The Modern School System
Referred to as “The Department for Education,” [1] the vast majority of modern governments, especially first world ones, have a branch of government concerned with schooling, which tries to force all children of certain ages into government runs schools for a number of years. [2] Many of the so-called progressives and liberals of this world presume that schooling means education, which is far from the truth. Even some radical leftists and anarchists will fall into this trap of applauding increased spending on “education” (schooling) by governments, and spur on education charities, or UN missions bringing schools to poor areas of the world. On the face of it, this may seem well intentioned, and education, real education, is of course a fantastic thing, but there is precious little of that happening across the world right now, least so by the will of governments and mainstream NGOs.[3]
First, let us explore a handful of specific definitions . School does not necessarily entail education, and any useful information learnt at state schools is either a coincidence, or to provide a morsel that implies a banquet. Secondly, the schooling system and the bureaucracy that surrounds it goes on about “learning”. However, there is a big difference between learning and memorisation, conditioning, and indoctrination. The two categories do overlap slightly, you’ll have to remember a few things to learn something, but they are not the same action. State schools favour the memorisation technique because it fits their agenda and their goals, very little learning goes on in state schools (or any mainstream school, such as private, paid for school).
A logical approach to the question of public schooling quickly presents questions of Orwellian control. Why would the government want you to be enlightened, to be worldly wise, to know useful (ie: not for a job) skills, to be critical and open minded, to be creative? So you can innovate? The vast majority of jobs require only basic skills that are usually taught by the employer in a few weeks training, and the fewer higher skilled jobs mostly require specialist skills not taught in schools. We can safely conclude that the information drilled into children in school is of negligible help to the population, especially considering that all the useful elements could be self taught or learnt in a different way, along with a far larger body of useful information and skills. Having a free mind (as much as that’s possible) and thinking differently, challenging norms, questioning authority, thinking critically, and other innumerably useful skills and ways of thinking are only useful in a tiny amount of actual jobs, yet have enormous personal benefits to individuals. I’m by no means defining a useful skill as one that is required for employment.
Governments and structures of authority generally want to channel children into a life of wage slavery, debt, and dependence on authority. They don’t want them to develop in a positive way, they want them to become obedient and submissive so that they will work and consume without ever asking why or who for. Save the privileged few, who almost always attend elite private schools or an altered form of childhood conditioning (preparing them to rule), all children who have access to mainstream schooling are put through a lengthy process of indoctrination. Much of it is a subtle and much of it is extremely obvious.
For example, some of the more obvious aspects of school indoctrination are: a dress code or uniform[4] , to force children to obey their superiors for an arbitrary rule and to shut down any means of dissent or individuality that could be expressed on clothes; sitting in neat rows and being quiet and well behaved and generally passive, so that children are further instilled with obedience, passivity, and the illusion that neatness and regularity is normal and good; strict set times to arrive, eat, and leave, just as they have in prisons or corporate dictatorships (workplaces), so that children get used to the idea that the basic aspects of their day will always be decided for them, taking away from them freedom for around 7 to 8 hours a day, just as in wage slavery. All the systems in place at schools are designed, ultimately, to make children obedient to authority. This applies mainly to capitalist overlords, such as bankers and bosses, and to other oppressive vertical structures, such as governments.
This may be a lot to take in for some people. School and the illusion of learning and education is one of the small things that we can try and hold onto in this empty, consumerist, synthetic world of lies. However, there are far more ways to learn and educate yourself, such as books, the internet, nature, talking to people, developing useful skills, such as basic construction or foraging, and many other things. One of the best ways to get back a sense of meaning, maybe to replace the illusion of education in school, is with nature.[5] Nature is meaningful and satisfying, and it can be an escape from this artificial, commercialized world, along with building up human and community relationships, self education, and many other fulfilling activities that aren’t school or wage work.
There are ways to attack this vast system of indoctrination. I will only mention a few here, you are free to investigate innumerable possibilities or think up ways of degrading this system yourself. Even the most basic things can be helpful, such as causing general damage to anything in your school (or workplace for that matter, or though that is obviously more risky as you probably depend on wages for food). For example, simple vandalism and subtle damage is all helpful, if nothing else it will at help satisfy your feelings of rebellion. A more discrete way of eroding the schooling system is to alter the mindset of the people (“students”) who are there. Write a subversive message on a wall, or on a desk, or on a toilet cubicle. It is more the feeling of rebellion and subversion that is effective here, if others see your graffiti, which could range from a small “fuck school” to a huge hammer and sickle drawing, they will feel a small bit of solidarity. Does someone else hate this shit too, does someone else feel disillusioned and cold with this system? This can plant or help grow the seeds of dissent.
Creating subversive conversations and spreading information among your classmate comrades is the next stage to this. There are many methods for doing this, but spreading information is the point, telling people that school is not what it seems. And not in a populist, mindless way, but in an informed, political way. Few people like school, most children despise it really, but it is harnessing this distrust and dislike to create a deeper understanding of the meaning and real purpose of school, and to create an awareness of its agenda and why it has that specific agenda. This can then lead to a greater understanding of capitalism, government, and other connected oppressive systems of authority and then leading to who knows what rebellious, political path for that person and their comrades who they might influence.
Sources:
[1] Underminers 2013 Kieth Farnish p.41
[2] http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Education/Duration-of-compulsory-education
[3] http://www.globalissues.org/article/25/non-governmental-organizations-on-development-issues
[4] http://school-uniforms.procon.org/
[5] http://herohealthroom.com/2014/03/10/reasons-escape-nature/
