UGH!
I had a sudden epiphany to write this in the middle of reading a book about life after college, but this isn’t about my free-time reads. In this beginning section, I wanted to express my eagerness to simply write a paper during the early days of the COVID-19 shelter in place. Me! A 21-year-old who has never genuinely enjoyed going to school or working on it’s demanded assignments. Ever. Also me, who thrived in my English classes and dreamed of pursuing a career in said field. Maybe that’s why my course of action was writing something to express my emotions. It’s quite the hefty load to read, even after cutting down on the original 20+ pages. Please read with caution and a somewhat prepared mind. This isn’t an intense read, but I have simply created this as an outlet for the built-up steam in my heart and mind.
I start with a brief explanation about the title of this paper, go into my ideas on systems and institutions, and incorporate concepts and ideas from Alice in Wonderland and Bangtan Sonyeondan. Before the conclusion, I have a section of responses from real people of varying ages and backgrounds that I know, asking them about their opinions on systems and institutions without much information from my side so I could get a genuine and unbiased response. To those people who allowed me to incorporate their personal thoughts into my writing, thank you very much!
AHEM!
I am not majoring in English as of right now, but rather I’m stuck in a dreary cycle of confusion in my daily community college student life experience. What does it mean to have a dream in today’s times anyways? It isn’t that I dislike education. I’m always seeking learning opportunities for my growth. However, I do believe there is a larger percentage of students who come out of the school systems just having made it. Who actually goes through the general school system in today’s times and claims to have gained beneficial knowledge without an additional immense amount of unnecessary stress? Many are just fulfilling requirements that need to be done — and sometimes fulfilling things that they don’t need but still need to do — in order to move onto the next critical and rigorous battleground. Are people’s educational journey’s benefitting their “real world” outcomes? Not every educational source provides a true education or brings opportunities to learn the skills needed in what one may want to pursue. That’s sad.
I was going to title this Systems and Institutions, but instead, I titled it UGH!, 욱 in Korean. As explained by DKDKTV’s David Kim, it’s the sound made in reaction to, “…blood suddenly rushing to your head in a second right after you see something infuriating.” It’s also a track in BTS’s recent Map of the Soul: 7. Maybe give it a listen and try to understand some type of meaning for yourself.
So far, I haven’t used this piece for any academic assignments because I didn’t write this with that intention. I don’t know what outcome I want with this. I want the world to change itself and that’s impossible and infuriating. Still, I will oppose the rules set against me and I will not abide by any expectations that I find absurd and ridiculous. I must remind myself of this often because it is so easy to fall into the thick, sticky, and dense traps of society’s ancient yet ongoing stupidity. Although this is not to be graded, nor is it an academic piece, I do believe this to be one of my more favorable pieces of writing so far…haha. The one most filled with genuine thought and emotion, things that are too often overlooked and unaccounted for in institutions, specifically academic ones. It goes against my moral code of being a student enrolled in the American education system. I will think about the irony of that often.
Systems and Institutions
School is but one category of what can be labeled as an institution. Not all institutions are bad or negative. Or perhaps no institutions are bad, but the rulings, definitions, and expectations we have created around them are what taints them for people of all ages, particularly the youth. It’s difficult to write out what specific systems are and in what ways they negatively impact humans as it could be seen as a “to each their own” situation, but often, I see myself conflicting against the systems in my own life. Families are an example of a structure that can create systems both good and bad, greatly impacting a person’s basic quality of life and mindset. There are societal systems too, that some people go along with, some think they’re going against it, and others who are truly are rebelling. What’s the solution? I don’t know, and I don’t know if I’ll ever know.
Narrowing down on academics, standardized tests are supposed to be a means for the academic authorities to judge an individual student’s place. They pull out the “bad” and the “good” through scores. In return, our results for these big tests can either become big benefits, aid in making a resume look good, and help in finding a place in the labor force. They could also become big embarrassments that we don’t like to discuss, and make us want to avoid or change the topic when brought up. Micah L. Issitt, author of Standardized Testing: An Overview, who commonly discusses subcultures in his writing, explains, “Modern standardized tests are based on the research of seventeenth-century European psychologists and educators who were looking for a way to quantitatively measure intelligence, with the goal of identifying persons with learning difficulties.” Coming across this was new to me. Did you, reader, know that the goal of standardized tests was to identify those with learning difficulties? How does one quantitatively measure intelligence? Apparently, the numbers on the results are meant to tell us how insufficiently we understood the given material. There’s a famous image of different kinds of animals given a test to perform a singular task. Of course, if the test is of flight, only the things with wings will pass. I don’t think skills should be tested to prove success in academics, because it has led to a great amount of the human population to associate results with intelligence. There are the Absolutes and there are the Failures. We are amazed and honored when a person scores well and disappointed and shocked when the score is not to one’s liking or standard.
