Right now, there is a kid finishing
Parent's Evening,
in the heat of a discussion with his mother.
Asking why he would have to study subjects he would
never,
ever use in his life?
And she will look at him, blank-eyed,
let out a sigh, think for a second - and then lie.
She will say something along the lines of ..
"You know to get a god job, you need a good degree;
and these subjects will help you to get a good degree. We
never had these opportunities when I was
younger."
And he will reply:
"But you were young a long time ago - weren't you,
mum?"
And she won't respond;
although what he implies makes perfect sense:
That society's needs would've changed since
she was sixteen.
But she will ignore him, grip his hand more sternly, and drag
him to the car.
But what she doesn't know; is that she didn't ignore
him, just to shut him up.
She didn't lie because they were just returning from
Parent's Evening, and an argument on the hallway would
look bad on her resumee.
She won't lie because she just spent the last one hour
convincing a stern-faced teacher that she will ensure that
her child studies more at home.
No.
She will lie, simply because she doesn't know any better
herself.
Although her entire adult life, she has never used or applied
a pythagram therom, perfected fallacy, and still does not
know the value of x.
She will rely on society, to tell her that her
child, who has one of the
sharpest minds in the school, is
hyperactive, unfocused, easily distracted, and dead
weight.
STUDENTS.
How many equations, subjects and phases did you memorise just
before an exam - never to use again?
How many A grades did you get, which were never helpful when
you applied for a job?
How many times have you remembered something, just five
minutes after the teacher said 'stop writing', only
to receive your results one month later, to realise you were
only one mark short of the top
grade?
Does that mean remembering five minutes earlier, would've
made you more qualified for a particular job?
Well, on an application form, it would've.
We all have different abilities, processes, experiences and
genes; so why is a class full of individuals tested by the
same means?
So does that mean Shantel must be dumb, just because she
couldn't do a couple of sums?
And if this issue is not addressed properly; it then becomes
a self-fulfilling prophecy; that every school has the
audacity to have a policy on
equality.
Hah, the irony.
Exams are society's methods of telling you what you are
worth.
But you can't let society tell you what you are,
'cause this is the same society that tells you that
abortion is wrong - but then looks down on teenage
parents.
The same society that sells products to promote natural
hair, looks, and a smooth completion - with the model
on the box half-photoshopped, and has fake lashes, and hair
extentions.
With pastors that preach charity, but
own private jets.
Parents that say they want, "educated kids", but
constantly marvel at how rich Richard Braxton is.
With governments that preach peace, but endorse
wars.
That say that they believe so much in the importance of high
education; and further learning..
Then why increase tuition fees
every single year?
I believed Miss Jefferson, when she sat me in her office and
told me that exams would be imperative to my success.
And we were told to always follow what Miss Jefferson
led;
but then I took Jefferson out of the equation, and learnt to
think for myself.
I realised we were told to always follow what
misled.
Test us with tests, but the finals are never final.
'Cause they never prepare us for the biggest test, which
is survival.
And what I suggest is fairly outlying;
so I don't expect everyone to understand this,
except for the kids who know what it feels
like, to be worth no more than that
D or that
A that you get on results day.
And the one who's best stories were never good enough for
the english teacher;
'cause apparently you missed out "key-literal"
techniques, did not follow the class plan, and the language
was too informal for him to
understand.
But then he'd reference Hamlet &
McBeth, and you'd fight the urge to express
your contempt, by partially clenching your fist, with only
you medius finger left protruding in the middle of your
hand.
Then ask if he was aware that Shakespeare was known as the
innovator of slang.
Or, the kid in the back of the class, who thinks
'Why am I studying something that feed my
drive', but then when confronted with a mass problem
his eyes come alive.
So this is one for my generation:
the ones who found what they were looking for on google;
the ones who followed their dreams on twitter;
pictured their future on instagram;
accepted destiny on facebook.
This one's for my failures and
my drop-outs, for my
unemployed graduates, my shop
assistants; cleaners and chashiers with bigger dreams.
My self-employed entrepeneurs;
my world-changers and my dream-chasers;
Because the purpose of why I hate school but love
education, was not to initiate a world-wide debate, but to
let them know that whether a seventy-two, or an eighty-eight,
fourty-four, or sixty-eight,
We will not let exam results decide our
fate.
RugsFromMeToYou · 1 decade ago
0
reply
oh my goodness this is possibly my favourite quote i've ever come across on witty. i try not to take school for granted because there are lots who don't have an education, but like you i believe its done all wrong. i go to one of the best schools in the uk and i am very bright, but compared to the rest of them im crap. almost everyone in my school wants to do law or become a doctor or something like that, and when i say i want do go to art college they're like ''sounds interesting...'' and i much prefer learning things from my own books or tv than sitting in a class full of idiots.
thank you for this :)