Week-38

Writing/Informative 

Hey Fellow Learners of the World! Welcome to August, or in other words, the month freedom says, "See ya!". August always feels like a reset. Backpacks come back out, routines start forming again, and for many people, school is about to begin. This month is especially meaningful for me, because I’m starting high school, a transition that’s made me think a lot about how school is structured, and why it looks the way it does.

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This isn’t a usual update, just a breather :)

As August begins and the school year approaches, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how much this space has grown alongside me. Faces of Silicon Valley started as a place to explore ideas, but over time it’s also become a record of change: new interests, deeper questions, and now, a new chapter as I begin high school.

This post marks a transition, not just into a new school year, but into thinking more intentionally about why systems exist the way they do and how they affect us. Writing has become a way for me to slow down and make sense of those shifts, and knowing that people are reading along makes the process feel less solitary.

Thank you for being here during this moment. This one’s less about numbers, features, or announcements and more about marking the start of something new.

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Introduction to this week's post! 

It may feel redundant, at this point, but feel free to read the intro! School hasn’t always looked the way it does today. It's intriguing and indifferent for me to say that the structure, schedules, and routines we follow were shaped by history and purpose. This post explores how that system came to be and why understanding it, sadly matters.

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Why School Looks the Way It Does

By Shivali H. Patra

In honor of it being August, the month when backpacks come out, alarms get reset, and schedules suddenly matter again, I wanted to look at something most of us rarely question: school itself. This August is especially meaningful for me because I’m starting high school, a milestone that comes with new expectations, routines, and responsibilities.

School feels like a fixed part of life. Bells ring, classes last a certain number of minutes, homework is due at specific times, and learning is divided neatly into subjects. But none of this happened by accident. The way school is structured today is the result of history, economics, and ideas about what education should look like.

So how did we end up here?

The Origins of Schooling

Long before modern schools existed, education was informal. Children learned by watching adults through farming, crafting, cooking, or trading. Knowledge was passed down through storytelling, apprenticeships, and direct experience.

As societies grew more complex, formal education became necessary. Ancient civilizations like Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome created schools to train scribes, philosophers, and leaders. These early schools focused on memorization, discipline, and preparing students for specific roles in society.

However, education was limited. Only certain groups, usually wealthy men, had access to structured learning. School was not yet a universal experience.

The Rise of Mass Education

The school system we recognize today began forming during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. As factories expanded, societies needed workers who could read instructions, follow schedules, and work efficiently in groups.

Schools began to resemble factories:

• Students grouped by age

• Fixed schedules

• Bells to signal transitions

• Standardized curriculum

This structure wasn’t designed just for learning, but it was also meant to prepare students for industrial life. Punctuality, repetition, and obedience became core values of education. This model spread quickly and became the foundation of modern public schooling.

Why Scheduling Became So Important

School schedules weren’t just about organization; they reflected larger social priorities.

Dividing the day into periods made it easier to manage large numbers of students with limited staff. Subjects were separated to allow specialization, and time limits ensured consistency across classrooms.

The idea was efficiency. Learning was broken into measurable units (minutes, grades, semesters) in order to begin making progress easier to track but also more rigid. Even today, many schools still follow this system, despite changes in technology and our understanding of how people learn.

Subjects, Grades, and Testing

The division of knowledge into subjects like math, science, English, and history also has historical roots. These categories helped standardize education and make it transferable from one school to another.

Grades and tests were introduced as tools for comparison. They helped schools measure performance, but they also shifted the focus from curiosity to outcomes. Although personally, while assessments can be useful, they don’t always capture creativity, growth, or effort, qualities that matter deeply in real learning.

School in the Present Day

Modern schools exist in a strange balance between tradition and innovation. Technology has changed how information is accessed, but schedules and structures often remain the same.

Many educators now recognize that learning doesn’t happen best in fixed blocks or through memorization alone. Project-based learning, flexible scheduling, and interdisciplinary classes are becoming more common, but change is slow. Students are still adapting to a system built for a world that no longer exists.

What This Means for Students Today

Understanding how school came to be can make it easier to question it and improve it. School isn’t a natural law. It’s a system designed by people, shaped by history, and capable of change. As students move through it, especially during transitions like starting high school, it’s worth remembering that learning doesn’t only happen within the boundaries of a schedule. Curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking often happen outside the bell schedule, and it's important to note that those skills matter just as much as grades.

Final Thoughts

As August begins and schools reopen, it’s easy to focus on what classes we have or how early we wake up. But stepping back and asking why school looks the way it does can change how we experience it. Especially when we realize that not everyone had access to it. Girls like me probably wouldn't know how to even write a story or a poem! The horror! I can't imagine calming down after getting annoyed, without having my journal to write my poetry. That's one of the biggest things I'm grateful to schools for. 

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Comment Prompt! 

1. Did learning about the history of school change how you view your own education?

2. What part of the school system do you think needs the most rethinking today?

3. How do you personally learn best, within schedules, or outside of them?

4. For students starting a new school year, what are you most excited or nervous about?

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as my mother always tells me, "knowledge is power, use it," and never stop learning