Friday, April 25, 2014

We're All the Same: My Discovery That I'm Not So Different From the "Bad" Kids

The "perfect" child
Image courtesy of CNN.com
A couple things about me:
1. I am judgmental
2. I am sometimes a bit selfish

Not trying to deflect attention from my shortcomings here, but I know plenty of people have these problems. Part of it is human nature; part of it is the way society is today. But that doesn't mean you can't do anything to fix it; actually, people will respect you more if you try and work on your issues. 

The reason I'm bringing this up is because it has a lot to do with the way that we structure our schooling systems. Education today is often all about
being perfect and always arriving at the right answer. Schools praise kindness; they broadcast the ideal that not only should you be happy, smart, kind, and friendly, but that you should also be neutral and hardworking. Schools don't pay attention the fact that no one is perfect. Just because someone bullies another doesn't make them a bad person; it just means that they need work. 

I have often met children that are labeled as "bad". They do drugs, fail most of their classes, and have no respect whatsoever for their superiors. I have always been the opposite of that: little goody-two shoes who takes things way too seriously and does her homework. Judgey-judgey me doesn't really approve of those who choose to go the less conformal route. But what I've come to realize is that although I'm never going to approve of those that do drugs and flip off teachers, the "bad" kids are just like me, trying to figure out how to be a good person. And it's not fair for school's to judge them and suspend them without thinking about this is going to affect said child's whole life. Everyone has problems: some are just frowned upon more than others.

I know this post is different from the usual, but I still hope you enjoyed it.

Click here to see the article that got me thinking: Suspending Students is A Bad Idea


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