Today my students were complaining about how useless they find school. I said, "Oh, c'mon! This is SCHOOL! You're going to have to accept that fact, and start making an effort to learn something. I swear...you seem to think this is one big party."
"Oh, believe me, Mrs. Hillbilly Mom...if I thought this was a party, I would hunt down the people who threw it and make sure they never throw another one. This party sucks!"
"Why do we even have school, anyway? I don't want to learn anything. I don't learn anything. It's a waste of time."
"You know why we have free public education in the United States, don't you?" Mrs. Hillbilly Mom always does her best to educate her students, even though they may not want to learn, and the educatin' may not be in the subject Mrs. Hillbilly Mom is paid to spout in the hopes some knowledge will be absorbed.
"Of course I know why we have free public education! To keep kids from working in factories. Mr. Links taught us that."
"Um. I'm not sure Mr. Links taught you THAT. We have free public education because our founding fathers wanted an educated electorate. They wanted the citizens to know what the issues were. To understand why they should vote one way or another."
"No. It was because kids were working in the factories, and it wasn't good for kids to be used like that."
"You're talking about the Industrial Revolution. That was in the 1800s. We had free public education way before that. Sure, there were laws passed about child labor. But it wasn't the reason or the beginning of free public education. Perhaps you've heard of George Washington? His face is on the dollar bill."
"Of course we know who George Washington is. I have dollars."
"Well, he came way before kids working in factories. And it was back in his time that the free public education came about."
"There's just no arguing with you!"
Then why do they even try?
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Disclaimer: I may not have my facts exactly right...but I'm a durn sight closer to right than this select group on this specific day!
2 comments:
You are the spouter, and they are empty vessels, eager to be filled.
Your Coke machine must be different than our Pepsi machine...
Sioux,
I am a spouter all right. And they are certainly empty vessels. But I fear you have lost me in the Coke machine. Coke, right? I'd better not be lost in a Pepsi machine, or there's going to be not-heaven to pay!
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