Going Back To High School

Well, I did it. Something I said I would never, ever do. Not even for a million dollars. I went back to high school. I shadowed B for a week to see what all was going on. Talk about a sociology experiment....good God! Two hours in that place and I wanted to punch people in the hallways. I got run into constantly and shoved around...try to move 1600 kids from one place to another and do it in 5 minutes with no bumping or shoving. Not going to happen. But God forbid B should make contact with anybody, because we all know that he, out of 1600 kids, did it on purpose.

There were teachers (and I use that term loosely) that had no business anywhere near anyones kids. There were teachers that tried so hard to get through to these kids that it was almost painful to watch, you know, the ones that actually give a shit.

I have even more empathy for teenagers than I did before, simply due to the fact that the 23 years I have been out of school have somewhat dulled the contempt I had for the whole experience. That contempt came back with a vengance like I never thought possible. A good portion of the adults (and I use that term really loosely) treat these kids like they aren't real human beings simply because they haven't reached the age of majority. I know this for a fact because due to my size I blend right into a high school student body. I got reprimanded/yelled at in the snottiest tone of voice I've heard in a long time. That bitch totally changed her tune when she realized I was an adult and I turned around, got in her face and told her I would say whatever I wanted to say, in any tone of voice I chose to say it in and there wasn't anything she could do to change that fact. She just ran and hid in her classroom. Whore. I've always gone with the theory that you treat anyone and everyone with respect regardless of age or anything else, until they give you a reason not to respect them. I don't care if the person in question is 5 or 75.

Then there is the fact that all public education does is create sheep out of 90% of these kids. Follow the rules, don't question authority...don't question anything. Don't challenge a teacher even if you know they are wrong. You lose all of your Constitutional rights the second you crest the door of a public school in this state. Don't say anything that may be deemed offensive. Don't wear a t-shirt or button or have a sticker that says something that might offend someone. Who decides what's fucking offensive? What's offensive to one person may not be to someone else. What is it about schools that makes them think that they are autonomous from the Constitution. Who gave them the right to self govern? You are not allowed to speak an opinion, or even a thought if it could possibly offend someone. These adults are teaching our kids not to be independent thinkers. There were a few of B's teachers that did not fall under this description....well, actually only one that I can think of off of the top my head. (Mr. M, you rock.) I seriously made it a point to say the word fuck in front of every teacher that I thought was an asshole. What the fuck are they going to do to me? Suspend me? Try it, I fucking dare you. Oh and speaking of suspension, I got to spend the week in lunch detention with B because he called some kid an asshole. Seriously, detention. For calling someone an asshole. I say call an asshole an asshole.

The majority of these educators are educating our kids into a false sense of security. What are these kids going to do when they get out of school, get a job and one day on the way to work someone calls them a fat ass, or fag, or pussy, or asshole. What's going to happen when they don't have a vice-principal to run to to tattle that someone called them a name? What are they going to do if they see a bumper sticker that offends them? Call 911? These people for the majority are doing the youth of America a huge disservice by letting them believe that no one in this world will ever hurt their feelings, or that they will never see anything that offends them.

I personally find it offensive that there can be a Gay/Lesbian Alliance Club, a club for African Americans, Native Americans, Chinese Americans, Mexican (oh, my bad, Hispanic) Americans, and just about everything else you can think of, but God forbid if there was a club only for white kids that were tired of all the bullshit. That would be racist. Aren't we all just plain Americans? Whatever happened to that thought process?

Oh, I forgot. You can't have a thought, you must be a sheep. Go to the classes they tell you to, even the ones you have absolutely no interest in. The Republic of Oregon says you must or there is no possible way that you could turn out to be a decent human being. You must have a full credit of Art for that to be possible.

I believe Albert Einstein said it best when he said, "It is a miracle that curiousity survives formal education."