One potential way in which the education system may fail students in their learning is through a lack of individualized attention and support. And yes some students do get extra help, these are usually students with diagnosed disabilities. With large class sizes and limited resources, it can be challenging for teachers to cater to the unique needs and learning styles of each student. This may result in some students struggling to grasp certain concepts or falling behind academically.

We buy more equipment, bigger computers, more books. We build better school buildings, suggest hire more teachers and pay teachers more, train teachers in better teaching methods or in better classroom management techniques. We create tutoring programs, or mentoring programs for those students that fall behind.

Why don’t these solutions work? In my opinion, it is because they attempt to deal with the problems at the wrong level. Most of the solutions are attempts to change behaviours and/or environments and they do not address the foundational problems of our schools. Children are struggling to learn they do not know ‘How to Learn’ and who is taking responsibility for this?

Another possible inadequacy could be a focus on standardized testing and rote memorization rather than fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills. If the curriculum primarily revolves around memorizing facts and preparing for exams, students may not be encouraged to develop a deeper understanding of the subjects or apply their knowledge in real-life situations.

Most of the “study skills” are just activities that don’t work very well anyway. For example, writing spelling words down or spelling them out loud several times. This is probably the most common method for learning spelling words, and it just doesn’t work very well and the students think of it as busy boring work.

The result is devastating to students because they assume something is wrong with them if they can’t do the tasks and remember them that same afternoon that were assigned to them. So do their parents and so does everybody else. The truth is that most students do the best they can with what they know to do. If it doesn’t work or if it doesn’t work very well, they don’t know they are supposed to do something different. Parents and teachers scratch their heads not knowing what to do because it is presumed the student knows ‘How to Learn’.

Back in the industrial age, we designed our schools to resemble factories. We placed students in the same room according to age and proceeded to teach the content of that particular year level. This presupposes that all the students learn in the same way and at the same rate of speed. We know this is not true, yet we continue the practice.

It is in these early years that this thinking and system can turn students off school and in fact traumatise them for the rest of their lives with regards to learning.

Also, the curriculum may not always align with the rapidly changing demands of the modern world. As society evolves, new skills and knowledge become essential for success and schools are struggling to keep pace with this. If the education system fails to adapt and provide relevant and up-to-date content that is relevant to our times, students may graduate without the necessary skills to thrive in their future careers.

It's important to note that these are my general observations and may or may not directly apply to how others feel.