If I had been one of the smart ones in school, I would have dropped out.
Drop outs are the ones that were able to see through all of the bullshit in school. They saw how teachers were telling their class that their family, friends, and entire culture were worthless. They realized that the only way to succeed in school was to follow teachers like dogs follow their masters. They are the ones that constantly challenged the teacher by asking, “Why do we have to know this?”
I wish I would have been one of those drop outs. I wouldn’t have lost cultural capital like my language. Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to speak comfortably to my parents and brothers, maybe I would still have the closeness I had with them when I was younger and less white-washed.
Oh I know what you are thinking (if you know me), but you are almost going to finish college, you are going to be a teacher, and you have, and probably will continue to have, a good life. It is true, and I owe this to my upper-working class/lower middle-class family, not just my education. I would have been fairly successful almost no matter what, my family’s money and my easy life would see to that. But, perhaps if I would have dropped out, I would have not only been successful, as I will be with school, but I would have maintained my culture and my soul.
To succeed in school I had to play the game. I had to be in competition with other students, trying to make sure that everything good came to me. Supply and demand, right? Limited supply of great teachers and honors/AP courses, which meant that for me to get into them, I had to “beat” other people. I remember in the ninth grade when the school offered a new program to students who needed extra support. The program was not offered to me and I was upset that other students were gaining benefits that I felt I should receive. Thinking back at that, I am ashamed.
There are other ways I fought with the school and against other students, mainly through being complacent. I would never have walked out of any of my classes; I was too afraid that my master wouldn’t hold out any more treats for me, that I would be punished. I never joined in protests or seriously spoke up against anything the school did. I never, at that time, questioned why the school offered an AP European Class but no Latin American course. I never questioned the classes I was forced to take like life skills (bullshit class they give us minorities who don’t know what to do with their lives. Other schools have more college prep and art courses).
I was happy as long as I was receiving good grades with minimal effort, to hell with everyone else.
The one good thing about college is that I got to see how some people have it easier. Okay, I shouldn’t say that, it’s all relative. Some people have it easier financially but have to go through other troubles. Let me put it another way: some people are able to do much better in school because they have certain benefits that I don’t. Seeing that and seeing how I was one of those people in my High School, I was able to open my eyes and see reality (or are my eyes still closed? I guess you really can’t know. All I know is that this is my new reality).
Hopefully I could do something to redeem my self, something to get away from being a tame dog looking for treats from the master; something to help others see through the bullshit. As a college student and future teacher, I’m still under someone else’s control, but hopefully one day I’ll break away.
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
Click to send Hate Mail
Choice Picks
Interesting.
So, do you think that you'd be a better person if you'd dropped out?
And where are those other dropouts, now?
Personally, I haven't seen my own culture undermined in any way throughout my high school education. On the contrary -- it's been celebrated. What you're saying is really interesting, though, and tragic. Like, did school seriously do all that to you?
Keep reading, I hope to explain my self as I blog more.
Yeah... about that....
Posting three blogs in 10 minutes is not the way to go. People either won't read them because they think you put no effort into them, or just because they're annoyed that you put up so many blogs so quickly, thus knocking down other posts.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
I didn't think about that. Thanks you.
Just here to help :-)
Best of luck in the contest... you have a lot of potential.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
I already commented on another blog, but here goes:
It doesn't make sense to me that you think smart people drop out. Sure, some of the stuff we learn in school is utterly useless. That is not up for debate. Yes, the system does tend to separate people into groups, the same way that any human social construct will. But we're all living in this world, so why would you ever give up a chance to learn about it? To my mind, the smartest people are those who use the educational tools at their disposal to achieve what they want to achieve on their own terms, without letting themselves be defined by the system that helps them get there. Those who think themselves smart enough to simply drop out of the system tend to end up in bad spots. if they were as smart as they think and you say, why not use the system for what it is, don't let it get to you and end up the better for it?
When I say the "smart" ones drop out, what I mean is that many of those who drop out are able to see what others cannot. Because of their experiences outside and inside of school they are able to see contradictions in schooling. They may notice how we preach respect and tolerance yet we want every student to be similar. They are the ones who ask questions such as: why should I wear a uniform when nobody has ever confused me for a gang member? Why do teachers get to wear sandals but I don't? How come when the teacher gets to work late or forgets to do something, s/he is not punished? Why is the teacher allowed to scream at me and direspect me infront of my peers but I get punished if I do the same? Why do we have to learn this? Why do we have to do this? How come the teacher cares more about the assingments than the students (as in when an assingment gets turned in late the teacher may not care for an excuse and even if they hear the excuse, they mark down points to be "fair.") This prompts these students to wonder, what is fairness?
So I do not mean smart in the traditional sense, but smart in a critical sense. These students are placed in a position where they are able to see contradictions and injustices in the school system and they are able to judge it. They then decide to get out because they cannot withstand these injustices. Or in otherwards, they are pushed out of school.
Unfortunately, because they do not posess the traditional kind of smart they are unable to present their feelings and arguments in a way that pleases us. We hear them speaking "improper english" and we hear them referencing their own lives or making generalities rather than referencing books and we dismiss what they say. Yet their experiences inform their actions and if only we would listen to them we would see a completely different and just as valid perspective.
So my title, "The Smart ones Drop Out," is deceiving. What I should have written was " It takes a certain kind of Smarts to Drop Out." In fact, I will try to edit that in right now. Thank you for pointing it out.
1) Didn't have to wear a uniform after 5th grade, and I didn't really care before that.
2) Yeah.... at my high school, I had a guy in my class that wore sandals to school every single day. No lie. We could wear whatever we wanted, as long as we covered the appropriate amount of skin, and I never saw a teacher showing an inappropriate amount of skin.
3) Teachers that do that need to be fired. I've never seen it happen. And the only students I've seen yell at teachers are those who let their tempers get away with them... the type of students I wouldn't be surprised to see in a gang.
4) Because you need a good basis for education in order to make good decisions in life. Have you heard how many people don't understand basic science concepts? They are the ones claiming that science proves nothing, and they'll stick with traditional medicine, even if it kills them.
5) Technically, you don't have to do anything. They can just fail you out and keep you in school til you turn 16. But, sometimes, in order to succeed in life, you just have to work the system. Those are the truly smart people... those who see the flaws in the system, but work it to their benefit.
6) Well, I've gone up to a professor and told him that I slept in late, and I missed the first 20 minutes of class, when they took an exam... he let me do a makeup, though he was under no obligation to. I was late to calculus once, and called up one of my friends in the class to tell the teacher, cause I got into an accident, and she told me not to worry about the assignment they did at the beginning of class when I did make it in there. My boyfriend's teacher let him skip the final cause his sister died. I was sick and couldn't make it to class one day, and my teacher let me stay after class the next time we met to make up the discussion I had missed. Most teachers I've seen are willing to work with you if you're willing to put in the extra effort. Seems perfectly fair to me.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!