I was always a "good student", putting up with school's crap to make my parents happy. I'm fed up.

I've spoken to many people about my predicament. Some useless Guidance Counselors advised that I go to a "gifted" school on Saturdays to distract me from all the bullshit during the week. I got a teacher to confess that school was nonsense, and then she caught herself and said that I was living in a fantasy world and that school will get better.

It is ridiculous that all of these people are agreeing that school is pointless, but they are still too phobic to do anything about it. They see me, disgusted that this compulsory nightmare is keeping me from my interests and breaking my spirit, but then still contend that it is for the greater good. Were I to mention anything about the parallels between cults and school, they would go into a mental catatonic shock.

It is so difficult to maintain the belief that school solely exists to dumb down the masses in the face of such propaganda. School assaults me with the message that "School is success" in all of its work. The shining example of the Hidden Curriculum if you will.

I hate that these people believe that they can coerce and frighten me into a corrupt "education" through 12 years in a factory system. My grades are not doing well, so my parents are displeased. I am losing patience and am close to throwing up my hands in the air and saying fuck it to school. I've mentioned unschooling/homeschooling, but everyone is talking about how that could never be possible because they've never heard of it.

At this point I'm still doing most of my Homework, even though it hurts. I have read the Teenage Liberation Handbook, Gatto's work, and Holt's work. The standard fare. One time I had the balls to put Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling on one of their nonsense "Reading Lists". They have no business telling me who I am and how to spend my childhood.

What should I do?

It is hard to convince anyone(except smart people) that school is crap. Teachers in my school and my parents keep telling me I am wrong for what I believe. They just can't open their minds to the truth.(yet they say they want you ot be open minded[hypocrites])

I know how you feel.

Welcome to school survival fellow school.
Here you are among friends.

Welcome to SS

Quote:I've mentioned unschooling/homeschooling, but everyone is talking about how that could never be possible because they've never heard of it.

And the only reason they haven't heard of it is because they never question anything. Maybe try pointing them towards some books, or stats that prove homeschoolers do better on those standardized tests (I know tests are generally worthless, but your parents probably don't agree). How many years do you have left?

Thanks for the warm reception.

I've got roughly 4 years left. If my patience is wearing thin now, I can't imagine how I will be in four years. I suppose I could point my parents to a couple of homeschooling books, but they are still sadistic about the whole thing. Also, I feel physically ill going to School, but my parents won't let me stay home anymore.


I'm in a constant state of struggle between what everyone I know believes and what I believe. Gatto's writings make so much sense, but I am forced to be a hypocrite and obey what school says out of utter fear. This colossal institution is utterly destroying me and I have no recourse. Everyone I know thinks that I am terribly wrong about school. But I still have to hold my ground if I am to remain sane.

Sometimes just contemplating my situation sickens me. I must obey every order personnel give me for six hours every day without complaining, or they will demean me, ruin my reputation with both my peers and my family, and imprison me even more with obligatory "detentions". Should I refuse to do their "homework" I will be given a poor mark for not conforming to the school's will, regardless of circumstance. Involuntarily switching my train of thought every forty-five minutes in accordance with their bizarre factory schedule to ensure equal mediocrity in nine Subjects, each of which bear little resemblance to their real world counterparts. I must not speak with my fellow inmates save for one "lunch break" where I must consume their grovel and finish the rest of the homework that I could not possibly have completed the night before if I wanted to allot any time to a "meaningless" personal endeavor, such as actual learning. The other inmates are always preoccupied with pleasing their superiors, having nervous breakdowns over a poor mark on a mandatory test. These aforementioned tests serve only one purpose: to promote more classism and make sure that the slaves are jumping through all of the Institution's hoops. When they are not doing that, their minds are too preoccupied with consumerism and the media to realize their actual state of constant surveillance and enslavement. Alienated, I often play along with the other inmates, but I am really just frustrated that no one will actually think for themselves like the fantastic figures in history that they were told to revere. Of course, we are told by the System itself how we should appreciate all of our freedom we have as Americans every day. Ignorance is bliss.

After these people have been broken, their worldviews permanently altered, and they grow to accept their servitude as the norm, they dare not question their position ever again. They have become the fabled success the schools had advertised all along. They have been Educated, more than content to sell whatever remained of their lives to their bosses and material pursuits. They will never dare to try questioning their predicament, they are now a well-shaped brick in the wall. They are only concerned with what happens in the media, because it is the only thing left of their reality. They live through those that they intently watch on television. Their minds have been molded like clay into robots, just as predicted so long ago by John Dewey. These half-people are more than ready to die for their country or support whatever other shit the ones in power ask them to. They will never know truth.

I know not who is in control of this system, I know not how any human being could possibly justify this Institution and all that it does. What I do know, however, is that we need to do something about it.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING A DISTINCTIVE AVATAR!!!! NOW I WON'T FORGET WHO YOU ARE!!!

Welcome to the hellhole known as Internets. You have reached one of Internets many towns, School Survival.
Enjoy your stay. And remember, all new SS members get free chocolate chip cookies!

