By: Amelia Wang

● What changes would you make to your school to help students have more fun while learning? What are the pros and cons of your ideas?

If I could change my school to make learning more fun, I would make a few modifications.

First, I would make lessons more interesting and put in place activities that the kids would like. For instance, I think there should be more group conversations that include people who want to participate and let the quiet kids do their own stuff if they aren’t breaking any rules. However, it should not come off as non-inclusive for those who are too shy to join. [Maybe add another sentence here?]

Second, I think schools should be more flexible on what books kids are allowed to bring. For example, I see no reason why children who are reasonably old enough to read books of their own choice shouldn’t be allowed to take them to school, as long as they don’t show them to the younger students. Unfortunately, there are still chances that younger students will find books unsuitable for their ages. For instance, books should have a limit on the level of graphic violence depicted in pictures especially in comics, graphic novels, etc. With that in mind, some restrictions should be imposed on the content inside said books.

Lastly, I don’t think teachers should be allowed to tell you to play with people you don’t like. When teachers force you to play with random kids, or sometimes kids you don’t like, interactions can become very toxic for the person who is being told to be nicer. One main reason is that kids aren’t good at being friendly to disliked people. Teachers always try to tell you to be friends with others, but it’s not as easy as they think. Kids can and will be mean to others they don’t like. It is never the right option to force friendships on children. They might feel like they are being compelled to play with others when they might just prefer to be by themselves. Although there can be some situations where kids just might not be good at communicating, there are also kids who like to be left alone and are happy satisfied staying away from others. That means that teachers should not mix these two different cases together because even if some kids are grateful for the support and extra help there are those who just want to mind their own business.

Add in a concluding thought.