I have never let my schooling interfere with my education,” the famed Mark Twain once said. To the modern student, who has sat through countless lectures on the importance of school and grades, this quote may be slightly confusing. This leads me to wonder if, after being buried under a mountain of essays, tests and anticipation of grades, we emerge from the schooling process with any education other than how to look good on paper.

The idea of learning has been distorted, and school itself — which we were all told would open the door to personal discovery and academic enthusiasm — is in truth nothing but another burden. Students are so pressured to receive that perfect mark we completely miss the point of our lessons. The word “study” has become synonymous with “cramming,” and thus, “learning” with “memorizing.” We treat each assignment as one more irritating task on our to-do lists, and upon crossing them off, we immediately erase the information from our minds. The personal gratification of truly grasping new ideas and relating them to life beyond campus boundaries has been placed on the back burner, making room for perfectionism and high GPAs.

Even in the college environment, where school is supposed to focus on our personal interests, students somehow still follow this regimen of accepting information based on necessity rather than enjoyment. This permeates even deeper than homework assignments. Degree choices are often based on what will result in the best job and the most money rather than an individual’s interests or talents, thus stripping the matriculation experience of any passion.

The thousands of dollars poured into education are nothing more than a printing fee to add the words “college graduate” to a resumé. We are not paying for an education. We are paying for a title, an empty trophy of which any value will soon diminish if things do not change.

I am not a member of Pink Floyd suggesting some anarchistic overthrow of the education system. I am merely suggesting students take a different approach to learning. School should not be a burden. Perhaps the best role for school is simply supplemental instruction, a slight addition to the stronger lessons we benefit from: the lessons of life. Just like another famous intellectual, Albert Einstein, once said, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

Let us make sure we do not allow school to compromise our ability to learn, so that in the end, we will be able to have a true education.