Think about your early school days
That simple request probably conjures up images of phonograms and small desks filled with small kids
Those hallways that seemed so big
Brightly coloured walls dotted with drawings and those stupid red apples
But overall I assume you look back at those days fondly
I was a pretty average kid
A bit on the energetic side and very social
My mouth was always moving but my mind was moving even faster
My imagination seemed like an escape
And escape from what you might ask
When I was in grade 2 we were tasked with drawing an image of Inuit culture
And explain what everything was and what it was used for
I was quite proud of it
I had done everything I was asked too
But when all the kids in front of me put their papers in the teachers hand and it was my turn, she took a look at it;
She didn’t put it in the pile with the other kids but instead put the page in between the index and thumb of both hands and tore it right down the middle and said
“Start again”
She said I didn’t put enough information and spent too much time on the drawing aspect
It was at that exact moment that I began to feel out of place
And the teachers agreed
Every year at parent teacher interviews my mom would get the same comments like:
“Pierce is a great kid but has trouble focusing in class”
“Pierce is a very smart kid but is always distracting his fellow classmates”
“Pierce brings a smile to my day but he can’t seem to complete homework.
Have you had him tested for ADHD? He might need medication.”
They were trying to drug a child
But why?
School is more like a factory than a place to learn
They take the raw material of children and shape them into a product
obedient docile to do what we are told
We are taught that free thinking is bad so just follow the textbook and that finding another solution is a waste of time
We are trained to live our lives by a set schedule of bells that tell us:
When to move
When to eat
When to talk
And if a child isn’t quite fitting the mold how they want,
Then they press the mold harder and harder,
Take away their lunches,
Make them do extra work
And when that still doesn’t work they give up
“There must be something wrong with the kid”
“He is just lazy”
“We have to put him on meds”
Did you ever take the time to think that maybe I’m not the problem
That maybe your system is:
Flawed
Outdated
Broken
I managed to get this far off my charm
Wooing the teachers to take it easier on me
But what about those kids that didn’t have that
What about them
They are left behind,
Forgotten,
They will amount to nothing because you deemed them as nothing
Well i’m sorry that I don’t fit your mold
But that’s not who I am
And no amount of medication or therapy is going to change that
The system may call me a failure
But im proud
I like who I am flaws and all
I am proud to say
School didn’t change me
The system may call me a failure
But I am proud
Because I may be a failure
But at least i’m still me