Modern day schooling is an inherently oppressive system used to keep the youth from working towards any real change. From an early age we are all taught uniformity and obedience and the concepts are drilled in our heads for years afterwards. As we progress into the capitalist "real world," we have already been ingrained with the skills necessary to make profit and live under managers. The school system uses many tools in order to keep down the natural tendencies of children. For twelve years, kids are stuck in small chairs bolted to even smaller desks. Everyone has one, and there is rarely ever an empty seat anywhere. They can't sit on the floor or anywhere else for fear of being punished. Assigned seats are a must during the first few years of school, but after awhile the rule fades away. They will still sit down in the seats that they chose in the beginning because they've become comfortable with the same chair, the same view, and the same two buttcracks from either side. When a trainer wants to train a young elephant, he clamps a strong chain to the elephants leg and stakes that into the ground so that the elephant can only walk in a small circle. He struggles and fights against the chain, but eventually learns to accept it. Even when the elephant can easily rip the stake out of the ground, he continues to walk in the same circle that he grew up with. In the rigid positions set by their teachers, children feel trapped within their seats. When sitting in their chairs, they are no longer being lectured to; they're being lectured at. A student that cannot move his legs or stretch his arms will struggle to move out, paying less attention to the lesson and more attention to his left leg bobbing up and down. Is it impossible to replace the chairs and hard tile with soft carpeting so that the kids can sit down? Better yet, the outdoors provide us with all the seating arrangements we need. These sterile indoor environments create too much of a dent in a child's natural progress to be used in the way it is today. Students are slaves to the bell. A time to enter, a time to leave, a time to eat, and a time to rush to class. They follow the same routine day after day. The system has gotten to the point that kids see periods as blocks of time; when they finish their first class, they are that much closer to getting to the last class. The modern education system has been brought down to children waiting for the next period to come, so that they can wait for the next period in that room. Teachers are forced to cram an entire lesson into one short period when it would normally take a whole week. Some teachers stretch short lesson plans into entire periods with unnecessary busy work. If the teacher could dismiss the children when the class ended, there would be no pressure to stretch a class and waste time that could be spent on real education. Students cannot stay longer with their teachers after class, even if it is needed; they might miss a little bit of their gym class or lunch time. In many parts around the world, where their education has not been tainted by our system, students come and go as they please. Teachers set a date and time that they are going to be somewhere, and the students gather around him and listen. He goes on as long as he needs to, and the audience pays attention to all of it and takes notes diligently. It may be far less efficient than our system, but having less classes where the students give all their attention is far more positive than an institution where people pay more attention to the clock than the teacher. The current grading system is an inefficient way of showing a students progress and of encouraging education. In the modern education system grades have far more importance than education. As long as a student passes his class with a D, he is fine to move on to his next class. Teachers, parents, and students are all pressured to keep the student going from one grade to the next, with no pauses in between. If a teacher cannot get a student through his course in the allotted time, he will get a bad review from his superiors and the parents. If the parent can't force the child through to the next grade, it is extremely shameful on his part. Students force their way to the next grade so that they aren't considered 'slow' by their peers and parents. We rush children through the public education system so quickly that they learn far less than they could. A kid that earns a D in his elementary math class will move on, but he won't know what he is doing in his Algebra, Geometry, and Calculus classes later on. The grading system encourages cheating and plagiarism, which is very counter-progressive in the modern education system. Aside from the few over achievers, the grading scale doesn't encourage students to work any harder. A slacker can pass the class just as well as the valedictorian, but with much less effort. The less effort that they put into the class and the less attention they have to pay means that the student will get far less education. Anyone, given the time and motivation, can write an 'A' paper. We encourage people to work hard on papers instead of to show what they know. A student can write a five page paper on nothing at all and get his grade, or he could stretch his mind and write on something that he enjoys writing about with no limit. Nobody wants to work for hours only to receive a single letter on an arbitrary scale. A letter cannot tell a student what he needs to improve, only that his paper was either high on a scale or low on a scale. This completely takes away from a student's sense of achievement, getting him used to receiving ridiculous rewards for difficult tasks. Modern education is a huge drain on today's society. It cannot be reformed or changed; it can only be destroyed and then replaced by something different. The problems that have turned modern education into an oppressive system are things which are necessary for the social control and obedience needed in the capitalist world. wall of text, etc.
