I never really realised how lucky I was to enjoy school. At the time I didn't stop to consider just how unpleasant it must be for some people. While I was good at most subjects (though some less so than others), some people were good at very few. As soon as I was allowed to drop Art at the end of Year 10, there wasn't much that I didn't like. But some people dislike maths, science or English. Some dislike one of these and a few more besides. And some people just never get to grips with the academic side of things at all. The classes that I didn't like were over in a couple of hours per week, and then I was able to get back to things that enjoyed. I can't imagine what it would have been like for someone to whom tolerable classes were a rare exception rather than the norm.
 
I didn't really understand how much of a problem it must have been until I had a job that I disliked. The feeling of getting up every other morning wishing that I didn't have to go to work, and of having no end date in sight, got to be a bit depressing after a while, and I didn't actually realise how miserable I was until a couple of months after I did finally move on. I could always have left, of course, but I had nothing else to go in to, and a period of unemployment wouldn't have looked very good on my CV.
 
So what of those for whom school is the same? Generally they will be academic underachievers. Generally they will struggle in most reasonably academic classes, and this is the first problem, because those who struggle often do not struggle quietly. They get bored easily so make trouble and distract students who would otherwise be paying attention. This isn't necessarily the result of a huge character flaw. Most people, put in a hostile environment for five hours per day, would become restive and easily distracted.
 
So putting some people into normal classes not only will not teach them anything, but will distract the rest of the class. The net learning is actually decreased by putting some academic strugglers in some classes. And what's the reaction to this? In a blindingly clear example of common sense, schools insist that they stay put - in some cases, so god help me, until they actually pass. Concentrating on things that the students are not very good at, at the expense of what they're good at, is total, utter pointlessness.
 
The main aim of secondary school should be to prepare students for whatever career path they want and this means different things for different people. Everyone must obviously have the same opportunities as everyone else to prosper, and five hours of academic classes per week is great for those wanting to be academics, lawyers or scientists. But it is abject futility of the highest order for some others. Those others shouldn't be in all classes because they don't learn anything, and neither does anyone sitting next to them. In terms of academic knowledge, as long as you can do basic sums (with a calculator, if you must) to balance the cheque book each week and can write an understandable email or a short, simple report, there are some jobs for which you will have all the academic qualifications that you will ever need.
 
In the meantime, why not teach practical skills? My school's underperformers generally did better than other schools', and it had only two vocational options, one being Hospitality and the other being Mechanics. So no matter how much anyone detested tradtional subjects, they had to spend at least half their time on them.
 
Why not focus on getting people what they actually need, not what we think they ought to want? Those who want to be mechanics don't need to know the periodic table, or the reasons for the First World War starting. Such knowledge obviously won't do them any harm, but as long as they have basic literacy and numeracy they'll be fine. (And before some smug Ministry of Education boffin gets in touch, the NCEA's literacy and numeracy requirements don't count. You can get both without having any mastery of either). 
 
Those who have no connection at all with academic subjects should not be taught. The harder you try, the more angry, withdrawn and bitter they will become, until they are totally hostile to any education at all. Use all those extra hours to teach them stuff that they may need. If they want to be mechanics, give them an old car engine to play with. If they want to work in hospitality, beg a job at a local cafe. A plumber? Great, push for an apprenticeship. Everyone is good at something, and most people enjoy what they're good at. If that something happens to be something that cannot be taught in a classroom, don't try. Teach it elsewhere. But for god's sake teach it. Secondary schools have their attention for at most five years, so please, whatever you do, try to make the most of that short time.