I like to think of a world where classes didn’t pass or fail students based on homework, tests, and quizzes but instead on something else. What if students were individually graded on their personal performance and growth in the classroom instead of agonizingly stress-inducing assignments with set responses and answers. The way the students ask questions, how they notetake, what they catch onto, and how they interpret what’s being taught to them in their own unique way. What if educational institutions cared about the progress made in a student’s actual life through class materials and learning instead of their responses to stone-set ideals? I do not believe in a separation of school life and the real world, although that’s so often ingrained in student’s minds.
I see how these concepts could be problematic for academic heads. It would be more work on their part, having to look through each student’s notes and to attempt at understanding their personalized work, thoughts, and mind. Having to perceive each student’s work with different guidelines each time because each student’s work falls under a different category, to which a single rubric would not apply. And there aren’t enough passionate people in positions of power to even put a 10th of the effort into something like that.
Art is a subject often undermined and yet consumed globally outside of academics. Humans turn to the arts, always. Many schools have art courses, but rarely are they taken seriously, often worth 0.5 or 1 point of credit compared to more legitimate classes worth 3–4 credits. In an overview of arts in public schools, Dr.Flynn, a Ph.D. from Yale states, “Some educators believe that arts education is not sufficiently funded,” and argues that, “…students who engage in artistic activities perform better in other academic areas.” The arts are not considered a priority in today’s times. Why? I have encountered too many individuals who claim to have dropped a possible career in an art field for a major “more legitimate”. The world we live in is art itself, but our structures and communities disregard the importance of the arts because we began associating knowledge with the “hard” subjects. Although it may be universally accepted that high intelligence was associated with the amount of historical, literary, and art knowledge one had accumulated, it’s rarely legitimately considered in today’s world! People used to be valued for honing specific crafts. Dr.Flynn continues to explain how since the 80s and 90s in America there has been less of an economic focus and effort towards art fields, and how with the increase of funding towards standardized testing, “…the arts are not featured in most standardized tests.”
Fewer opportunities towards the arts create a loss of diversity amongst the various things that students can obtain knowledge from. Does it not seem as if the loss of art is a loss of a part of humanity itself? But then again, how much do people take humanity into consideration anymore? I believe that having the arts as an option to study does not decrease a student’s science and mathematical education. Still, the problem isn’t in students having the ability to pursue the arts as an academic major, but our societal mindset that has diminished the worth of such careers and educational paths. Those who strive to learn the subjects within this field are not taken seriously and are often criticized for “wasting” their education. How do we fix the perception of the arts in the real world?
A Caucus-Race
Alice’s Adventures Through Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Caroll has been my favorite set of stories ever since I can remember. I don’t recall what specific thing pulled me towards the tales, but there are so many different lenses that I could evaluate the aspects of Carol’s writing that I find so enjoyable. This section is titled off of a chapter of the first book, so if you can, please try reading the chapter, or perhaps Alice’s whole story, in relation to the thoughts being expressed here.
In the book bound version, along with in Disney’s reinterpretation, Alice follows the white rabbit in the waistcoat down to Wonderland, where things are starkly different from the England she is familiar with, and she’s curious about these differences. Actually, something significant in the Disney version is who we can assume to be Alice’s older sister, who reads Alice’s lesson aloud to her and criticizes Alice’s idea of having her own world where things make more sense — to Alice. She is not allowed to have these free thoughts, not by her own sister at least. In the Tim Burton versions, we observe similarly. Everyone around Alice seems to think she’s off, but not in the same charming way that they think of Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Progressing through the story, Alice herself, in Wonderland, doesn’t accept the oddities that make up this other world, where animals and flowers do talk, much like how she sang about previously. The characters of nature in Wonderland judge, question, and boss her around continually to the point where Alice thinks she isn’t much of herself anymore. How can Alice know what makes up Alice? Do you, reader, think it is vital in life to know one’s Self? Alice only begins to question herself once the Wonderland society questions her whole existence. “‘I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir,’ said Alice, “because I’m not myself, you see.” (37). Caterpillar continues to question Alice regardless, but going through what she did has granted her the ability to recognize that she has changed multiple times within a single day and that she hasn’t been herself.
