*I thought it would be fun to do a blog post from the perspective of Thoreau if he were a high school student... ENJOY!*
**ALSO: the show I chose to tie to this blog post (it's called "Awkward") isn't on Netflix, nor is it related to the title of this post oops**
Theoretically, the fundamentals of the American educational system are impeccable, only in the execution of it do we see its flaws.
The entire purpose of the school system simply is to take the youngest (and most susceptible to brainwash) of our society and use them to contribute in the continuation of itself. In essence, the school system serves as one large machine, with each student a gear, its sole purpose to contribute to the functionality of the machine as a whole. Let's consider a typical education, shall we?
The student will go to school year after year, for thirteen or more years. After each graduation, the higher-performing students move on and are replaced with new ones. How does the school system evaluate which students move on and which ones are re-calibrated? Grades. How does the system come up with these grades, you ask? It uses testing similar the tests that are done on parts of a machine to ensure it continues to function smoothly. After all the less-than-proficient students are either repaired or thrown out, the remaining students serve the machine for thirteen years, until they can be retired from use. The students' service to the machine doesn't end there, though. After graduation, the students can still produce two things of use to the machine: children and income. From the children, the machine continues to function. From the income, the machine collects taxes in order to sustain itself.
It's obvious that the general structure of the school system is only to allow for the school to benefit, but let's break this down farther. Each day for a student is, in essence, mechanical. At the same time every day, the student wakes up, goes to school, eats lunch, goes in and out of classes, and is dismissed for the day. Is this repetition, this precision, not parallel to that of a machine? Even worse, the growing homework load paired with the early morning wake-ups leaves the students too sleep deprived to wise up to the system's extortion of them.
Simply realizing the injustices of the school system is not enough, though. You must "let your life be the counter friction to stop the machine" (Thoreau 1022). I have been no stranger to disciplinary action due to my insubordination towards the machine, neither should you.
After all, how can one call himself a "real man" if he stands supine in the face of his oppressor (Thoreau 1020)? #RiseAgainstSchoolBoard
I really liked how you took a step back and looked at the bigger picture of why school exists and how effective modern education really is. I also liked how you related Thoreau's distrust and dislike for the government to the school in reference to how it's students are treated. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy how you made your post in the viewpoint of Thoreau! Since you made what he wrote into how it could be applied in a school setting, I understood more of what Thoreau meant in his writing. I liked how you also connected it into how schools treat the students and how it changes how the student thinks.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a really unique post. I think you conveyed Thoreau's thoughts and opinions in a more palpable manner, since the reading was quite difficult. I also thought that your portrayal of him as a high school student was spot on.
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