Logicless Logic

postview. another brick in the wall.

This is going to be pretty long rant. About something which i have long had opinions on. The school system. Why? Because Ben has been asked to withdraw from school. Apparently, he was asked to do so based on his conduct, which admittedly wasn't very good. His main problem, from the authorities point of view, was his antics is class. Mass Weapons of Distraction you could say. But authorities, being authorities, have minds so narrow you will find it extremely difficult to squeeze a water molecule through it. Judging from that, I can safely presume that Bro. Paul, Tan Jek Suan, Michael Tan and various other teachers have never seen Ben from the students point of view.

What is the students point of view? Probably that of a funny guy. Probably one of the most famous people you can find in school. In fact, when 1T01 is mentioned, it's always Ben's class. In class, most of us probably see him as a stress reliever, as well as the happy-go-lucky guy. In fact, Ben is 17 out of my 21 classmates[yes 21] during tutorials. Zixiang and Darren being 2 more and the last one being the rest of the class. The noise level that is. Which is why tutorials are usually fun. Because of the uninhibition which Ben always brings to the class. He never seems afraid to poke fun at the teachers and come up with ideas so stupid they are clever. Unfortunately, teachers, due to narrowmindedness fail to see the clever part. Because actually, the jokes can only be appreciated by a quick thinking mind and be invented by a quicker thinking mind. Ben is also my talking buddy in class because he somehow thinks of the same things as me. And he knows the retro songs I know. Maybe it's because we are both born on "liquid paper October 1988". Without Ben in class, I only have 3 classmates.

Authorities on the other hand, see Ben as a troublemaker for apparently obvious reasons. His work isn't that good, he tells jokes in class, he distracts his classmates etc. Which to me is actually bullshit. As I already mentioned, jokes are a form of stress relief in the pressure cooker classroom environment. And we actually want, in fact need to be distracted to un-tense the atmosphere. Take today. Our 1st day without Ben was 20 times quieter. Good for the teachers but the class somehow seems dead. Thus the distraction part is obviously not a good reason. Furthermore, he has been making efforts to change for the better. However, people are prone to neglect the effort put in and look only at the results, which I admit aren't that good. They also seem to believe that school rules are set in stone, steel, even diamond. Which means it isn't flexible at all. However, I believe rules are just guidelines and should be flexible. Furthermore, they have chosen a very "appropriate" time to choose to withdraw Ben. 7 weeks from promos. Which would distract the class even more than Ben himself. Which shows partly the lack of intelligence in authorities. As well as the rigidity of their minds. They think that Ben cannot pass the promos even if they give him a chance so it would be simpler to kick him out now. Why not give him a chance? If he fails, then they can kick him out without the major uproar that is happening in class right now. This isn't even rigidity. Just pure STUPIDITY.

I also believe school in itself is a paradox. They encourage creative thinking, yet take all means possible to prevent it. I have mentioned it in a previous post. The project work one. If you could be bothered then take a look in the archives. Teachers who appear to encourage creative thinking and expression actually prefer students to have no backbone and conform mindlessly to school rules. As do principals, vps, and DMs. The problem here is that Ben is viewed as a defective brick in the wall. A defective part in a well-oiled machine. Their idea of a problem child is a kid with long hair, untidy uniform and with a slight lack of respect to authorities. However, these are the people who actually think. People who listen and follow school rules mindlessly probably go through life mindlessly, getting their things done in an efficient manner without actually questioning. WHY are they actually doing it? I don't mean to stereotype but if they can't think for themselves in school, what makes you think that they can actually think for themselves outside of it. Perhaps there are reasons to it and they actually CAN think for themselves but lets not go into that.

Another problem with the authorities have surfaced. They judge people according to the mould they set. The school is a factory. People who do not fit in are first attempted to be forced into that mould. Failing which they will be rejected as defects. In fact, Why don't we call schools people factories? This term seems quite appropriate. They want a perfect student. Good grades, fit in sports, great attitude towards teachers, good in CCAs, AS WELL AS a creative thinking mind, good self expression. These students are possible but rare. People who think usually do not conform. But if they like conformity so much, why don't they just campaign it in school. Put up posters saying things like "Mindless Conformity; It's Cool, It's Fun. Conform today". Have people telling their great experiences of conforming. I understand that school is supposed to be a place for learning and I actually do learn something in school. The environment however, needs a major change for the better. Seriously.

rant over.

justin.

posted by justin @ 10:04 PM