The Wounds of Schooling

By Kirsten Olson

Claire, an exceptionally talented and thoughtful sophomore in one of my classes at Wheaton College, speaks of her first experiences of wounding in school. “I remember the first time that grading rubric was attached to a piece of my writing. Maybe it was in 3rd grade. Suddenly all the joy was taken away. I was writing for a grade—I was no longer exploring for me. I want to get that back. Will I ever get that back?”

Rasheed, now a successful wireless-communications entrepreneur, describes feeling perpetually underappreciated and rebellious in school. “My talents—getting along with others, enthusiasm, charm—didn’t count for much. Very few teachers seemed to see what I had to offer. In junior high school, I broke the law and tested the boundaries in almost every way. I made my parents crazy. My mother even refused to attend my high school graduation. As soon as I left school, the successful parts of my life began.”

Jacob, another charismatic college student with up-and-down grades, talks about fear in school. “It’s like land mines, the grading and test-taking and the paper-writing. Sometimes I’m just afraid of being shamed. That’s why I keep doing it, the fear and the shame. But it makes me angry to be afraid. Why should I be? Why do I keep doing this? Do...