The entirety of the school system in America is confounding to me, at best. It is disgruntling to see countless young minds thrown in to a world where they are forced to learn using only one established method: Mass Education. When they are thrown in to this system from the age of five, they are taught that school is the one and only way to avoid the seemingly worst consequence in all of America: Failure. And, even though many of America's pioneers were not taught in mass educational facilities, America still continues to inhibit the freedom of it's youth, it's creatively minded children are forced in to a system where mistakes are not highlighted and chosen by you, but rather, they are chosen by one who 'knows much more than yourself'. This feeling of inferiority is then used as a method to suppress creative energy and furthermore, suppress any possible revolutionary actions. In doing so, it would seem as if the country is trying to stop possible growth by making the path less trodden become the path never traveled.
Now, we come the question: Why is it that America would prevent the growth of it's own citizens? Do they do this knowingly? Or is this action purposeful? The answer to this question could vary from person to person, and while many may believe this is done for the better of the people, I must attempt to prove that this is simply not true. While i have no way of knowing whether this system is used for a purpose or used out of ignorance, I do know this: That this system does not work... It is through my own eyes and experience that i relay this message to you, and as such, it should be taken with a grain of salt per se, and additionally, tested through the eyes of the reader in his/her own experiences.
Now, as you may or may not know, I am currently 18 years of age, which was quite a recent occurrence. I was, as was the majority of American adolescents, in public school. For the sake of logic and truth i will present to you this story from the beginning to the end in its complete truth, and do not worry as i will not tarry with details in my writing.
When I was only 4 years of age, my mother had enrolled me in pre-school, and needless to say, i was not very excited. I remember vaguely the morning at my day-care when i was, rather suddenly, forced to hop on a bus to an unknown place... alone. At my age, this was preposterous, which of course led my young mind to decide that I was not boarding the bus nor was i going to school anytime soon.
At the age of five i was told i would be going to school where i could read, write, and learn a wide variety of exciting and fun things. I attempted to read dictionaries, typed spontaneously, and attempted to write my own name. Finally, when my mother walked with me to school, i believed that school wouldn't be as bad as i had previously thought. Upon my arrival, i saw children playing with their parents and it seemed like a glorious place. Then, it happened. Suddenly, parents began to distance themselves and say their goodbyes. Put simply, the children were upset. Throughout the room, countless tears where shed. Later that day, i made a friend and began to really enjoy the school system.
Let's jump ahead to my fourth grade year, which was the most hectic year of my schooling. After a recent move, i found myself friendless and alone. This destroyed school for me completely. At that age, i was beginning to discover my true self and peer pressure was starting to become a more frequent occurrence. I was small, quiet, and my hobbies were odd, at best . It wasn't long after when i quit school, or at least tried. It was the most upsetting thing to hear when my mother and my teacher told me that the law required me to attend school. That was utter blasphemy, even at that age. To be forced to sit in a place where I cannot pay attention, where i cannot make friends, where i cannot come and go as i please was impossible. Not long after, they shortened my school days and things seemed to be rolling along fine. Soon, i met a friend, who shared the same perspective as me. He had missed school before, feeling it to be needless and we had a capacity for fun which led us to imagine grand projects and amazing possibilities which soon became realities. At such a young age, it seemed as if anything was possible. Not long before the school year was over, we planned another grand scheme, but this one was grander than all the others. This one had the window of realism in its reach. Michael had brought matches and I had dreamed up a wonderful possibility. It was a revolution and it was time to spread chaos. Now, while many of you have come to imagine chaos as an evil thing, due to terrorism and things of that sort, I ask that, for now, you refrain from letting such biases too far in to your mind. My young mind had planned to have a fun time breaking the rules; the very rules which placed confining shackles on me and forced me to experience something i was not prepared for. We had started the fire, by accident of course, and decided we would nonchalantly make our way from the field to the building. Our idea of chaos was hilarious, at least for me, and the feeling of ecstasy was flaring inside of me. I laughed more as panic ensued and teachers ran. Many of the students playing on the ground did not even notice the chaos, which was even more hilarious to me. Now, at this point in my life, i was overcome with hatred for the school system that i had used the wrong kind of chaos: terror. The principal was not happy in the least and would decide upon a fate which was suprisingly easy to endure : clean-up duty. After this event, i can say that I still dislike the school system but that i am now able to use that energy on a different conduit.
Now, i fast forward to middle school, which was a fun year for me. I had friends and i frequently arrived at school late as a direct result of those very friends. I was not ashamed, and I was not upset, i was happy and free. I had my old friend from the fourth grade and many new ones. The years were not overly exciting, but had their own meanings and lessons. Put simply, i learned the meaning of freedom and learned when it was important to stand up. I learned the meaning of conformity, how it did not work for me, and i learned what true friends really are. At the end of middle school, i had addiction problems, useful in escaping from school issues. This carried on in to high school, which i will finally touch upon.
In my high school days, i returned to the same mode of living i had adopted in fourth grade. I was not interested in any part of the school and hookey was a regular occurrence. The final solution: home schooling. Home schooling proved to be much more exhilarating than public school in that it offered freedom of study times and a better choice of curriculum. The only problem: lack of social stimuli. I was left with only one study partner and she had become very boring. And, through and through, I was still stunted when it came to personal growth. It seemed as if i could not find that balance. If i had a gone to public school, i had friends and people to converse with, but the ever growing issue of forced conformity, from students and teachers, and the lack of freedom and learning thereof had eliminated it as an option. If i had stayed with homeschooling, I would learn freely, but suffer the consequences of social inactivity. I was at a crossroads and eventually, I broke down.
After some time in a hospital, i realized the importance of the people around me, and eventually returned to school. It was much more exciting. I had a fairly large amount of friends and my own woman. It did not change until about 11th grade where i felt a restlessness which would not cease. It kept calling to me, telling me that school was holding me back. That it was a waste of time. Much later, i came to find that impulse to be true. I dropped out in 12th grade and all of those around me seemed to look at me with eyes that said "You. Fail." They were persistent for a short while, but then finally came to a halt. During that time, i learned an important thing: the cost of a revolution. Even though i was away from the teachers and had met their haunting gaze as i dropped out, there were still others who would not let me 'fail'. I took the G.E.D. and passed, with flying colors, surprising even myself with the results. Even math, my worst subject was still exemplary; and as of current, i am preparing for college.
For me, school was a challenging battle, and if it had been possible before i was 17, i would have dropped out much earlier. While I am an autodidact, not everyone is, and for them, i can say school is very useful. But for the creatively minded, the self-learners, and the otherwise talented, I suggest quiet rebellion and firm follow-through. If you, the reader, are one who finds school to be dull, and feels it is just a repetitive wheel, grab a book and read; you will be surprised with what you might find. You could be an autodidact.
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