Please don’t blame this on public education, wholesale. I get that there are plenty of issues with public education, but there are teachers, departments, entire schools, and entire districts that put kids and their ability to realistically navigate the real world. I’ve worked with many teachers would would (and have) told politicians to fuck off than keep their teaching cert by abandoning their beliefs.
I’m proud to have worked for years in a school where teachers were comfortable telling students that American exceptionalism is a lie and that blindly believing anything different is a quick way to fall behind.
What the hell does “realistically navigate the real world” mean anymore. I had teachers, therapists, and guidance counselors all working to make sure I had a safe and useful education. Meaning, because I was misdiagnosed, that they would never risk my unhappiness(or their metrics) by allowing me in classes there I might fail because, by their own words, “if you fail at that class, you may be unhappy”. Fuck that shit. I succeed at their goals, not mine and I’m miserable.
I called up my old school recently to try and get them to send me a document stating that because I never fulfilled the basic state requirements, I did not actually graduate. They refused, but accidentally admired that I tested proficient in science, but was still placed in remedial classes. I doubt they think I remember those meetings in grade school, but I do. I remember being calmly explained that I would do better in this class or that class, but they never really explained what “practical” or “modified” or “academic” meant. I remember those meetings. When I talked to my school, I could tell they weren’t expecting me to remember the day we took the HSPA test and how I was pulled out of the regular students and placed in the remedial area despite being told I was declassified or how I shouldn’t have passed because I deliberately failed the writing section. It’s all fucking theater. They’ve been passing everyone for decades regardless of merit and now this country is a joke.
I’m so sorry to hear this and I’m really sad to hear how your “role models” failed you like that. It sounds like your school said that your diploma was proof that you’re ready to succeed in the world while merely trusting standardized tests to determine how successful you’d be.
I hope you’ve since felt more proud in your daily life.
Please don’t blame this on public education, wholesale. I get that there are plenty of issues with public education, but there are teachers, departments, entire schools, and entire districts that put kids and their ability to realistically navigate the real world. I’ve worked with many teachers would would (and have) told politicians to fuck off than keep their teaching cert by abandoning their beliefs.
I’m proud to have worked for years in a school where teachers were comfortable telling students that American exceptionalism is a lie and that blindly believing anything different is a quick way to fall behind.
What the hell does “realistically navigate the real world” mean anymore. I had teachers, therapists, and guidance counselors all working to make sure I had a safe and useful education. Meaning, because I was misdiagnosed, that they would never risk my unhappiness(or their metrics) by allowing me in classes there I might fail because, by their own words, “if you fail at that class, you may be unhappy”. Fuck that shit. I succeed at their goals, not mine and I’m miserable.
I called up my old school recently to try and get them to send me a document stating that because I never fulfilled the basic state requirements, I did not actually graduate. They refused, but accidentally admired that I tested proficient in science, but was still placed in remedial classes. I doubt they think I remember those meetings in grade school, but I do. I remember being calmly explained that I would do better in this class or that class, but they never really explained what “practical” or “modified” or “academic” meant. I remember those meetings. When I talked to my school, I could tell they weren’t expecting me to remember the day we took the HSPA test and how I was pulled out of the regular students and placed in the remedial area despite being told I was declassified or how I shouldn’t have passed because I deliberately failed the writing section. It’s all fucking theater. They’ve been passing everyone for decades regardless of merit and now this country is a joke.
I’m so sorry to hear this and I’m really sad to hear how your “role models” failed you like that. It sounds like your school said that your diploma was proof that you’re ready to succeed in the world while merely trusting standardized tests to determine how successful you’d be.
I hope you’ve since felt more proud in your daily life.