From an early age, students are taught to memorize, comply, and perform rather than question and critique. Creativity and dissent are treated as disruptions instead of essential skills. This conditioning shapes how young people see their own voices.
Classrooms frequently reward obedience over understanding. Students learn that success comes from repeating approved answers rather than forming independent opinions. Over time, curiosity is replaced with fear of being wrong. When these students later enter public life, they struggle to speak confidently because they were never encouraged to think freely.
- Curriculums often exclude youth realities. Issues like mental health, economic anxiety, digital identity, and political uncertainty are rarely addressed honestly.
- This disconnect makes education feel irrelevant, pushing youth to seek understanding elsewhere. When formal education ignores lived experience, it loses credibility.
Teachers themselves are often constrained by rigid systems. Many want to encourage discussion but are limited by standardized testing and institutional pressure. The result is a system that silences both educators and students, reinforcing hierarchy rather than dialogue.
If youth voices are to matter, education must change. Schools should be spaces where questioning power is normal, not punished. Without this shift, societies will continue producing educated individuals who are hesitant to speak when it matters most.
