Skewl

Some schools (not necessarily the school I currently attend, any school I have previously attended, or any school I am in association with, but not necessarily NOT one of those schools previously mentioned) are making an effort to be more modern while being environmentally friendly. It is obvious that the measures that, shall we say, certain schools have taken were not extensively researched, at least not as thoroughly as they should have been.

For example, it will definitely contribute to the school's attraction if they give their kids laptops. What with the whole "going green/paperless" thing, people are sure to come flocking. Plus, hello, it's a freaking laptop. What high school kid doesn't want a laptop?

Me, actually.

I mean, yeah, I'd love to have a personal laptop. But to use it all the time, never to touch a pencil again, to experience the frustration of running out of lead, to bask in the satisfying rhythm of pencil scratching paper... eh, it's a writing thing. But seriously, there's something about writing things down with your own hands that makes it.. personal. This is your story. Not the computer's. You wrote this. I think it aids knowledge retention and allows students to function more adequately.

We take our geometry tests online. We have to press the protractor to the laptop screen and measure an angle. And we can't extend the lines because, honestly, who's going to draw on their laptop screen?

I get headaches almost every day. I've always been really sensitive to exposure to screens, whether it's TV or computer or a Gameboy or what. I already have bad eyesight, so I can't even begin to imagine what this screen's doing to my eyes and my brain.

Then there's the distraction/temptation factor. You give a kid a laptop... Honestly? What teenage boy isn't going to be playing games in the middle of the lecture? Or, better yet, using the screen to hide the cell phone they're testing on.

It sickens me how we're all like lap dogs, always eager to please and full of ourselves when we do. "Oh, we're saving trees by going paperless!" When did paper become the universal symbol of all that is evil? I love paper. I have this thing for completely blank sheets of paper. I have to fill them up. Documents on a screen? Not the same effect. You don't learn the same way. But since it's currently the fad, I guess that's what we're going to do. And we'll be so proud, parading ourselves around. Good for us. (You've figured out by now that it is my school that I'm talking about.) No one thinks about the consequences. If we're ahead of the curve, who cares that we'll all be blind and brain damaged in twenty years? What does it really matter as long as some tree somewhere isn't cut down for a few more days? What does it really matter as long as we meet the standard of liberalism that is so ingrained in our culture. We don't even realize that they've infiltrated every aspect of our lives. The very thoughts we think are contaminated.

Why?

Because they have our children. They have our children in their hands (when we let them live, that is) from ages three and four to age eighteen (sometimes longer). Add to the list of things that should be privatized (Social Security, welfare [aka charity, ever heard of it?], and infrastructure spending are already on the list): schooling. They have our children. They have the future. They're controlling it. Public schools are the principal vessels of liberal indoctrination. All the legislation that comes with the package too, of course. Like "No Child Left Behind"? Yes, I am willing to rip on Bush because I know what's right and what's wrong, as opposed to what's Democrat and what's Republican. Our school took in two students who were kicked out of their old school for trying to start a mafia. Well, we can't leave any child behind (except the ones lying dead in the commons).

And where's the other end of that deal? What about the people who are too advanced for their grade level and are forced by law to remain where they are? Sure, we're not leaving anyone behind (except everyone in the public school system [it's not like most teachers really care, with the exception of a few--I've had some pretty awesome teachers--because the unions will fight for them whether they deserve better pay or not. There's no incentive for good teaching, just bad teachers demanding more pay than they're worth]), bu we're not promoting success, either. Mandatory mediocrity is what it is.

So, in short, public schooling (among many, many, many other things) is completely screwy and is going to either fail itself or result in the failing of America.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get my sleep. I'm taking a state-mandated standardized test tomorrow morning.