Nearly everywhere, I have seen variations of kids saying that, “school is useless,” or “school is a waste of time.” These ideas have always been remotely popular, but with the modern presence of social media and new influencers changing the perspectives of impressionable teens has sparked this idea even more. New ways of making sustainable money are appearing, coupled with social media showing how grievous and demanding school can be. For these major reasons, many have started to believe that school is unnecessary, and that students should not be forced to attend school. Once again, social media will often show those who have made an extremely profitable living off of little to no education. The most common examples I see are about dropshipping or reselling shoes. Of course, these are adequate careers to make a living off of, but they are not necessarily jobs that excuse the person from partaking and educating themselves throughout school.

Entrepreneurism should always be taken as positive; kids develop their financial skills and experience first-hand how to make money as they grow older. However, in my opinion, I do not believe that entrepreneurism is an excuse to be exempted from school, or an excuse to say that school is unimportant. I think that school develops skills within a person that they likely will not mature otherwise. The importance of hard work, being punctual, time management, critical thinking skills, how to cope with failure; these and many more are important life attributes that flourish within you as a result of schooling. I’m not saying that a person who has not undergone the benefits of school will not attain these capabilities, but if never learned, not having these kinds of abilities can lead to an unpleasant life. When applying to any job, your employers will expect you to have and display natural aptitude in these categories, because of all that your (in)formal education has taught you as a human. We are not born with these capabilities; they are learned and matured throughout our adolescent years.

A smaller but still significant part of the schooling system is eventually students receiving their diploma. It is astonishing how many more opportunities are added into your life after receiving your diploma, opportunities that would be unreachable had you not acquired it. Another part of school seemingly insignificant as a child, but much more important in your young adult/adult life.

The truth is, for every instance in which someone makes a big living off of non-schooling jobs, there are hundreds upon thousands of failed businesses, products, companies, etc. I think the saying, “a diamond in the rough” perfectly describes this situation. The diamond is the one shining business, the person that has ‘struck gold,’ or the person that has built a sustainable business, proven successful enough to live wealthy lifestyles. The rough, as it is ironically titled, are all those that have embarked on similar business journeys, but have been defeated by factors (not) within their control. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics displays that over 20% of businesses fail within their first year. Over 30% fail in their second year of operation. Creating and initiating a business isn’t easy either; the money that is put into supporting the business should reflect the quality of work through the profit margins. Creating an unsuccessful business would eventually turn up a worse outcome than not making a business at all. 

School’s importance is irrefutable, and I believe in a generation so filled with social media and influencer presence, people have started to underestimate the reason for school to be, as well as how much it truly helps throughout your adult life.