Actors and clowns are not the same thing.
School is a low budget magic act. It’s all an illusion; a false sense of accomplishment. It’s a place of performers training performers.
We memorize.
We recite.
Repeat!
We memorize.
We recite.
Repeat!
We memorize.
We recite.
We palm little coins of information so as to trick the onlookers into believing we’ve actually found those shiny surprises in an ear.
Perform little ones! Perform for the teacher. Perform for your peers.
Pull the endless handkerchief of words from your stomach.
Make those mysteries disappear; “Alakazam!” Poof!
Saw those subjects into distinct sections.
*We are full of answers. We are full of words; dates; names. We’re raised on Jeopardy and Jeopardy, well, it’s the quintessential measurement of intelligence, isn’t it? (Schools seem to think so)*
Perform little ones! Compete for a better letter prize. Perform because only the entertainers can win; we don’t accept entries from prop-creators.
Don’t seek to understand how the mirrored, sliding, glass trap door works, merely wield it in such a way that dazzles the crowds.
Don’t think, memorize.
Don’t discuss, recite.
Repeat!
Repeat!
Repeat!
Go into the world. Perform for them. Let them see that shiny piece of paper you got. Recite your act, your routine. “Come back tomorrow night for more of the same!”
Life is a stage, but it’s not a carnival, it’s not a circus. Stop treating us like children and maybe we’ll stop acting like them.
If I’m wrong at least give me the dignity of telling me so.
If I’m right, humble yourself enough to admit it.
If you’re teaching facts, just give us books instead.
If you’re prodding us toward inquiry, prod more; prod until our minds ache from thought. Remember, we need structure, we need guidance, but we don’t need someone telling us how to think or what to think. We have brains, let us use them. Your letters--your A's, your B's, your C's--don't reflect anything but a flawed system. Teach us to know. Don't teach us to perform, to memorize, to recite, to compete; those things are only suited for drama class.
