This text is not a school reform plan and not a cute story about perfect kids. It’s closer to asking what school would look like if we built it around real young people instead of grades and panic about the future. I’m writing for you if you feel stuck somewhere between homework, social networks, entrance exams and parents asking “what will you be when you grow up”.
Better Society is just a thought experiment, where path to adulthood starts with your first phone and ends with your first work contract. It keeps coming back to one question. What would change if we really took mental health, relationships and inequality seriously instead of pretending everything is fine until someone breaks.
Mind, screen and relationships
In Better Society, growing up does not revolve around grades or getting into the “right” school.The basics are different. You have clear rules for phone use, real help for your mental health and honest teaching about healthy relationships.
Your phone is not the main reason you fight with your parents. And it’s not the thing they use to keep you quiet. You decide together when and where phones are off limits. At school you have a digital skills class. You learn how apps are built to keep you scrolling and see where algorithms push you into rabbit holes. The focus is on seeing when an app does more harm than good and when it is better to delete it. Apps send fewer notifications to young people and there is no endless scrolling. So it’s easier to put the phone down and actually get some rest or switch off. The state sets basic rules for tech and makes digital literacy mandatory in schools. Families get simple guides on how to talk about screens and set limits. Tech companies complained, of course. So changes came in gradual steps. Over time it became normal that kids’ brains matter more than ad revenue.
Every primary and secondary school has a psychologist or counsellor available, who does more than paperwork. Students actually see them. In town there’s typically a youth centre where you can come alone, no parents, and get a few free sessions, or just mingle with other kids. Anxiety, depression and suicide are not just rumours in the hallway. They are topics in class, so kids know where to go and what to say when they need help. Because of this, less pain stays hidden. Fewer people run into self-destruction just to cope and more people get help in time. More public money goes into school psychologists and short-term therapy for young people, while schools also have mandatory mental health modules. People who called this ‘too expensive’ eventually see the numbers and the change. There is less pressure on hospitals, less crime and fewer lives falling apart.
At school they also have classes about relationships. Not one awkward talk, but a real subject. They talk about friendship, love, consent and sex. You learn how to say no and set boundaries, how to listen and how to talk about stuff that usually comes with shame or silence. This means fewer toxic and abusive relationships later. It helps you see yourself and others in a more realistic and healthier way, not through Instagram filters or drama. To get there, we updated the curriculum, trained teachers and invited NGOs that already work in this area. Some conservative groups panicked and said this goes against their values. So schools invite parents in, show the content and make it clear that the goal is less violence, less fear and less confusion.
In such a school, the hardest topics are not your private burden. That’s the bare minimum if a society wants to be taken seriously.
A fair school for everyone, not only for the privileged
Good education is not something you get only if you were born into the “right” family. Here, even kids from poorer or chaotic homes get support from the start of primary school. They get a mentor, learning support and maybe a scholarship. Someone helps them with applications for clubs, camps, schools and universities. So they don’t just pick the cheapest and closest options because they don’t know what else exists. They are treated as kids with potential, not problems. So more of them finish school and end up in jobs they actually like, not just ones they fell into by accident. To make this work, schools, social services and NGOs share information and actively look for kids who need support. There is enough money for mentoring and scholarships. People who shout this is ‘free money’ get to see clear rules and real numbers so they know who gets help, why and what changed.
Classes start closer to nine. There are also more breaks, time for physical activity and a proper meal. If your parents still need to leave home early, you can come to school before lessons. There’s a library, a quiet space for homework and an organised breakfast. That means less chronic lack of sleep, fewer zombie mornings and better focus in class. National rules set the earliest possible start time. Timetables were cleaned of useless content that nobody remembers or needs after the exam. Schools organise morning programmes for early arrivals. At the same time, employers offer more work from home or flexible hours to parents.
A child with ADHD or learning difficulties is not the kid in the back row everyone is tired of. They get tailored schoolwork, help from an assistant and a quiet space to step away when noise or chaos is too much. Classmates learn how to work with them instead of teasing them or leaving them out. This means less exclusion and less trauma. Kids with differences keep more of their self-respect, while others learn empathy instead of just trying to be the best. Schools get extra funding for assistants and teachers are trained for different ways of learning and behaving. Grading and expectations are adapted so that “different” does not automatically mean “worse”. Classes are smaller and there are more adults around who can help.
School in a Better Society does not erase differences. It just stops the system from turning them into ten years of extra punishment or disadvantage.
School as training for real life, not for cramming
Here, grades are not the centre of everything. What really matters is that you understand things, can think for yourself and can handle real situations.