Quote:all new SS members get free chocolate chip cookies

When did this start. I never got any. You guys must hate me.

yup.

I was right!!!!! What do you guys have against me?

GenKai Wrote:Thanks for the warm reception.

I've got roughly 4 years left. If my patience is wearing thin now, I can't imagine how I will be in four years. I suppose I could point my parents to a couple of homeschooling books, but they are still sadistic about the whole thing. Also, I feel physically ill going to School, but my parents won't let me stay home anymore.


I'm in a constant state of struggle between what everyone I know believes and what I believe. Gatto's writings make so much sense, but I am forced to be a hypocrite and obey what school says out of utter fear. This colossal institution is utterly destroying me and I have no recourse. Everyone I know thinks that I am terribly wrong about school. But I still have to hold my ground if I am to remain sane.

Sometimes just contemplating my situation sickens me. I must obey every order personnel give me for six hours every day without complaining, or they will demean me, ruin my reputation with both my peers and my family, and imprison me even more with obligatory "detentions". Should I refuse to do their "homework" I will be given a poor mark for not conforming to the school's will, regardless of circumstance. Involuntarily switching my train of thought every forty-five minutes in accordance with their bizarre factory schedule to ensure equal mediocrity in nine Subjects, each of which bear little resemblance to their real world counterparts. I must not speak with my fellow inmates save for one "lunch break" where I must consume their grovel and finish the rest of the homework that I could not possibly have completed the night before if I wanted to allot any time to a "meaningless" personal endeavor, such as actual learning. The other inmates are always preoccupied with pleasing their superiors, having nervous breakdowns over a poor mark on a mandatory test. These aforementioned tests serve only one purpose: to promote more classism and make sure that the slaves are jumping through all of the Institution's hoops. When they are not doing that, their minds are too preoccupied with consumerism and the media to realize their actual state of constant surveillance and enslavement. Alienated, I often play along with the other inmates, but I am really just frustrated that no one will actually think for themselves like the fantastic figures in history that they were told to revere. Of course, we are told by the System itself how we should appreciate all of our freedom we have as Americans every day. Ignorance is bliss.

After these people have been broken, their worldviews permanently altered, and they grow to accept their servitude as the norm, they dare not question their position ever again. They have become the fabled success the schools had advertised all along. They have been Educated, more than content to sell whatever remained of their lives to their bosses and material pursuits. They will never dare to try questioning their predicament, they are now a well-shaped brick in the wall. They are only concerned with what happens in the media, because it is the only thing left of their reality. They live through those that they intently watch on television. Their minds have been molded like clay into robots, just as predicted so long ago by John Dewey. These half-people are more than ready to die for their country or support whatever other shit the ones in power ask them to. They will never know truth.

I know not who is in control of this system, I know not how any human being could possibly justify this Institution and all that it does. What I do know, however, is that we need to do something about it.

Don't let it get you down: Remember that You are Right and they are Wrong Good always triumphs in the end

The Brainwashing is like a virus - is conquers one generation and uses it to infect the next...
I don't think anyone is "in control of this system" anymore. like a virus - it was thought of and writen about - created - then activly spread by the Educationist morons till it took on a life of its own... The educationist institutions that created it still exist nowadays but they are more a part of the the system then the "controler" of it.

Quote:I've got roughly 4 years left. If my patience is wearing thin now, I can't imagine how I will be in four years.

4 years in school feels like an eternity... 4 years out of school feels like hardly any time at all. I guess that says a lot

Quote:I'm in a constant state of struggle between what everyone I know believes and what I believe. Gatto's writings make so much sense, but I am forced to be a hypocrite and obey what school says out of utter fear. This colossal institution is utterly destroying me and I have no recourse. Everyone I know thinks that I am terribly wrong about school. But I still have to hold my ground if I am to remain sane.

I think you may have to get used to that... it doesn't change all that much in "the real world". Common sense is rare... but at least you can avoid stupid people more easily outside of school.

Quote:After these people have been broken, their worldviews permanently altered, and they grow to accept their servitude as the norm, they dare not question their position ever again. They have become the fabled success the schools had advertised all along. They have been Educated, more than content to sell whatever remained of their lives to their bosses and material pursuits.

Sad but true. I don't think they're hopeless though, if they are capable of being open-minded (I think everyone is) then there's hope for them. Also, I think this is what causes the thing known as a "mid-life crisis"... people put themselves through so much shit they didn't really want to do, then one day it hits them that they haven't really LIVED much. That is a good thing. The fact that it has a common name and people accept it as a normal thing is bad though... they might not take it seriously because of that.

christillusion Wrote:I was right!!!!! What do you guys have against me?

sarcasm.

You remind me more of myself than most people here do.

Even if there was some conspiracy to dumb down the masses in the past by creating compulsory education, (I doubt any such "conspiracy" could have been a major reason why education was made compulsory.) the current stupid school system is probably maintained just because it is established and people are ridiculed for questioning it. I used to think that the problem was just that schools were bad.