Aside from her interactions with Caterpillar, her meetings with the rest of the inhabitants of Wonderland drive her towards even more confusion, not only within herself but also in her surroundings. “Alice felt dreadfully puzzled. The Hatter’s remark seemed to her to have no sort of meaning in it, and yet it was certainly English.” (58). My sister and I had recently watched the Disney version and were discussing the scene of the flower garden. Alice is acceptable to the beautiful and unique (but common enough) flowers, that she is serenaded with Golden Afternoon, which majestically explains the components of each flower and their one-of-a-kind-ness. Once Alice claims to not be a flower at all, but a human girl, “…I suppose you call me a genus, humanus, eh… Alice!” The flowers turn their back instantly, calling Alice a, “…common mobile vulgaris.” A weed. She is not a flower, and therefore must not be a part of their society, seen as something which tarnishes their beauty and must be removed.
Upon returning back to what she’d consider reality, Alice continues to ponder over the occurrences that took place in Wonderland. In Through the Looking-Glass, one of the first things Alice does is read the Jabberwocky poem, which thoroughly confuses her, “…it’s rather hard to understand!’ (You see she didn’t like to confess, even to herself, that she couldn’t make it out at all.) ‘Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas- only I don’t know exactly what they are!” (126). Surely Alice is a character who noticeably attempts at keeping her thoughts her own as she continues to face her odd situations in life. She will express discomfort, misery, anger, and other emotions when prompted and questioned, and yet I still ask myself what going through Wonderland did for her. Did Alice change after having woken up, or was she just left even more curious than before? Was Wonderland meant to put her curiosities at ease so she would no longer wish for a different world, or did it create more?
Paradise
World-renowned Bangtan Sonyeondan, better known as BTS, has gone through a series they call the school trilogy, which includes their first three works 2Cool4Skool, O!RUL8,2?, and Skool Luv Affair. The group, consisting of seven Korean boys, works under Big Hit Labels, an entertainment company that wishes to expand to become more than just an entertainment company. What’s notable about this particular company is their code of conduct and their ethicality, especially in comparison to other idol producing companies. Naturally, there’s a larger picture behind the glitz and glamour behind all beloved idol groups; they are essentially a product that’s being sold. However, BigHit holds unique and humane values. The current CEO and founder, Bang Si-Hyuk, has verbalized to live audiences that companies need to remember to treat their employees as humans and not as robots, machines, or dolls (another concept that BTS addresses). BTS is a Korean boy band that actually does a lot more than what the generic musical group does. They cover topics on systems, self-love, youth, happiness, pain, and even have a little bit of sci-fi
In their first single album, they express what seems like anger and disappointment towards the world when life seems to be crushing their dreams, leading them to not have any dream at all, and they explicitly express these sentiments in the track No More Dream. Is having no dream in life a problem? Is that something that must be instantly rectified or is there no mandatory requirement for one in the first place? Is it okay for somebody’s dream to become annihilated? It happens daily. In their first mini-album, the topic of oppressive institutions is introduced, and the track titled N.O. artfully depicts these emotions and themes through visuals, choreography, and lyrics. One of the messages that BTS tries to get across is the negative impacts that inaccurate and unmoving authority roles have on today’s youth.
Onto the last part of the school trilogy, Skool Luv Affair. A track in this second mini-album is titled Tomorrow, which conjures up the difficulties of getting through a single day and how life seems like “Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V”. It expresses the haze of feeling like you’re running in place (I’m thinking the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland). The things that negatively impact the characters, amongst many other things, are institutions and systems which jam individuals into specific roles in order to be appropriate to the standard or norm. However, it also expresses that a new day will come and that one must be a “breaker” and follow their dream because we are too young to stop. In response to Tomorrow, I think the song Paradise, from their third full-length album, answers back in positive, mature, and realistic growth. It’s also a favorite.
