problem of peer bullying in recent years is also turning many students away from school.

For these reasons, students have unfortunately transitioned from the innocent and justifiable feeling of not liking school to the feeling of hating it. As long as this classic school system continues, this emotional detachment will continue to increase. And well, they are not wrong. Honestly, under these conditions, if I were in their shoes, I would also hate school and not want to go. And let me add this, just between us, most teachers hate school too.