“Don’t worry about it, your ATAR doesn’t matter.” This line is thrown out by all sorts of people so frequently, that it has lost its meaning, and become a shallow affirmation. I think we need to think a lot more about what this phrase means. It has a very significant and sinister meaning. The secret to understanding it, is to first realise that there are in fact, multiple meanings to this phrase. The meaning changes based on your social class.

The problem with school is not a new one. If one studies the early educational literature that are many decades old, they will find observations that are uncannily similar to the modern classroom. A stale classroom failed to develop creativity or critical thinking, and students were graduating completely disempowered of the ability to learn on their own.

"Perception is everything”. I often struggled with an unpleasant feeling when being a student in the classroom, or watching other teachers teach. I later found out that this was a heavily discussed issue in the education world. What I am referring to, is the feeling of apathy, or disengagement, caused by the belief that the activities of schooling provided no value to the student.

What would the ideal school look like? Our schools are not places of learning, but factories.

Education should be about more than just academic success—it should help students become better learners and foster personal growth.