When I think of School I think of work, stress, and teachers. School depends too much on your grades rather than building up your abilities in each subject. One of the most common things that comes out of a parent's mouth is "Are you keeping your grades up?" or "Go get good grades!" Kids become overly stressed out by the pressure put on them to do so. This stress can lead to overworking yourself and getting even worse grades as a result.
Tests help to contribute to the stress put on kids these days. If you do poorly on one test, that one test could drop your grade significantly. Anxiety is a big part of test taking too. Many people become jittery or nervous before a big test because they are scared they might do poorly on it. The expectation of always getting good grades is just too high these days.
One more factor that contributes to rising stress levels in kids these days is being socially accepted. Some people will go out of their way to be accepted by others either by changing their personality, style, etc. to the point where they're no longer recognizable, just to fit in with a group.
In my ideal school we would have less tests and quizzes. Passing a course would not be determined on one giant test. I would also have less students in each class so the teacher has a easier time making sure each and every student understands the material and is able to give individual attention to a student easier. Class activities would be more group and hands on activity's rather than individual worksheets and note taking all the time.
School is not a perfect place. At. All.