You do realize that most of that isn't true right? Even if some parts are true (depending on which area you live in) schools can't do anything about overcrowdedness. It all relise on the state and federal government, to provide funding so they can expand the school. You make it seem like all the kids are crushed between the two fat kids on both sides of them. Dude. Are you on crack? Theres more then enough room to move (and I'm a big guy, I should know) So what if they miss a bit of gym class or lunch time? Those are elective classes, well, atleast gym is. Now denying them the right to go would be a different story. Get off the crack and then you can come back, and post another article on how America's public school system abuses children by making them sit next to the stinky kid in the corner. ~Whit3 Boi
I agree with most of what you wrote. What sucks is at my 'public' school we have a very strict dress code, which will probably end up to uniforms. Currently, no athletic shorts, shirts with logos bigger than 2x2, no shirts with pictures on them, not even the tiniest rip in a jean. You tell me what a picture of something appropriate on a shirt is going to do to help lessen education. Another thing is that they make you wear these faggy ID cards for 'security' reasons. They do nothing except cause a nuisance. I just think some public schools are ruining on what a school experience should be.
I think your school just sucks ass. We're not cramped, sure classes are full with 30 kids in a class, but so what. You have plenty of room. If you were on the floor, that'd mean your schools broke, and you'd keep falling asleep. There has to be a bell, because theres set times for school. System would be much worse if it was like, ok come to this room whenever, we'll talk about some stuff, ok whenever you want go read this chapter. Its not rushed at all, they have a semster to teach you an entire course, so they go at appropriate speeds. Good teachers will be there at lunch, and sometimes after school for you to ask for help. If he gets a D, it means hes lazy or doesnt understand, so he should try harder. Obviously lazy people can graduate high school, with 50% but those who work hard and get 90%'s guarentted into university and stuff. Normally I wouldnt give a damn about grades, but they determine if you go to University and make the big bucks.
The part about the dress code I don't get, but the ID cards are extremely helpful in keeping people, especially students or adults that have no need to be at your school, out. Also, your speech on public education is stupid. The only reason public education is bad is because the government does fund school districts very well, unless you're a very large (esp New York school district ) one. School districts get funding when they are the best, and ones that are bad DON'T GET THE FUNDING. That's where it fails. The good ones get the rewards while the bad ones get nothing. How is that going to fix anything? "Sorry, but you're students only scored average. You get only minimum funding this year." ~ What really happens.
I don't have time to read all of it but after the first paragraph I completly agree with you. I won't say anything else because I know it will start a flame war. When I have time I'll come back and read the rest.
it's not the schools which fail, it's the stupid students. American schools are a joke, I've yet to be sufficiently pushed near my brink. also, I've had free seeting in most of my classes for around 3-4 years. AP teachers tend to give their students more liberty. basicaly what needs to happen would be the following... teacher hand out a book and a thick packet at the begginning of a semester, they send the students home to complete the packet. The teacher is then available for question on a regular basis as needed, then tests are administered. Education should be about the mastery of content moreso than the implementation of mental endurance.
exactly, i think thats why online schools are starting to flourish, because more and more students find that they learn better when they can work at there own pace, have unlimited learning resources (the internet) and they are in a non-hostile enviroment (dont have to worry about what brand clothes they buy, what new IPOD they have or dont have, just all the BS you have to deal with in highschool) if more people would switch to online schooling it would help to eliminate a lot of the cost of public schooling (taxes etc) and it would also help eliminate overcrowding (which is a problem in SOME areas).
Come to Scotland, our education system blows. Mainly as i know my school does, is rip the piss out the teachers.
at the OP: I recomment putting the source to this. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/52240713/ Give credit where credit is due.
Our school uses a Dress Code, as with most British High Schools. It's not a big deal anymore, the days we don't have to have set school Uniform (charity etc.) Theres always a huge fight between the opposing halfs of the school. About the home learning thing, it only applies to some people. I know if I was doing all the schoolwork etc. at home, I'd get practically nothing done as would a lot of people. Plus you'd lose a lot of friends if you did home schooling, away from the "BS of high school"
Online schooling or home schooling would suck. Same work, but you miss out on all the fun experiences. No friends at home school, no hotties, no sports teams, no partying.
