Public Schools: An observation

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School in the United States seems to be purposed at molding it's students into a group of mindless zombies fit for living in society. For example, in several of my classes students have to keep binders with all of their old papers in them, organized in a specific fashion. Today I asked my algebra teacher why this is, and the only answer that I was given was basically so I could get a grade. The teacher was not very pleased with me, so I didn't probe further.

However what it really seems to be about is control. The purpose of a grade, in my opinion, is to measure how well a student understands class material. This seems to be measuring how well I accept authority, and I don't like it.

Sometimes requirements to keep papers organized isn't so much about the grade - it is about discipline. When I say discipline - I am not talking about punishment (as in a detention or getting knuckles rapped for not 'accept(ing) authority), but personal discipline in being organized.

It is no use being a genius who understands class material if one doesn't have enough discipline to even keep a simple binder of past assignments. If someone was going to be a math genius and come up with hypothesis and what not - they would have to submit paperwork to support their hypothesis. This DISCIPLINE will have been learned since jr high school due to the algebra teacher that you are taking such issue with.

An excellent math teacher I know was summing up how she felt about the teaching of this subject. "People are always talking about 'thinking outside of the box'. The problem is - they don't know where or what the box is. If one doesn't know this - how can someone think outside of it."

Learn the basics, learn some discipline and over time and learning, the student will truly understand the material. Then get creative and think of new applications and new/different ways of working with and within the subject matter.

If you want to learn about students becoming mindless zombies - check out the revisionist history proposed by Mike Huckabee. Check out Creationism. Check your social studies curriculum and see how much labour history or union history is included (I'm thinking zero, zip, nil, none).

This is what creates brainless zombies in the US system - not asking a math student to keep their notes tidy.