Save the Earth by Not Going to School

What if I told you that the way to save the planet might be to drop out of school , or not even go to school to begin with ? Yes, you heard me right!!. Let’s be honest: the traditional schooling system is a factory line that grooms us for a life of systematic complacency, the same system that’s driving the planet into a downward spiral. A bit dramatic? Sure. But isn’t our planetary crisis dramatic enough to warrant some disruption in the status quo?

School: The Factory of Compliance

In the good old days of the Industrial Revolution, school was designed to turn unruly kids into obedient factory workers. A ringing bell to mark the start of the day, a strict schedule, and an overseer — oops, I mean teacher — to ensure we stayed in line. Sound familiar? The aim was clear: create a workforce that wouldn’t question the system. Fast forward to today, and we still have the same rigid structure, only now the factory workers are training for cubicles and corporate ladder-climbing. How can we be surprised that this conveyor belt doesn’t churn out Earth-saving revolutionaries?

Education: The Colonial Machine

Let’s not forget that the schooling system’s roots are planted in colonial soil. It was a tool of cultural assimilation, designed to impose a Western way of thinking on the rest of the world. Indigenous languages? Gone. Traditional knowledge? Wiped out. This Eurocentric model has given us a very narrow perspective on what knowledge even is, dismissing anything that doesn’t fit neatly into a standardized test. It’s as if the entire Earth doesn’t matter if it’s not on the curriculum. Can we really expect this system to foster environmental stewardship?

The Disconnection from Nature

Nature? Yeah, that thing we see from the classroom window while we’re busy cramming algebraic formulas into our heads. By confining kids to desks and limiting outdoor exposure, schools are creating a generation that’s more comfortable with screens than with soil. If we don’t know nature, how can we care about it? How can we be stewards of a planet we’re barely allowed to experience?

The Health Toll

Sitting all day, processed food in the cafeteria, early start times — school isn’t just bad for the environment; it’s bad for our bodies. The industrial-style setup encourages a sedentary lifestyle, which leads to obesity and a host of other health issues. How about the stress of endless exams and homework? All this pressure creates a mental health crisis, making it even harder for students to connect with the wider world.

The Systemic Complacency

But here’s the kicker. The schooling system doesn’t just ignore nature; it actively promotes the exploitation of it. By teaching us to be cogs in the industrial machine, it ingrains in us a mindset that supports consumerism and unsustainable practices. “Get good grades, get a good job, buy a nice car, and climb the corporate ladder.” This is the message. This is the script. And this script is precisely what got us into this mess in the first place.

So What’s the Answer……or Question?

Dropping out might be the answer , however this is a game of better questions not answers. What if schools became places where we learned from the Earth instead of just about the Earth? What if we valued indigenous knowledge, practiced sustainability, and reconnected with our communities? What if we encouraged creativity and critical thinking, rather than conformity and compliance? What if we saw children as people, and we treated there ideas, bodies and complexity with a sense of dignity.

A radical shift is what we need — a shift that recognizes the interconnectedness of all life on Earth. The planet is speaking, but we can’t hear it over the school bell’s ring. So let’s rethink education, not just to save our sanity, but to save the Earth itself. Because if the traditional schooling system continues on its current trajectory, we might all be heading to a very different kind of graduation — one that doesn’t come with a diploma but with a dire warning from a planet in crisis.