Aside from the school trilogy, BTS put out 화양연화 which comes in two parts and includes a Webtoon titled Save Me pt.0, as well as a mini-book titled 화양연화 the notes pt.1. The Webtoon, like their MVs, is a visual of what occurs in the boys’ journey, in given storylines. In the mini-book, we are given multiple journal entries from each member, allowing us to take the story in with all of their personal perspectives combined. All of this makes up the BU, or Bangtan Universe, BTS’ fictional world overflowing with art, lessons, and morals. They essentially give puzzle pieces of information through their content that must be completed on your own. 화양연화 is a highly critical time in the BU and nearly feels eternal (in terms of their storyline), which is nice considering its meaning. The era itself is a heart wrenching one, but it translates to the most beautiful moment in life. Through their lyrics and art, we see this era held some of the hardest times for each of the characters, and yet there is a possibility of a hopeful meaning throughout it all.
Perhaps BTS is trying to explain that we can still grow from our pains and fears if we allow ourselves to do so and that the bad moments and the good moments in life must accumulate to the most beautiful moments in life.
Real Voices and Opinions on Systems and Institutions
(listed in the order received, kept anonymous, and unedited)
1.Ok. i’m — i’m 18 and i’m in my second semester of college. i’m a public health major i’m taking 4 classes now chemistry, anatomy, calculus, and heath psychology
my school experience has been pretty horrible. especially starting in 11th grade of high school. i went to 2 high schools and was in an academy of health professions and went to internships. i was really busy and i hated it. i always hated the medical field but my parents wanted me to do it so that’s why i’m doing it.
my parents made most of my decisions for me my whole life that’s why i can barely make my own decisions because i don’t want to disappoint them. if i could make my own decisions i probably would’ve been an artist and because i was discouraged a lot i’m so bad at art now and i regret it. cause if i kept trying i could’ve been way better now
what i hate about the american school systems are that they aren’t built for people struggling with their mental health or struggling with family issues. they say that they care but in reality they obviously don’t. you can ask any kid did they help and they’ll be like no they really didn’t. for example i have social phobia so i REALLY struggle when it comes to presenting or asking for help. but too bad for me right that’s just my problem i’ll fail the class because i have a mental illness that i have absolutely no control over and they don’t want to worry about that. that’s not their problem.
schools don’t care enough about your mental health (at least where i live) oh you’re depressed? too bad stop making excuses and do your work. like wtf?? they literally make you feel bad for having deteriorating mental health and always say you’re making excuses. the school system was not created for ppl with mental illness, ppl who have family issues that distract them from school, etc. they pretend like they give a shit and be like oh go see a counselor and then the counselor is like oh honey i’m sorry i hope u feel better soon! if something happens they just snitch to the parents. i understand that students are minors and sometimes you don’t have a choice but to tell parents but hey did it ever come to mind that mAYBE THEIR PARENTS ARE THE PROBLEM AND U TELLING THEM IS MAKING THEIR SITUATION WORSE?!
Having a system doesn’t necessitate morals and doesn’t take into account individual perspectives. For instance, in a product management system, it is not a requirement for the product to contribute to the greater good. The cigarette industry thrives as a product and goes through the system of any other product, by using resources, advertisements, selling and exchanging wealth etc. But having a system doesn’t mean the general well being of people plays a factor in what is being produced. A system can be created by anybody if enough people choose to follow it which is why it’s a dangerous course of action. The intention of people doesn’t always have to be good and a system doesn’t necessitate that it should be. As a course of action with specific steps, individual opinions don’t play an effect. It’s a pretty blindly following type of routine that people get so used to they might not even know they’re following it.
2. While commercial industries have their systems pretty rigid, societal routines are much more fluid and are constantly changing with a majority opinion. For instance, schools and educational institutions are constantly changing and societal norms like appropriate dressing, behaviour and speech change because the morals of society that don’t follow a strict code (like an implemented religion) are constantly adjusting. In a world with atheism on a rise adherence to any sort of “norm” changes with whatever gets the most popularity. In this form of a morphed system, while individuality can be expressed (via freedom of religion/speech/press etc) the danger lies in no criteria. For instance, alcohol used to be banned, but it’s popularity makes it a common form of entertainment. It’s obviously not good for someone’s health but it’s popular anyways because people’s ideas and priorities don’t align with each other. You have cases of people being the odd ones out but more importantly it prevents a unity from developing within society. It’s hard to get rid of something like this because you can’t force your opinions on other people but it’s more of the way the system runs.
