Advantages and disadvantages of being a student: One of the most memorable and life-changing stages of life is that of student life. There are plenty of turning points in this stage that we will never realise until that stage gets over.
A student can never realise that his life is the best one ever. And by the time he or she realises it, they would have already passed that age. This has happened to each and every one of us.
The grass is always greener on the other side.
We have all been there, haven’t we?
We want to go to college when we are in school, we desire to start working and earning money when we are in our college days and when we finally come to the working phase of life, we realise that our student life was way better than anything else.
Nevertheless, a student’s life is the golden age to achieve a lot of things.
Before we go into the advantages and disadvantages of being a student, in this article when we refer to a student, we are talking about the following
Types of students
- Kindergarten students
- Primary students
- High school students
- Middle-class students
- College students
The pros and cons of being a student are plenty and that is exactly what we will be talking about in this article.
No one, except the student, will argue on why a student’s life is the best one! That’s the irony of life.
So let us discuss a few points on Advantages and Disadvantages of Being a Student.
Advantages of Being A Student
Student’s life is undoubtedly the best phase of life. And here’s why
Students make Friends
Friends are basically our family without blood relation. Friends are a big reason why a student’s life is colourful and fun. In school, we make friends over our common interests. For example, students who like playing cricket connect quickly and they become friends. Like-minded people usually become friends very easily and students life is the best platform to find those like-minded souls. Friends in school help each other in understanding the class activities, and homework.
During our college life, we take our own decisions without the involvement and influence of our parents. Also, many live in a hostel and are hence away from their family. Studying together, staying together, nurturing interest together, adjusting to conflicts with each other, helping each other all these makes the bond stronger.
Students will get networking opportunities
Another great benefit of the student and being in university or schools is that they get the opportunity to network. Meeting new students, making connections, and building relationships will all help down the line when they grow up. Networking is especially important for university students to find jobs and career opportunities. Because they’re all part of the same organization, people with similar interest will surely cross paths in future. So networking is a golden opportunity that students can make use of.
Practical experience through clubs and activities
Participating in a club or an organization based around their particular area of study will give them practical experience within that field. Learning leadership skills, ten skills, team spirit, developing new relationships are all possible while being an active part of student clubs and activities.
Students can learn good communication skills
From writing love letters to writing leave letters, a student will grow through all phases of relationships. And a key to a relationship, whether it’s personal or professional, is proper communication.
Debates, speeches, group discussions and various other activities will help a student hone his or her communication skill. The communication skill, both spoken and written, that one learns in student’s life will become a great too once they start their corporate life.
Students can learn digital fluency
College and school students today are well trained in the digital world. They engage in online classes and platforms, and are exposed to different software and use of various course materials
Companies look for candidates who are well versed digitally and have tech-savvy bend of mind. These tools that students learn in classrooms can help them gain a job in the future.
Because let’s face it, technology is the future!
Students get a good education
This is the primary reason why children are sent to schools and colleges. This is an apt age to learn things and get educated. It is not just to make a good career and land up in a high paying job, but a good education is important for students to become a better human being.
Teachers, parents and other stakeholders should make sure students get high-quality education from their institute. Because a well-educated child is the future of the country.
Now that we have discussed the advantages of being in schools and colleges, let us now talk about the other side of the coin.
Disadvantages of being a student
While it might be hard for elders to believe there might be any sort of disadvantages at all, it only says that we are forgetting our own school days!
If we recall well, not everything was hunky-dory for us as a student, was it?
The problems that students face:
Bullying of students
Bullying is a type of aggressive behaviour that takes place when an individual intentionally causes someone else discomforts on repeated occasions.
Students can experience bullying at either very young age or in university stage, but it most commonly happens among school-aged children. Irrespective of what age it is, bullying can have a serious impact on the mental health of a student. it is not only about the victim, but bullys in student life can also exhibit harmful behaviour as they grow old. Both the parties involved in bullying will suffer one way or the other.
Bullying can have a long term cascading impact on students, especially given their gullible mind-set. Parents, as well as school authorities, should take cognisance of the situation to help out children to come out of the trauma caused by bullying. Any students, irrespective of his or her background, can experience bullying. As elders, we should teach them to be strong and stand up to bullies.
Students can’t pursue their ambitions
Every parent’s dreams about their children having an illustrious career. Popular choices usually are an engineer or a doctor or an accountant. Any profession that has less risk and better financial stability
This direction of career path will be inculcated to them right from their childhood. But it would be difficult to convince the kid to pursue the dream career for their parents. Some kids might want to pursue you their ambitions which might not necessarily have financial stability or less risk, like sports or arts. This will be a difficult phase for students to fight the challenges in order to do what they want with their lives.
Exam stress faced by students
This is one of those disadvantages that every student can relate to. The nervousness and anxiety during this phase is a commonly discussed sight in schools and university campuses. However, wise and a good education system, advise and tips from teachers help students to tackle this phase very easily. A goof backsupport from elders can come a long way in students scores and interest in the subject.
Schools should design the curriculum such that this concept of exam stress is eliminated. The education system of Finland has completely done away with examinations. There are various innovative techniques used by universities across the globe that every school in India should follow.
Discriminations that students face
Discriminations that students face can come from various sources. Teachers, classmates, authorities or anyone on campus can discriminate a student based on their gender, race or nationality. This can negatively affect the kid.
There comes a time where the topic of gender will come up. Some people believe in it, while others don’t. Regardless of a person’s decision, it’s something we all need to get comfortable talking about and understanding
Gender will also be brought to the conversation in regards to equality. Boys and girls and men and women need to be treated equally. The values that students learn at home will mostly be replicated in classes as well. These societal stereotypes should be broken in the home itself before they enter the classrooms.
Difficulty in learning how to study
While the very reason children are sent to school is for studying, not everyone can do well with it.
When you’re an adult who already graduated from college or are already a parent, think of the last time someone taught you how to study. Looking back, it seems like something most of us students just did, but somewhere down the line, we were taught how to study effectively. Without having a teacher explain to us what to highlight or when to take breaks when studying for an exam, most of us would just be reading the books not sure what to take from it. Studying effectively is important and is valued when learned.
The responsibility that students won’t face this type of situation lies equally on teachers and parents.
Students do comparison
Comparing ourselves with each other is a basic human tendency. When adults compare themselves with each other, how can we expect kids not to?
A healthy comparison can lead to a healthy completion which is ultimately good for students, whether it is in academics, sports or extracurricular
Do Check:
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But too much comparison can become toxic. Sometimes parents and teachers commit the mistake of comparing children with their friends or classmates. This can discourage a child and if the problem is not rectified, it can lead to a traumatic childhood.