They certainly are bad, but people accept that they are bad and make their children go anyway because they think that this is the only way to succeed in life. School is compulsory, but there are alternatives to traditional schooling that are still legally considered school. You can certainly better your situation, but only if you have your parents' approval. School stays bad because parents don't consider alternatives.

If your parents are anything like mine, you will have to do something drastic to change their attitudes about school. Because my parents send me to school and yell at me when I don't do my work, I can't believe that they "love" me. You may say that they really do love me and that I just don't understand, but I don't care because I actually feel hatred towards them even though they do so much for me. So, realize that your parents just need to stop coercing you into doing your work in order to make you happier. You don't have to show any anger you have, but you should be angry at your parents more than your school. They could also take you out of whatever school you're in, but the first part is more important.

I recommend that you don't try to do things that don't feel natural. If you try to make a statement about schooling, people will just say that you're being a wise guy or something. It's really cool when you reach the point where you just don't care anymore and can't get yourself to do work even when someone's yelling at you to do it.

Thank you, Will.

It just seems damned-near impossible to combat an entire lifetime of brainwashing through willpower. I doubt that I will ever reach the point that I can just not do the work because of my eight or so years as a mentally-dependent "good student." They really have made me my own worst enemy, because even when I try to assert that school is a sham there is a part of me that resists. I remember Dewey saying something about making the students their own masters, and I suppose that that was true. Inborn doubt of myself and anything that didn't come from the Institution.

I would certainly need to do something drastic to convince my parents. They never thought that there was a problem because I always went along with it, not conscious of all the inner turmoil and longing for a purpose beyond the curriculum designated that year. They love me, but I think that they believe that I am the "problem" and not school, on the grounds that no other parents they know have this problem. Being the minority sucks, eh? I couldn't really blame them though, their support would be nice but the real problem is the compulsory menticide.

I must say though: schools are terribly hypocritical, there are posters littering the walls talking about how you should think for yourself and that "What is right is not always popular" yet anyone who questions the schools' authority is discriminated against. Does no one notice this? It's a bloody joke. And the sheer amount of cultish propaganda in the work is mind-numbing. I consistently come home with worksheets that justify school's arcane machinations. "If Joe has a Math average of 64, what grade must he receive on his next exam to get an average of 70?" "How do you say I have homework in Spanish?" "Write a poem about how your favorite teacher changed your life."

It seems that it is impossible to succeed in this system unless you fricking marry it.

GenKai Wrote:Thank you, Will.

It just seems damned-near impossible to combat an entire lifetime of brainwashing through willpower. I doubt that I will ever reach the point that I can just not do the work because of my eight or so years as a mentally-dependent "good student." They really have made me my own worst enemy, because even when I try to assert that school is a sham there is a part of me that resists. I remember Dewey saying something about making the students their own masters, and I suppose that that was true. Inborn doubt of myself and anything that didn't come from the Institution.

I would certainly need to do something drastic to convince my parents. They never thought that there was a problem because I always went along with it, not conscious of all the inner turmoil and longing for a purpose beyond the curriculum designated that year. They love me, but I think that they believe that I am the "problem" and not school, on the grounds that no other parents they know have this problem. Being the minority sucks, eh? I couldn't really blame them though, their support would be nice but the real problem is the compulsory menticide.

I must say though: schools are terribly hypocritical, there are posters littering the walls talking about how you should think for yourself and that "What is right is not always popular" yet anyone who questions the schools' authority is discriminated against. Does no one notice this? It's a bloody joke. And the sheer amount of cultish propaganda in the work is mind-numbing. I consistently come home with worksheets that justify school's arcane machinations. "If Joe has a Math average of 64, what grade must he receive on his next exam to get an average of 70?" "How do you say I have homework in Spanish?" "Write a poem about how your favorite teacher changed your life."

It seems that it is impossible to succeed in this system unless you fricking marry it.

I used to feel exactly like that.

Quote:I doubt that I will ever reach the point that I can just not do the work because of my eight or so years as a mentally-dependent "good student."

Even this part, which is the only part that's changed

How can you reach that level of uncaring? Gradually? Because I have difficulty as it is because I am so susceptible to school's coercion.

How did you make it through school?

By the way, I read your "Inferior" article on SS. Good stuff.

GenKai Wrote:Thank you, Will.

It seems that it is impossible to succeed in this system unless you fricking marry it.

Ya gotta fuck it.

GenKai Wrote:How can you reach that level of uncaring? Gradually? Because I have difficulty as it is because I am so susceptible to school's coercion.

I read a lot.

GenKai Wrote:How did you make it through school?

I haven't yet, but I will because my parents started being stupider after I stopped caring and because there's no way I'd fail even if they didn't "help"; people say I'm smart.

GenKai Wrote:By the way, I read your "Inferior" article on SS. Good stuff.

Thank you.

You are a wise person.

It can be hard living in the world that is for those living in the world that should be. I fear it won't get any easier for you until the time has passed. But I live by the creed of reserved inaction, so I truly could not say. Welcome.