3. I feel like school doesn’t teach enough about real life things
Kids get bullied
Teachers don’t really care
Lol idk
I hate school
…
Yeah especially schools I’m poorer so neighborhoods they’re pretty bad and they don’t have the same resources and opportunities as the kids who go to the richer schools
4. I didn’t originally know how to start this so I’ll kind of just dive in, one of the first places you see the impact of systems and institutions is within our school systems. Starting with public schools. There are so many issues with the public school system in regards to people of color and socio economic I don’t even know where to start. In El Cerrito when I was younger, Madera was considered a top school in the school district which would oftentimes affect the property taxes around my neighborhood. A lot of wealthier counterparts were paying a lot of money to get Madera to stay on top. There were good teachers ect. As I got older and got ready to go to middle school my parents refused to put me in the public school system out of fear that I would lose the opportunities kids at private schools had. There was one public school in El Cerrito (I low-key forgot the name) portala I think. Where every kid in el Cerrito would go. However kids in lower income communities in Richmond would also attend the school. This is where I got my first taste of how different education can be deepening on your socioeconomic status. For me my dad’s a dean at Cal. My mom got her masters in law so education was a priority. Also coming from a well off family my parents could afford to send me to private school. For the first time entering middle school my education had changed and I was put with kids who had advantages their whole life right here in el Cerrito. Many kids who could afford private school were moved to private schools to avoid going to portala. Those of my friends who could not afford it went to portala where the quality of education was lower because those in higher income communities were unwilling to pay for the kids there to get a good education. It may seem selfish in some ways but it made sense to my parents. Why would I pay for a school that my child doesn’t even attend and is under performing in everyday. Why would I support a local district where my kid cannot learn in a safe environment. I even saw my friends leaving to go to Berkeley and Albany schools under fake addresses so they could go to schools where people would pay more money. After just one year at my private elementary/middle school in fifth grade my parents moved me again. The problem being that similar to those in public school people at my private school had been abusing the school funds and utilizing it for their personal gain. From there I was placed in a catholic school and again introduced to a whole new system of problems. At the Catholic school since it isn’t funded by the district but the church I saw what low income looked like. I was in classes with kids who couldn’t even afford textbooks or laptops. It was my first taste of culture shock. It was also the first time that I belonged to the majority within school regarding people of color. However, I saw what it meant to be a preeminently POC school and the funding and education we received. We went through bad teachers and bad principles, school candles and shortages of school supplies. I think only 20% of the school could afford to pay tuition including my parents. Meanwhile down the street in Berkeley the school the Madeline (predominantly white) was doing extremely well and getting a lot of funding from private donors and the church they even had better uniforms, buildings, and quality of learning. However despite catholic schools preaching acceptance and high enrollment rates the Madeline acted like a private school you got in if you knew somebody. By the time I reached high school I would go through another form of culture shock, this time entirely different, not just a socio economic but a race based culture shock. I moved to the Branson school, a top private School in the secluded area of ross California in Marin county. For the first time I would come to understand the phrase “model minority.” Despite getting into the school fair and square I had a lot of struggles. I was the only black person in my class of 80 kids. For the first time in my life I had found a place I didn’t belong. Despite being sold the idea that I was getting ahead and receiving opportunities the social impact affected my education negatively. I found myself performing lower than my peers as I tried desperately to blend in rather than stand out. My level of comfortability went down and I constantly found myself questioning whether I deserved to be there. Constant distraction such as scandals and events of hate crimes put me in a position of being miserable. The faculty and staff would keep their not because they wanted me to succeed but merely as a check in their box that they allowed a black person into their school and the black person graduated. I found myself receiving less attention than my peers ridiculed and put down in class and disregarded by the school. I found I could not find my place even within my own community as the POC and women of color were so polarized. We shared the same ideas and fought for the same things but because I didn’t come from a lower income family I didn’t fit. However, the school would call on me to show people around the school they’d come to me to get me to take their pictures for diversity. I found myself on the websites and in pamphlets and everywhere just because I was black. I realized that they didn’t care if I succeeded. If I did, it was a check in their book. I was there to make them feel good about themselves. Those years were deficiently the hardest for me but I learned a lot. By the time I had graduated I went off to a mediocre private university. My college counselor didn’t fight for me the way he did other students and he didn’t give me a heads up about my grades. I watched as all of the kids around me were going off to Harvard and Yale and they’d stare at me with pity and say well at least you are going somewhere. Upon