Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.
One of the more bizarre defenses I have heard in favor of our schools was praise for their deprivation of freedom. The argument is that we need to take away freedom so that we will better appreciate it.
Before we go any further, we probably need to look a little more into the concept of freedom and whether or not this is a free country. Freedom is not a black and white issue. All countries have constraints and none have successfully deprived citizens of all forms of freedom. Ultimately, what qualifies as a free country is a subjective consideration of whether or not that country is free enough.
My life story is beyond the scope for this post, but I feel obligated to share my relevant but highly abbreviated perspective of freedom in America. I have lived the bulk of my life as someone I hate out of fear for my survival. In my mind, the United States of America qualifies as a highly oppressive nation.
Even though I reject the idea that this is a free country, I will admit that we do have some freedoms. For example, we don't have government workers forcing us to bring home busywork that ensures that we have no time to pursue our interests in our free time. Have I given away this point yet? Let's try another. We can research from more than a single book selected by our government. I hope you see my point, but I will throw in an absolute giveaway just in case. We don't need permission for such things as using a bathroom.
Obviously, I'm talking about constraints found in schools that do not persist into adulthood. There is no denying that our schools are not environments built off of the foundation of freedom. When we graduate, we are more free than we are within that environment. That addition, however, is insufficient for this country to be classified as free. What's really happening is not that we appreciate that we are living in a free country, but that we appreciate what little freedom we have.
In all honesty, I had a surprisingly difficult time coming up with freedoms that exist in adulthood but not in school. Most thoughts I had regarding how the schools oppress students happen to extend into adulthood. Among the more obvious is how the schools train their student to turn to their teachers to dictate what they should think and believe. In adulthood, the media takes over that job. In fact, social studies classes frequently push current events in a way that encourages a reliance on the media.
I won't dispute the claim that the schools deny freedom. I will not dispute the claim that this can increase appreciation of the freedom we have. What I will dispute is the justification and intent. The schools are not set up in a way that is intended to appreciate living in a free country. They are set up in a way that trains us to tolerate oppression. Taking away freedom to make us more satisfied with an overall oppressive government is hardly an acceptable defense of our schooling system.
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