Today I officially decided to be done with school. I don't like it and it doesn't like me. What pushed me over the edge was the lack of creative thinking and the oppression of change introduced by the students. Of course if the teachers decided to make changes we would have no say and it go to a silly board discussion. Someone who I don't want to spend the time and look up their name said that America's education was being destroyed because of our safety concerns and the cautions taken because of them. Kids are no longer allowed to throw snowballs, make snow forts, goof around in the hall because someone in the school might get sued and that would be the end of the world. I am not suggesting being sued is an easy thing to deal with rather that our society must blame someone for everything which I am suggesting is bad. No longer do kids get the opportunity to run through the park because of the stalker we all fear is out there. A society with no risks is hardly better than a bunch of robots.
My own unique situation was more about school policy and traditions. Four times a year the school puts on a recognition assembly where all the people who excelled in academics (B average and above), did some fantastic sport thing, did some fantastic art thing, or participated in some big community deal are recognized. Every year since I was in grade eight the assemblies have been boring ordeals that you can't wait for the end of because your butt has fallen asleep on the terrible seating. The assemblies consist of reading out the names of those that should be recognized, clapping and then going for an extra long lunch. I guess they even out the bad with the good. So this year the grade 12 students were supposed to organize the assembly all by themselves and have a cracking good time. We had one teacher that was on our side, promoting creativity and individuality, who helped us out. Our new idea was to present the academic recognition in house team order with highest average house team presented and highest individual in the house team presented. The idea was to mix it up, make it more fun, and a little more involving. That didn't fly. They (the teachers) wanted a normal assembly with a few new touches such as entertainment. Moral of that story. Don't tell them what your doing, just do it and surprise them. That way they can only be mad at you until they see how well it worked.
Building on this and going more general I have been recently discouraged with how the whole school works. For example, today in grade 11 physics we were watching a Bill Nye wave movie. It wasn't bad but it only lasted 23 minutes which left us with 45 minutes to play cards and chat around. That means most of the class is just for fun. Why not just make the school days go to 12 noon and then be done? That would also be bad cause then the teachers wouldn't get enough money. What is the solution to our systematic problem?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
MLS - My Life Silent
Just watching a tad of the MLS final between Colorado and Dallas and couldn't help but notice the intensity of the game. It looks like those players out there are fighting for the equalizer in the last five minutes when in fact the game is tied at 0-0 and it's the 54th minute. Remarkable! I would liken it to hockey in all it's crude aggressive end to end switching, I was surprised they weren't body checking each other! Of course it's not exactly what I enjoy watching but it is a nice break from some game where one team is content to just pass around and not make any daring offensive push. Looks like the all around control could improve and especially the composure. and a few decent shots. and maybe some more sick dangles. Can't win them all. Haven't cared to look for the result. I would put money on Dallas.
My real purpose for this post was to explain my Friday action, or inaction. I participated in the i am silent vow of silence. The reasoning behind this was in part to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the UN signing the declaration of children's rights and also to raise awareness of children who are exploited or are living in extreme poverty. This went fairly well with my only intentional talk right before six in the morning when I was required to explain to my coworker why I wouldn't be talking or replying to him. After that i made numerous mistakes, probably around eight, where words just slipped out of my mind either subconsciously or just forgetfully. It was hard though to not talk. One of the major reasons was I couldn't put in my knowledge into conversations that were completely ill informed. Note:whales including blue, sperm, humpback, etc, have sonar. It is not exclusive to dolphins! Listening to people talk about these things and knowing they were wrong was not an easy task. Another hard part was the lack of talking. Similar to when you sit in a chair the whole day and your body becomes restless my jaw and mouth became restless. One more reason was that you wanted to tell someone something but couldn't and so you had to think about how you'd tell them the following day.
Most importantly, the things I learned and experienced far outweighed the hardships endured. For one, I recognized that even though I was oppressing myself I was still being oppressed and that was not fun. To live without the ability or right to be heard is something I think we all overlook. We complain in this country for trivial things while people in other parts of the world are denied basic human rights and are forced to go through excruciating situations and experiences. Even now, two days after, I often give a simple head nod where before I would have said something. Talk is cheap unless it's meaningful.
My real purpose for this post was to explain my Friday action, or inaction. I participated in the i am silent vow of silence. The reasoning behind this was in part to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the UN signing the declaration of children's rights and also to raise awareness of children who are exploited or are living in extreme poverty. This went fairly well with my only intentional talk right before six in the morning when I was required to explain to my coworker why I wouldn't be talking or replying to him. After that i made numerous mistakes, probably around eight, where words just slipped out of my mind either subconsciously or just forgetfully. It was hard though to not talk. One of the major reasons was I couldn't put in my knowledge into conversations that were completely ill informed. Note:whales including blue, sperm, humpback, etc, have sonar. It is not exclusive to dolphins! Listening to people talk about these things and knowing they were wrong was not an easy task. Another hard part was the lack of talking. Similar to when you sit in a chair the whole day and your body becomes restless my jaw and mouth became restless. One more reason was that you wanted to tell someone something but couldn't and so you had to think about how you'd tell them the following day.
Most importantly, the things I learned and experienced far outweighed the hardships endured. For one, I recognized that even though I was oppressing myself I was still being oppressed and that was not fun. To live without the ability or right to be heard is something I think we all overlook. We complain in this country for trivial things while people in other parts of the world are denied basic human rights and are forced to go through excruciating situations and experiences. Even now, two days after, I often give a simple head nod where before I would have said something. Talk is cheap unless it's meaningful.
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