reaching my college it was the same thing over privileged white people faculty turning their backs on you and polarized POC on campus. I’ll say I grew up quick and my perspective changed, By the time I reached BCC this year I have now seen the difference in education. Sitting in classes with students who do not try all the time and teacher who don’t get paid enough to care. Has given me another level of culture shock. Everynight I come home with a new story to tell my parents about the crazy shit Ive seen and every night my dad says transfer. Through this time what I’ve come to realize is the school systems were not made for POC not because we aren’t as smart or because we don’t deserve it but simply because of the sheer fact that the system was meant to have a bottom and a top. In the private school system we aren’t set up to make it we are set up to do the bare minimum because the bar has been set so low to begin with. In public school we are just a number we are on our own in terms of making it. Resources are limited and only the best get it. However education should not be set up in a way like we are going to apply and fight for internships every person should be guaranteed a spot on the playing field. Just because of your area code or the money you have in your account should not define the quality of your education. Kids should not be left to slip through the cracks. We should not discourage kids from going to school because they won’t do well or underperform. One valuable thing I’ve learned is it’s all about the mindset. The wealthy white kids who I went to school with were given this mindset when they were little. You are the best you deserve to do well. People of color have not been given that mindset we’ve been given the mindset that if we work hard we may succeed. I never fully understood that until I was sitting in a class one day and my friend had stolen my points during a debate. At first I felt stupid for being friends with someone who stole my points. When I confronted her about it years later her response to me was simple: you knew you weren’t going to say anything anyway so why let those good points go to waste. I stood their dumb founded but realized later it was my fault because if I had had her mindset I wouldn’t have let her stole my points I would ahve taken ownership for my ideas. All those years I had the idea in my head that I was nice and she was mean when in reality it was bigger than that she thought she deserved to say my points because she deserved success at any cost while I on the other hand was discouraged because I thought I would fail. The more I realized that the more I saw it everywhere in my interactions with my peers. I’d see kids drop out of class simply because something was too hard even though they knew the answer or kids who wouldn’t even try. However when I talked to my white peers at places like USC I’d hear different stories of kids asking professors to stay longer hours to teach a class, staying late to study and to work placing education before job opportunities and family enagments. Even this recent virus has caused me to understand how divided kids are within the school system. At Harvard predominantly poc wanted pass fail classes but their white counterparts were insisting on keeping letter grades because their hard work deserved to be reflected in their gpa. Forgein students choosing to be separated from their families just to succeed. On the other end I see people of color and lower income people worrying about their meals and dorms and housing and health care. No one deserves anything over anyone else but our society has embedded in us that certain people succeed not because they deserve it but simply because they believe they do even if it means leaving those around them in the dust. It takes me back to when my parents refused to pay money to my local school where kids couldn’t succeed. How they yanked me up and thrust me into new environments. They weren’t thinking what about all the kids who need our money in those schools. They were thinking solley my child deserves to be ahead and therefore will get a better education at any cost.
5. My friend said that’s some teachers think as kids get older they don’t need as much attention for their school for their school activities so they don’t ask questions. But they won’t ask it because they don’t want to stand out.
6. To fully understand the schematics of the education system, one needs to appreciate and understand every level of it — elementary to post-grad. As children, the majority of us go to school for reasons like “to learn,” or “to become something” but we often forget that the only reason schools were established were because we as humans have a knack for finding shortcuts. Schools to this day are essential because the adults of today, including parents, teachers, and people at the higher end, are stuck in thinking that there is no other form of beneficial learning. And this might be true to some extent, but in today’s modern world, one can learn anything as long as they have access to the resources and are dedicated to their goal. This does not mean that schools are completely pointless as it helps children to learn and understand transitioning in small steps. As such, if schools were more focused on finding ways to enhance their student’s capabilities instead of providing a generic form of education that some people cannot inhabit, then we might have a different vibe around schools. Instead of schools, colleges and universities do a much better job at this mostly because they are there to help transition students into practical life. From my personal experience, the greatest change in a human, at least in understanding, occurs in late teens when people realize what reality (or practical exposure) means. This is something that most people cannot envision unless they either experience it or step out in the world. At the end of the day, it comes down to what a person’s perspective is: would you rather invest in yourself, learn and apply your skills in the world, or would you want to go through the education system to have the right to call yourself “educated”?
