None Dare Call It Treason
Dec. 19th, 2005 07:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
etherialWell, no one but me anyway. My school, and schools all over the country, are commititng an act of Treason. Over the past several days, I've been growing increasinly nervous about it. Now that I've been assured by our lawyer that there's nothing I can do about it, I'm free to talk about it.
A growing trend in the educational field is that of the school ID. We had them at WHS, not that they were very useful. We had them at WPI, and they were very useful, but were pretty much all convenience, no hassle. Well, we have them at RHS too, and they're pretty much all hassle, no convenience. First off, they don't *do* anything. You can't swipe them for food in vending machines, you can't open locks with them (well, not any better than a credit card), you can't trade them out for keys. As a matter of fact, you can't forget your ID or else you get sent down to Guidance and get a big sticker put on your shirt as a "temporary" ID. All IDs must be worn and visible at all times, on a lanyard around your neck. In short, they're not ID cards. They're animal control collars.
I loathe the idea of wearing one. As a matter of fact, I dread it. The mere thought of bumping into members of the administration nearly sends me into panic attacks out of the fear that they'll make me wear one. And here's where we get to the Treason part. You see, Americans are supposed to loathe wearing animal control collars. Americans are supposed to oppose this exact sort of policy in Government Agencies around the World. But no, most of the faculty agrees that they're a good thing because they help identify the students. They help control the students. In short, they aid in violating the students' First Amendment rights - and condition them (and the teachers) to not expect to have any in the future.
We're contributing to the corruption of our Country and expressly violating the purpose of Public Education. The day will come when they tell me to wear it or get fired. I dread that day.
A growing trend in the educational field is that of the school ID. We had them at WHS, not that they were very useful. We had them at WPI, and they were very useful, but were pretty much all convenience, no hassle. Well, we have them at RHS too, and they're pretty much all hassle, no convenience. First off, they don't *do* anything. You can't swipe them for food in vending machines, you can't open locks with them (well, not any better than a credit card), you can't trade them out for keys. As a matter of fact, you can't forget your ID or else you get sent down to Guidance and get a big sticker put on your shirt as a "temporary" ID. All IDs must be worn and visible at all times, on a lanyard around your neck. In short, they're not ID cards. They're animal control collars.
I loathe the idea of wearing one. As a matter of fact, I dread it. The mere thought of bumping into members of the administration nearly sends me into panic attacks out of the fear that they'll make me wear one. And here's where we get to the Treason part. You see, Americans are supposed to loathe wearing animal control collars. Americans are supposed to oppose this exact sort of policy in Government Agencies around the World. But no, most of the faculty agrees that they're a good thing because they help identify the students. They help control the students. In short, they aid in violating the students' First Amendment rights - and condition them (and the teachers) to not expect to have any in the future.
We're contributing to the corruption of our Country and expressly violating the purpose of Public Education. The day will come when they tell me to wear it or get fired. I dread that day.
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Re: Holy Crap!
Date: 2006-01-07 10:03 pm (UTC)Once I posted in yours, though...
Yes, selectivity in ears is called for in any number of circumstances. OTOH, finding any to take you seriously enough to even be angry with you would be a feat. Mostly, they will write you off as a fruitcake. (how seasonal of them!)
Anitra is right about citizenship below the age of 18. I commend to folks Susan B. Anthony's speech about voting rights for women: http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/anthony.htm
And, simply put, the only reason the education system of today 'works' (which is to say, has not been forcibally stopped) is that the adolescents have not figured out that mass action by a significant number of them will (would) turn things upside down. It is only when the kids demand it that meaningful education reform will happen.
So, ID badges and lower grades for failure to jump through hoops the right way and whatever other bugbears there are out there are fixtures until and unless somebody awakens the big sleeping dog that is our student body.
Check out Amazing Grace and Chuck, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Gregory Peck, and Alex English.
Re: Holy Crap!
Date: 2006-01-08 05:29 am (UTC)Re: Amazing Grace and Chuck
Date: 2006-01-08 05:35 am (UTC)