Schools

[Brittany]

I have to say public school contributed a lot to who I am today. As a kid I was extremely sensitive, and most teachers didn't want to take the time to understand why I was so different- why I was lost in my head, why I reacted to things they couldn't even perceive, why I had violent, emotional mood swings, and the list goes on...Teachers are programmed to treat all students the same, expecting them all to learn at the same pace, and the ones who don't resonate with the singular method of learning they present get labeled as "problem children." They told me I needed to stop displaying such stupid behavior or people would think I was retarded.

And of course, the other kids made fun of me relentlessly. There's so much social pressure to fit in that most children will do anything to "belong", especially by pointing out others who stand out even more than they do.

Fortunately I was highly intelligent, so I usually breezed through the schoolwork with straight As and they couldn't relegate me to a special ed class. But the constant criticism for things I couldn't control hardened me. There came a point when I realized that running home in tears wasn't going to do anything. I stopped caring about what other people thought about me, and that released me to take part in the activities that *I* felt were important, not simply what was popular or socially accepted.

As soon as I showed some confidence in myself, I began getting more and more friends, and even became something of a leader amongst a lot of them. I accepted people as the individuals they were instead of a cardboard cutout stereotyped example of "popular" behavior, and I found out there were a lot of people desperately seeking release from that kind of social pressure. If I could say what the fark and do my own thing and still be happy, so could they.

Is it an inefficient system based upon imprinting ideas into young minds in order to make them easier to control? Yes, I believe that. But I wouldn't be who I was without it. That "soul fire" that people seem to know me for would likely never have developed. So I can't say it was all bad. That kind of intense social interaction can cause a lot of personal growth...then again, it can also crush you into a mindless zombie who can't survive without the approval of others. So I guess my opinion on this one is really on the fence. Still, if the decision as to what kind of education future generations received rested solely on my shoulders, I can guarantee it wouldn't be anything like what we have now.