WM: Pretty big leap from uniforms and crackdowns on classroom behavior to fascism. We wore uniforms in grade school. The reasoning was that those families who could not afford Spaulding saddle shoes and four sugar-starched petticoats need not feel inferior to those whose families could afford them. Given that Nike's and team jackets, etc. cost a blue fortune, I can easily see why parents would encourage uniforms. (It was also true that by the time the third kid in a family wore the uniform serge skirt it was truly shiny and the butt was all poochy, but I digress.)This year, some of the schools have adopted an authoritarian attitude toward the students with things like uniforms or dress codes or "crackdowns on classroom behavior." I think this is simply the first
step in teaching young people to accept fascism,
preparing them to accept prison like conditions, and
forcing them not to question authority, even when it's
legitimate.
Also, it was hard to learn when Kenny Humpert was dipping my pigtails in the ink well, or Jimmy Robinson was actin' the fool and embarrassing his dad. Did it make us into unquestioning automatons? I don't think so. We still knew they weren't giving us the real story about "the War Between the States" (a.k.a. the American Civil War) or Communism or Protestantism. Further, our parents had instructed us to understand that the teachers would not give us the full story and the story they gave us would be dates and a lotta spin. Did it make us more accepting of the lies of a George Bush? I don't think so.
I think kids are pretty astute about knowing whether the teacher is telling them the truth or shining them on. For example, under the new state guidelines, every little punkin in Minnesota is going to be told the myth of Columbus discovering America. With any luck at all there will be a kid sitting next to your kid who will say that Columbus discovered America for the Europeans, but the Indians had known about it for thousands of years. The telling factor is whether or not the kid's parents are inclined to believe all the myths or whether they are skeptical.
WizardMarks, Central
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