Saturday, March 07, 2009

celebrating indoctrination?

Graduation season is coming upon us.

Why is it that year after year there are more *graduations*

You graduate from Kindergarten and almost every damn grade from there on out.

I really don't know how many but I do know that I hear about more grade levels *graduating*

I just wonder why we celebrate surviving indoctrination?

That is what school is.

I guess we are just happy we survived, we made it, we passed the stupid standardized test.

WHY??????

Why celebrate mediocrity?

Why do people embrace compulsary attendance?

Why do people embrace indoctrination?

I just can't ever get in that box.

I never was in that box.

Yes, I went to public school, I survived, I graduated, BFD.

I have never needed that little piece of paper we call a diploma. That society puts so much emphasis on, I don't even know what box it's in.

I survived indoctrination.

I didn't let it bring me down, I'm not dumbed down. I saw through the crap and many of you did too.

Why is it so clear to some and not to others?

Why do people like to be told what to do, what to think and how to do it?

Wake up and smell the compulsion. It is far worse now than it was when I went to school.

It was bad enough then.

Ugh!

I can't stand the box, I can't stand mediocrioty and I sure as hell am not going to celebrate it!

Live, love, learn, free your mind... UNSCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh that felt good!

6 comments:

Donna said...

I have to admit, my daughters graduated kindergarten (they were in a Montessori pre-school) and it was really cute. I have some great pictures and my girls still remember it. Since it was a private school we did a little video of the graduates, and there was a luncheon afterwards. I realize it was only kindergarten, but it was a sign that my girls were growing up, they weren't babies anymore. It was sweet. I can see why people like to have kindergarten graduations.

I remember my 8th grade graduation. It was important and memorable to me because it meant I was finally a high-schooler. It was an important milestone in my life. I felt grown up. I had finished primary school, I was moving on to secondary school. I was going to be a "High-schooler".

My oldest will be "graduating" 8th grade at our co-op this year. I am the only unschooler so it will be a bit weird. But since my daughter plans to go to high school next year, she does technically need to be an "8th grader" this year. I hope her "graduation" can be more of a milestone for her rather than judging an accomplishment. A ritual showing she is moving from one phase of her life into another. She is 14, she is growing up, she is going to high school. This will commemorate that.

All cultures have rituals. There are things that are done to mark milestones in people lives. I think graduations fill that role in our culture.

Not that I am dissing what you are saying......I get it. I guess I just don't feel as passionately against it as you do : )

Stephanie said...

HA! Donna, don't feel like you have to explain yourself.

See that is the point, is that all they have to look forward to as a reward for getting through the crap.

I realize it's a milestone.

I'm just looking at it from the other end and saying that it's a bunch of BS.

Remember I went to school,I did all of the hoopla.

I just don't agree with public school and the whole basis of it and it is a big root of many problems in our society.

I'm just looking at the big picture.

I know some kids have no choice and I don't want to belittle it for them.

See I'm just thinking out loud.

Donna said...

I didn't feel I needed to explain myself, just wanted to offer another opinion. I like to speak my mind that way, LOL ; )

And yes, I also don't like that graduation is seen as a reward for getting through the crap. I only saw my high school graduation that way....I couldn't wait to be done!

Stephanie said...

Keep speaking!

Same here about high school, I couldn't wait to get out, what a waste of time. I had a life to live I hated being cooped up all day.

unschoolermom said...

I can see both sides of the coin. I was homeschooled with a curriculum that provided a diploma. I loved it! I couldn't wait for my graduation, just because it meant I completed my highschool. I was not in a hurry to stop school. And I did have my own graduation. I recited Bible Verses, wrote a speech about what graduation meant to me, performed some of the songs I had written, and recited some of my favorite poetry. It was wonderful! I loved it! My graduation and my diploma meant and still means a lot to me. After high school, I took two diploma courses. The diplomas from them meant and still mean a lot to me. When I graduate from college, I'm planning to make the trip to Lynchburg, VA, to have a graduation ceremony with them. I'm in no hurry for my college to end, and it will still be a few years; but it means a lot to me to graduate there. I consider my colllege unschooling myself. College is something I have always, always wanted to do. And I love every minute of it!

That said, if my sons choose something different; that is fine. If they choose to never get a diploma, that's okay with me. If they do want to get a diploma, I will give them their options - have a homeschool diploma made, attend a correspondence school that offers a diploma, get a GED, etc. It will be their choice. For us, that is what unschooling is about. It's following the interests and talents of each individual. For me, that took and still takes the form of more traditional learning, a diploma, and a graduation. For others, it may not. We're all different. We're all individuals.

Kandy

Tina said...

Because it is hard to go against the grain. It isn't normal to be different. And most people don't even know what we talk about. They've never heard of it.