Being part of an education system means being subjected to a seemingly endless tirade of dictation and exertion, especially in those final few years. It’s not the worst place one can be, but it’s far from any environment I’d seek refuge in. Some schools are more laid back than others, being paradise compared to the prisons that exist only a few kilometres afar, but the schooling system is all being levelled out so that no matter where you go to school, you will have the same freedom as everyone else: almost none. There is a program being undertaken in our state (perhaps our entire country) to build fences around anything labelled a “school.” I’m not talking fences that mark borders or make it clear to a child where the boundaries are, because those fences already exist. I’m talking about the 10ft high variety you would typically fashion around a penitentiary, and though they may not be as electric as those surrounding inmates, they’re just as confining and symbolic. My school already has buildings painted in a dull, uninspiring shade of grey, hundreds of students wearing uniforms, and even bars on the back of particular windows; does my school need to look any more like a fucking prison? Why don’t they make chains and shackles part of the dress code too while they’re at it?
This, however, is one of the more overt manners in which the government exercises their power, and to some degree, it makes sense. Primary school children, for instance, can easily hop over some of the fences I had around my primary school, chase their ball on to the road, get hit by a four wheel drive and end up 20 metres down the road. I don’t 100% agree with such over-protectionism, but I can at least understand the justification. I go to a school where there’s a student parking lot; we have the mental ability to drive cars, but not to cross the road without being hit? That doesn’t add up, at all. And don’t try to con me in to thinking they put the fence up to protect the school’s property; the school has no property worth protecting (and no, the students are not the school’s property :P) There are a million and one ways in which the state exercises power over its subjects, and that is just one of them.
If school is a prison, then the teachers are the guards, and the principal is the warden. Their job is not just to teach, but to discipline. The issue here is that you are disciplined for doing “wrong” where what is “wrong” is dictated by the warden; their prison, their rules. For example, the principal is the one who determines when we are supposed to be studying. In a school, studying means learning what the teachers are trying to teach you, not the more general form you’ll find in the dictionary. As a writer, I use a lot of the “study time” we have to write things that have sweet fuck all to do with what teachers are shovelling down my throat, which means I am breaking the rules… but what if I want to become a writer? Surely, my writing is doing far more for my future than the study of other subject matter ever will. I am evidently not shaken by my school’s doublespeak :P
So, how is anyone else persuaded to follow the order of the day? Simple: fear. That’s how any power structure works: the higher-ups manipulate the world below them to put the commoners in a position where they have something to lose. They give them just enough to fuss over, but not enough to contain that fuss. In this case, fears of a “bad future” (which, according to these motherfuckers, is “not having a piece of paper that says you’re good at something” >.>) are what lead people to do what they’re told; they believe it’s in their best interests. I believe it’s in my best interest to fuck these people over and use their resources for my own personal gain.
This is where the discipline comes in: more than ever before, your student record has an effect on your employment prospects. If you’re the goody two shoes who never steps out of line, eats an apple every day, and consistently scores high in exams (A.K.A if you’ve submitted to the pressures of the system and have lost the will to think for yourself – there’s two ways to look at everything :P) you’ve got a “good” future ahead of you. When I say “good,” I really mean “comfortable.” Things won’t go wrong for you, at least hypothetically; you’ve got certificates and qualifications a mile high to fall back on. You’ll meet the perfect partner, have 2 children, buy a house in suburbia and live a life numb to challenge and real discourse. That’s why you listen when that teacher says “Have you got work to do?” The answer is never “No”, but the real question is “How will this doing this work help me in the future?” Talk back to any motherfucker who abuses their position to patronise you. If they say talking back is “wrong,” that means discussion is “wrong,” and that just ain’t right.
If you want to rebel, then go right ahead! So long as you’re willing to accept liability for your actions, you can do anything. It’s finding the right way to protest where the challenge lies. You have to be different to stand out, but sometimes, the simplest method is the best one. Demand justification for anything you don’t understand. Some teacher gives you shit? Throw it back at ‘em! Use your intellect to psyche them out; it may take a bit of preparation beforehand, but it’s the best way to go about it. Learning about language and how to manipulate it in order to get a response is one of the smartest things you can do if you want to fight someone. Your fists will get you nowhere, as will unexpressed thought. The school system is just opening doors for you; jump out a window and have some fun! If you think curricular study will give you a good life, then keep that up; loving school is, by chance, a far better attitude to have if you want or need the system to get somewhere or something. But, if you hate your school and its attitude, and can explain your reasoning, then get up and say something.
Fuck with the system; it’s not there to be fucked with, but it does happen to be very fuckable :P
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