School is a place where you try out what you are actually good at. Lessons are built on creativity and critical thinking, not just ticking through exercises. Teachers care how you got to an answer. Grades reflect understanding and your way of explaining, not just if the final number is correct. Over time it becomes clear if you are more into languages, tech, art, helping people or something else. That means fewer wrong turns in education and career. Curriculum and grading changed so that thinking, questioning and creativity come first. Facts still matter, but they are not the only thing that counts. People who believe only in strict discipline and marks fought this at first. So schools started small, measured results and then expanded. When they saw that knowledge and job chances didn’t drop, but actually improved, resistance slowly faded.
In history you don’t only memorise dates, but you look at causes and consequences. You see patterns that still repeat today in politics, media and wars. In other subjects, you solve real problems. You learn how to handle money, relationships, media manipulation and free time. At some point you make a monthly budget, practise hard conversations, analyse the news and plan your week. So it’s clear this is for your real life, not just for a grade. Syllabuses changed so in every subject you also ask how it matters for your life today. Financial, emotional and digital literacy are built in, not squeezed into one random workshop. Teachers get proper training and decent material, not just a PDF and “good luck”. Some people still wanted to use to old textbooks and old methods. So the system introduced changes slowly, with clear examples that even the most sceptical parents could understand.
In class, it pays to think and copy-paste is not the main skill. Tests are not just essays that AI can write for you at home. There are oral exams, long-term projects and practical tasks where you have to explain your process. Teachers know their students well enough to see the difference between real understanding and empty repetition. AI is used like a tool for ideas and information. It helps you research and structure, but it doesn’t “do school” for you. Your teacher still decides your grade. Schools introduced more oral exams, AI checks and tasks that can’t be handed in as raw generated text. Most of your grade comes from work you do in class and from personal presentations. Students who were used to copying complained, and some people in charge worried it would mean more work. So AI is allowed as help in some tasks, but the key decisions still depend on your own thinking.
When school really trains your mind, your life skills and your use of tools, grades become a side effect. The main result is adults who know what they are good at and where their limits are.
How better system treats your future
Before “D Revolution”, many young people picked university, a profession and a first job with almost no real information. In Better Society, you get more chances, more honest data and people who don’t treat you as disposable.
If you change your university, repeat a year or switch fields, you’re not automatically a failure. Funding and admission rules allow a few attempts, while moving between fields is possible without a ton of paperwork. People around you see it as part of figuring out life, not as a sign that you’re lazy or doomed. This lowers the panic around the “first big choice”. One decision at nineteen no longer feels like a life sentence. To do this, the system made scholarships and admissions more flexible. Credit transfers are simpler and there’s strong counselling at key transition points. There are still limits, so it doesn’t turn into endless hopping without responsibility.
Career guidance is more than a boring list of job titles. You go on short internships and job shadowing. You see what people actually do, how long their workday is and roughly what they earn. You get a feel for workplace culture, not just glossy descriptions. Choosing a field becomes less about what your family thinks or looks safe. It becomes more about what makes sense for you, based on real experience. Schools run a clear programme where you go on placements, visit workplaces and listen to people from different fields. Employers at first didn’t want to “waste time and money on kids”. So the state and companies created joint programmes that also benefit employers. They get young people who know what they are signing up for and need less basic training.
There are no giant public rankings of “best schools” that everyone obsesses over. The system looks at your progress, your projects and your overall work. Students compare themselves less by who has the highest grade point average and more by how far they’ve come in a year. That lowers pressure and opens space for real learning. For the next level of education, schools look at your whole portfolio. That means assignments, projects and smaller tests, not only one big final exam. Standardised tests still exist, and even elite schools use them, but they become just one factor, not the only key to the door.
Teaching is a job young people can choose without feeling they are throwing their future away. You see teachers who are not frustrated or totally burnt out. They earn a fair wage, have decent working conditions and some freedom in how they teach. They are treated with basic respect. In class you meet adults who want to be there and find meaning in their work. That changes how you listen and how much you get from school. To reach this point, teacher pay went up. Career paths are clear, paperwork decreased and public debate shows teaching as core work for any functioning society. Parts of politics still saw education as “cost”, not investment, so improvements came step by step and were tied to visible results like fewer dropouts.
This system doesn’t promise a perfect path. It just makes it less likely that one bad choice or one bad teacher traps you for years. That alone is more than many young people get today in Fucked Up Society.
Conclusion
In Better Society, a young person grows up differently. From primary school to the first real job, they have a healthier relationship with screens, a school that treats them fairly, subjects that actually help in daily life, and a clearer way into university or work. This shouldn’t be some far-off dream. This should be the default. But right now, money and luck still decide way too much about what kind of future you get.
This text is about how growing up could look if we actually cared about young people. Problem Origin talks about how the current system grinds you down, while Perfect Human is about what you can still do for yourself inside that mess. The point is not to sell a perfect world. The point is to see what’s broken a bit more clearly and to know what we have every right to calmly demand from people in power.
How did you like the article?