At public school, I don't feel like I'm a human being. I feel like just another number. They really do give us numbers, in fact. Since the 1st grade I've had a number. We are told to memorize them, and identify ourselves by them at lunch time and in the library.
My name is Dallin Ward, and my number is 16054.
I am a member of the public school system.
Another future worker in the labor force of America.
I am not expected to understand, only to memorize.
I am expected to test well.
Tardiness and absence are never excused;
The school has got to get its money from somewhere.
They think that the way to teach children is to:
Sit them in desks for 8 hours.
Keep them quiet.
Teach them all the same lesson, all the same way.
Test them regularly with standardized tests.
Put students who just don't learn their way into, "Special Ed."
Give them even more work to do after 8 straight hours of schooling.
Keep them indoors.
Limit their recess time.
Creativity is seldom praised;
Work is based on performance only.
Effort means very little.
Students with hard lives outside of school -
Aren't taught how to overcome those things.
Tough luck, huh kid?
Where is the part about love? Where is the part about vulnerability and openness and humanity?
Where did those things go?
"Yeah well, about the number thing, as the schools get larger, it's necessary for knowing who is who and billing purposes in the office and thing like that, and there's also.."
Yeah, I know, I get it. I understand why the numbers are a thing and why they are helpful. They really do make things more efficient. Let me phrase it this way:
To the parents of publicly schooled children,
Do you really want your child to spend their most impressionable and formative years in a place where they are locked in a room for most of the day, and where they are taught by people who are too busy to know them as more than just another student among the masses? Of course this isn't always the case, but oftentimes it really is. Is that what you want them to know? Where is the part about living a happy and meaningful life? Where is the part about feeling fulfilled and loved and connected? Who will be there to tell them that they are important and worthwhile?
What did you do when you came home to your family last night? Did you turn on the TV? How about spend a couple hours on your phone? What were your children doing? Do they know that you love them? Do you actively do things to tell them that they matter to you? If you don't, shame on you. Yeah, I'm calling it. You are actively being a poor parent because you are too afraid to reach out to your very own children. I don't care how tired you are. They need your love. And if it's all you can do to give them a hug or read them a story, do it. Just do something.
Are you working too much to spend any time with your family? Stop it. Cut your expenses, and work less. If your television costs you money to run, sell it. Is it really that important? If your smartphone is costing you too much money to take time off work, downgrade to a dumbphone. If you are going out to eat at the expense of needed time and money for your children, stop it. Make your meals at home. For their sake, teach your children how to cook! If your computer is distracting you from your family, get rid of it. Cut your internet if you have to. If you have debt that weighs you down, pay it off. Your children need you.
Where else are they going to learn how to live a meaningful life?
"But my life isn't meaningful. How can I teach them something I don't know?"
Well, you have to learn. Start with these books:
Read them one by one, and take notes. Don't rush it, but be constant. Don't stop. Keep moving forward! You can do this. It will take courage and you will really really hurt at times. There will be painful realizations, but you will overcome with consistent effort.
You will live a meaningful life, and you can teach your children how to as well. They need you. Where else are they going to learn lessons like this?
If you're more of a blog kind of person, here's a few blogs to follow that will help you live more meaningfully.
To the children of the parents: don't think that you're a victim. You're not. If you want more meaning in your life, you need same thing as your parents. Educate yourself. If you want a good education, you're going to have to look to more than your public school. You will not be taught the right things there to live a happy life. Spend more time with your family. Open your heart, and allow yourself to be loved. It's going to be painful, I promise. Do it anyway. Your parents need you.
That's it for now.
Love,
Dallin