7. I saw a cartoon once which I thought summed up our education system perfectly. There was a bird, a monkey, an elephant, a fish, and a dog sitting in class. Their professor said to them: “For a fair selection, everybody has to take the same exam: please climb that tree”. The truth is our education system doesn’t do enough to try and adapt to student’s needs and learning styles. The system is rigid and is only designed for a certain type of student to succeed. If you don’t fit that one dimensional, rigid box of the “classic model student”, you’re going to have a very hard time. Not everyone is a bird or a monkey who could climb the tree in a heartbeat. Some of us are elephants and fish. While the system thinks it is being fair by giving everyone the same tasks and deadlines, it is actually doing us a huge disservice. It’s absurd to think that we all have the same capacities! In my opinion, not enough is being done to accommodate those who may be having a harder time climbing the tree. They’re often left to their own devices, struggling by themselves. Just because someone doesn’t fit the classic model student type; who is able to focus, prioritize, stay organized, listen in class without getting distracted and never miss a deadline, doesn’t mean they aren’t as smart. It took me a long time to accept that my grades weren’t a reflection of my intelligence, because my teachers were trying to convince me otherwise. Apparently it didn’t matter that I understood everything perfectly, or that I was able to write great essays. What mattered most was the deadline, my attendance, or handing in some busy work assignment. My inability to respect these rules — which in my opinion had nothing to do with my actual education — were always my downfall. I failed so many classes that I could have been excelling in if my professors were to focus on the actual work that I provided, instead of failing me for submitting the work late or missing a busy work assignment that I deemed unworthy of my time. The professors would argue that they were preparing us for “the real world”, and that our boss “wouldn’t give us this many extensions”. I understand that, and I know I don’t make the rules, but I definitely disagree with them. In my eyes, this rigid school system kills intelligence and creativity. It is manufacturing a certain type of student who is excellent at studying, blindly learning things by heart and regurgitating them on a piece of paper to pass an exam, but not so great at analyzing, thinking critically, formulating their own opinion, or thinking outside the box. There are countless studies showing that the good straight A students often end up working for the student who was struggling in school, because the non conforming student often possesses these qualities that allow them to succeed in a non conventional way. Isn’t it time our educational system acknowledges that we are all intelligent in our own way? We all bring something to the table, we all learn in different ways, each student has different difficulties and challenges, and the system should do better to meet our needs and not rob us of our well deserved success.
8. I think the worst part of systems is that they have this idea that everyone is the same, like that we have the same capacities and qualities amongst other things, which is not true, and they judge us all based on a stereotype of how we should be. Especially academically. I think that not only makes people feel inferior to others, but also satisfies society’s status and social classes. Systems want us to function like computers, to be all good or seemingly good at everything that they believe is necessary for a prosperous society, like maths and science and languages. But some people are not born with the capacity to understand maths for example, but if you put them in any type of art class they’re superior than the rest. I’m not saying systems are completely wrong for trying to give everyone an opportunity to be good at much more than they are talented in, it’s just that it shouldn’t be graded the same? I dunno if it makes sense or no it’s just, it feels like it only creates robots to — to serve. I think systems lack the freshness of creativity and especially the appreciation and approach that art can give, the idea that art can only be appreciated by the superior eye is so segregational. I dunno, i feel like the idea of systems might have been cool but the development didn’t really do it justice and now we’re stuck with robotic like systems.
Closing Statements: Stop Running For Nothing My Friend
“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” Through the Looking-Glass (134).
Again, shoutout to the people who gave me their opinions on systems and institutions. I have both said all too much and not enough in this article. I am too afraid of claiming anything because, much like a flower in the wind, my thoughts and emotions towards things shift frequently, but the basic ideas are mostly always solid. I started writing this before my college’s spring semester finished, and I’m still here and there about it, but after so long, I simply needed to put it out. There may be many mistakes. Or maybe, there will be something so brilliant, something that resounds so intensely with you. Like I said at the beginning, there wasn’t much I intended with this, but like many humans out there, I dream of a better world. Thank you for reading!
“There’s no need to run without even knowing the reason
It’s alright to not have a dream
If you have moments where you feel happiness for a while” (Paradise, BTS LY: Tear)
Sources:
[DKDKTV]. (2020 March 5). BTS — 욱 UGH! Explained by a Korean. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq3nGiu0_gI
Caroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass. Signet Classics, 1960
lynn. (2016). Arts & Music in Public Schools: An Overview. Points of View: Arts & Music in Public Schools, 1.
Issitt, M. L., & Cook, K. (2019). Decline of Reading: An Overview. Points of View: Decline of Reading, 1.
Issitt, M. L., & McMahon, M. (2018). Standardized Testing: An Overview. Points of View: Standardized Testing, 1.
