How to Love School Again

→ By Cameron Pien (‘23) EDITORIAL

eople between the ages of twelve and eighteen are vastly different in a variety of ways. However, there’s one topic I’m certain they’ll all enthusiastically discuss, commiserate, and possibly be driven to breakdowns over: The boredom, irrationality, and stress of school. A 2020 survey conducted by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence revealed that 75% of high schoolers had negative rather than positive impressions about school, and another report from NYU revealed that about 50% of students feel a great amount of stress on a daily basis.

Hawaii Baptist Academy’s Eagle Eye is a student-run and student-centered publication.

Hawaii Baptist Academy

2429 Pali Highway

Honolulu, Hawaii 96817

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Cameron Pien (‘23)

SPRING SEMESTER STAFF

Brendan Aoki (‘24)

Noah Camacho (‘23)

Dilan Chock-Makiya (‘23)

Noah Hu (‘23)

Olivia Kim (‘26)

Megan Lee (‘23)

Natali Nomura (‘25)

Trislyn Maeda (‘23)

Taylor Malinger (‘24)

Calla Pien (‘26)

Jeremiah Seng (‘23)

Brielle Sumida (‘26)

Marissa Watanabe (‘23)

ADVISOR

Eunice Sim

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Continued on page 21

I’ve seen this disillusionment on display in myself and my peers. As my senior year has progressed, the number of exasperated exclamations of “I’m so done” that I’ve heard from my sleep-deprived, Starbucks-sustained classmates has skyrocketed. I certainly sympathize with this sentiment: I’m going to graduate in three months, and it’s been especially tempting to gaze aimlessly out the window during my classes and question exactly why I’m sitting there in a plastic chair instead of being free to live out my fantasies of strolling around art museums in Europe. Lately, I’ve been considering the source of this pervasive cynicism and apathy towards the system that has dominated the last thirteen years of my life. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines school as “an organization that provides instruction.” Often, we perhaps rightfully dislike the ways education is accomplished, but I think it’s dangerous to allow this anger to transform into indifference towards learning itself. Students at HBA may chafe against the rules in the handbook, the fickle nature of AP Classroom, and the mundanity of homework, but ultimately, every school day offers us an opportunity to pursue wonder and curiosity. If we have concerns about educational methods, we should research and address them; after all, institutional policies and practices should encourage us to love learning, but in the process, we shouldn’t misdirect our frustration towards the larger goal they’re intended to help us achieve. We can decide to view school as either a cause of or a cure for cynicism. When I paused and brushed away the fog of disillusionment and disinterest that too often obscured my view, I saw that I was surrounded by a decadent feast of opportunities, and it would be negligent and ungrateful to refrain from partaking in them. There are a few ways I’ve attempted to stifle weariness and give life to curiosity. For example, at the beginning of the semester, I set a challenge for myself: For every one of my classes, I had to identify at least one aspect of the subject that fascinated me. Instead of mindlessly grumbling about writing essays, I asked myself to appreciate the invention of language and how it empowers everyone to have a singular voice. Rather than bemoaning the abstruse difficulty of math, I looked for the strange, mysterious beauty found in numerical patterns and the way that geometric concepts are interwoven throughout nature: Apparently, snowflakes are actually shaped like hexagons! I began to see academic knowledge as a fluid framework for the world. Math and science provide a complex structure for our physical surroundings, while the humanities enrich and enliven our social and inner mental realms. Additionally, I realized that school offers opportunities to grow not just in intellect but in practical wisdom. I made a resolution this year to have lunch with a different teacher every week in order to get to know them better and glean any advice they had to offer. I laughed with Mrs. Mitchell as she told me entertaining anecdotes about her daughter and shared what parenting has taught her, and I gained

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“I learned fraction hacks.”

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