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.
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