Ammon News - By: Heba Karbek

When I was in second grade, I was already solving math problems with three-digit numbers. But my teacher didn’t seem to like that. She made me count simple numbers on my fingers, just like everyone else in class. I didn’t understand why I had to pretend I didn’t know how to do more. Now I’m in seventh grade, and not much has changed. My math teacher gives me a special list of “hard” questions to keep me busy while she teaches the rest of the class. I usually finish them in less than 20 minutes, and then I just sit there, waiting. I feel bored most of the time, even though I actually love math, but school makes it feel like a chore.

The problem isn’t only in math. In most subjects, we spend too much time copying notes, memorizing facts, and doing the same homework routines over and over. Tests don’t really show what we understand or what we’re good at, they just check if we can repeat information. But outside of school, I’ve done things that really made me think. Over the past two years, I joined an entrepreneurship program, and my brother and I came up with an idea for an app. We even got the chance to pitch it to one of the top angel investment funds in the region! It felt amazing to be taken seriously, to solve real problems, and to work like grown-ups do. I just wish school would give us that kind of chance too.

Another issue is how far behind our schools are when it comes to technology. We live in a world where artificial intelligence, coding, and smart devices are everywhere. But school still teaches us like it’s 1980. Even though people talk about improving education, our lessons are still stuck in the past. We need to learn how to think for the future, and that includes knowing how to use technology, create things, and solve modern problems.

If I could change the way school works, I would start by letting students learn at their own level and pace. I would replace some of the memorizing with creative projects that matter. And I would bring technology into the classroom in a real, useful way.

School should be the place that helps us grow, not the place that slows us down.