Are you ever learning something in class that seems to be interesting, but all of a sudden a test/quiz/project is announced on the material, which just completely takes your interest away? In this article, I will be discussing the idea of an extra school class that wouldn’t focus on grades and instead would focus on learning a subject you’re passionate about with fun activities and no stress.
This summer, I went to an academy where students took two classes for enjoyment to, in the future, enrich their education. I took a jazz class and another about radical literature-they both were very interesting and entertaining. I found myself looking forward to class each day instead of dreading the next test, quiz, or homework assignment. In my opinion, these classes are essential to all students in school if possible-a bit of time could be set aside each day to enjoy learning and to have classes with no grades.
Students could choose from a wide range of subjects often not taught in school, including philosophy, anthropology, game design, astronomy, or jazz and radical literature (what I learned in my summer program).
“Class time” could be spent doing fun educational activities instead of taking lecture notes for a long period to help learn the material. A way to make sure students understand the contents taught is to have class discussions where everyone's ensured to participate. Possibly, there will not be homework, only optional fun experiments or activities that you could do outside of class that relate to the class material.
School often focuses on the stress and grade reports and not enough on fun and enjoyable learning. Students see it this way as well; many of them, including myself, have looked past the learning aspect of school and have seen only overwhelming pressure to perform well. It is why many mental health problems can, unfortunately, arise from education. However, it doesn’t always have to be this way.
A school could become a place where students are eager to learn and go home wondering more about a certain subject. It could be the bright spot of people’s days, something they can always look forward to even if this sort of “fun class” is only 30 minutes (since a lot of schools are usually pressed for time). Maybe one day, with this idea implemented in schools, if a parent asked their child in the evening what they learned at school, instead of saying “nothing”, the child would beam with a smile of joy and tell them about all the cool things they were able to learn that truly made them happy.