============================================================================ Addendum Issue# 41 - 2nd May 2002 URL: http://www.adden.tr.cx/ Author : Steak, cleaning wipes taste weird ========================== Education? as if =============================== Apologies dear readers for my lack of files over the last few days, it has come to my attention how far behind I am in my school work. So I have had to (and I hate this expression) "pull my socks up" and knuckle down to the work that my lovely institution sets me to do. Unfortunately this does not leave much time for me to write issues of addendum, this plagues me intensely. If only I had more time, if only I could just freeze time and take time out from learning about the parietal, frontal, temporal and occipital lobe, and concentrate on the things that really make me feel good like writing this. I have many ideas for addendums, things I want to write down a quick flick through my ideas notebook reveals no less than ten ideas for issue's that I have not had time to even start because of bloody school work, and another quick flick through my "unpublished" directory reveals thirteen issues that are at least half finished and I have not had time to finish because of school work. I find this a trifle unfair. But unfortunately in today’s modern society of learning for all and compulsory education institutions I have about as much say in my own personal education as a moldy cheese sandwich. But I can always dream, and that is where this issue comes into the picture Have you been to school, if you have you will know what I am talking about if not then you will not have a clue, if you are not going to make a point and you have some other way of educating yourself then I applaud your efforts and I aspire to be like you. However if you are not going because you dropped out and you can't be bothered in knowledge then shame on you, I hope you enjoy your fine prospering career as a garbage man or the head of a internationally successful software company *cough*Microsoft*cough* this file is one for the school-goer's I noticed something the other day, when we go to school we give up our rights. We go there in the hope that we will be taught relevant information about how the world works and how to survive in it, instead we get our inner personality and spark squashed, our names are taken away and we are issued with a number. Mine is something like 880511J I think, I have to put this at the top of every test and examination I do. Another regime did this a while back when they were in power, perhaps you have heard of them, they were named the national socialist German workers party, more commonly known as the Nazi’s We go to school and we become zombies, nothing more, just zombies, we get this piece of paper that tells us what room we have to be in. We go their and give our control to somebody for fifty minuets, they tell us what to do, we do it. If they don't tell us what to do we do nothing. There is no individuality in our work, each of us writes the same thing and put nothing of what we are into the piece. Each segment is a lifeless boring piece of work which deserves nothing but to be thrown away. If you try to input some humor, opinion, suspense, creativity or intriguing aspects to a piece of work, teachers lifelessly put a red mark through it, mark the spelling or punctuation and tell you to re-do the piece without a the funny bits, making you feel like an halfwit, they even get annoyed because the work does not conform to a standard and they have to take the time to think about the ironic comedy. They want a standard piece that they can mark based on a set number of rules and regulations. We can go into a class room and the teacher could ask us to write "taxation" on a piece of paper. We would do it, we don't ask why we just do it simply because the person told us so. I don't think that is right They clump us together based on age, not intelligence or understanding level I am personally not able to grasp many of the things at my level and I still feel like a child inside, yet I am constantly expected to write page after page on subjects that I cannot understand let alone comprehend. School is no longer a place to learn and to gain education but has turned into a place where your essence and nobility are squashed and distorted into something inhuman, where your drive and creativity are sacrificed to turn you into a pre-packaged, franchised "functioning" member of the machine named society. Don't get me wrong, I am all for striving for knowledge and trying to understand the world but this is the wrong way. Knowledge and information does not follow a set pattern or routine it is different for each and every individual. It is a perfect model of chaos theory when I am ready to learn about the structure of the cerebral cortex, it may not be the time that my next-door neighbor is, yet if he or she is the same age as me she or he is expected to be able to do it and if they can't they are labeled an idiot. I feel, no I know that I am perfectly capable of teaching myself, if I can take the time to learn the inner workings of a matter/anti-matter reaction chamber, a fictional device that hasn't even been invented yet then I also know that I have the ability to learn about the inner workings and cell structure of a human being. I would enjoy it immensely as well if only I didn't have to obey to a set patter and a deadline. When you put a set deadline on knowledge, it no longer becomes fun but a chore and an unpleasant exercise Knowledge and education should not be unpleasant and horrible but fun and entertaining, I love learning about the human body and it's working's it's just that I don't want to do it when my biology teacher tells me that I have to because my brain may not be physically ready to handle that said information. Oh well I guess I can't do anything about it, better play dumb like most other numbers and just keep my head low and try not to be too different for fear of ridicule. ============================================================================ Addendum Issue# 41 - 2nd May 2002 (C) Steak May 2002 ============================================================================