Article by Colonel Nogov on Mar. 10, 2015
Conformity
I did a google search for “conformity in public schools” and there were over 2 million hits. I did the same search for “individuality in public schools” and there were roughly 1 million hits. The second search, individuality, results almost entirely talked about conformity.
There is no individuality in government schools. I often hear rhetoric from the government schools and their advocates about how every child is a unique individual, but the instruction doesn’t match the rhetoric.
Schools teach to the test. Not just to the test, but to the “right” answer on the test. This is fine for math and specific historical facts, such as the declaration of independence was signed in 1776. But, why was the declaration of independence written? That is the important question, not when. I often hear from the government schools “no taxation without representation” as if the people wanted independence due to a lack of representation.
There are 26 grievances listed in the declaration of independence. Only a couple even mention representation. Most of the grievances listed talk about atrocities committed by the government. examples: “For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:”, “For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:”, “For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:”, “For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:”, “For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:”.
That list sounds exactly like what the U.S. Government does today to its citizens. The point being is that children are rewarded with good grades if they answer, “no taxation without representation”. Those examples don’t sound to me like the people wanted representation. The children are not taught to think critically. The opposite is true. They are taught to give the answer the teacher has instructed them to give. They will actually be punished with a bad grade if they attempt to think for themselves and question the answer demanded of them. Every child comes out of the school system with the same answers. Those answers are often just government propaganda. No opposing thoughts are even discussed. The teachers say this is the answer. The children are tested. If the children get the answer the teachers instructed, they get good grades.
Children who attempt to think for themselves or resist the indoctrination get punished with bad grades. This punishment makes their adult life very difficult. Once you’ve gotten bad grades in high school, it’s very difficult to go to college. It’s even hard to find work straight out of high school because employers often want to know what kind of grades they got. Society often looks at them as outsiders or trouble makers or just stupid. If they do want to go to college, they will likely have to spend a year or two in community college in order to get accepted at a university. (A side note: I only recommend university for specific purposes, such as hard sciences like doctor or dentist. Otherwise, I believe it’s a huge waste of time and money)
No child left behind and other national mandates makes every school conform. Standardized testing. Standardized thinking(if you can call it that). Standardized everything. This has lead to many problems, such as lower standards, expelling kids so the school doesn’t get penalized for not achieving their mandate, teachers pass students who shouldn’t have passed so their federal funding doesn’t get cut off.
Most successful people are successful precisely because they are non-conformists. I imagine you can think of many. Here is an article I came across when thinking and writing about this topic. It’s short, I hope you’ll read it. I don’t know the views of this author, but in this instance, I believe she is spot on.
Government schools teach conformity. Conformity creates automatons. They can’t think for themselves. They can only parrot what others tell them. They can only do as instructed. If you want your children to be mindless robots send them to the government schools. On the other hand, if you want them to be successful, creative individuals, get them out.
