It may surprise some of you to learn this, but for 12 years of my life I was forced against my will to labour in a State Indoctrination Camp.
Crazy right? You never would have guessed because I'm so well-adjusted.
It's strange but true: The country where I live in takes children away from their parents for hours every weekday and herds them into a government instructional facility with hundreds, sometimes thousands of other kids.
How Could This Happen!?
It's quite simple really. This was during the formative years of childhood when I was still in the custody of my parents. No threat was issued to me—I was little more than a toddler when this whole thing began. No, the threat was made to my parents. If they didn't comply with the government's orders they would be met by agents of the state who would use fines and force to punish them. The punishments would become more severe upon further refusal; they would be locked away in a cage and they could have their children removed from them permanently.
Like most parents, mine didn't put up any fight. The price of noncompliance was just too high. So that was it... I was to be left in the hands of government officials and state-trained "educators" for nearly half of my waking hours 5 days a week.
It took me a long time to realize this truth. So indoctrinated was I that I stayed in this camp for a couple of years beyond what the government demanded. But in my defense, the rest of my culture had been similarly indoctrinated; so much so that if I hadn't chosen to stay, my opportunities could have been seriously limited.
The Daily Routine
We were divided into communal cells that could hold about 20-30 children. These "classrooms" were intended to educate and socialize all of the children. Each day began with a ritual where we were made to sing praises and pledge allegiance to our government—we would be punished if we refused.
We were conditioned to respond to the sound of a bell.
RING! Now it's time to sit down and listen to the teacher.
RING! It's time to go outside. You don't want to? It's too cold? Too f**kin' bad.
RING! Come back inside now. It's time to learn about the history of all the great masters of our land.
RING! Eat for 20 minutes. No more, no less.
RING! Go back outside, or else! And stay out there for 40 minutes!
RING! Come back inside. Single file ladies and gentlemen! Seth, you aren't lining up properly! Go to the office, the warden principal will decide your punishment.
RING! Back outside you stupid sheep. I don't care if you're tired. Go have fun. NOW!
RING! I hope you kids aren't too worn out from all this. Actually I don't care because it's time to learn you more things! Sit down! Stop horsing around Seth. You're 6 years old. You should be mature enough by now to make a quick transition from playing outside to quiet and diligent note taking.
RING! You now have our permission to leave. But remember, we're giving you an additional two hours of work to take home. If you don't do it, your future prospects could be seriously jeopardized.
At every transition of the day, we had to follow proper decorum. This meant lining up single file and keeping our mouths shut.
Nothing could be done without the permission of the bell or the permission of an "authority figure." The urgent need of an impending... bodily function... could be met with outright refusal. "Hold it in Seth, can't you see we're in the middle of a lesson?"
My Indoctrination
Most of the indoctrination was subtle. In our daily routines we were implicitly taught that our lives were not our own. Any personal goals must conform to the whims of whoever is in charge.
Some of the indoctrination was far more direct.
In an effort to make us feel special we were always told that maybe some day, if we just work hard enough, one of us could be the Prime Minister. Wouldn't that be something? We were taught the highest achievement we could aspire to reach was to be a slave-master.
The legitimacy of our "leaders" was never called into question. Some teachers would challenge some of their actions, but never their authority. Through classes like history, civics, and social studies it was hammered into our little skulls that government is good and necessary. I can't remember if this was ever said... but it didn't need to be said. It was assumed. That's far more dangerous.
When I was 9 years old, my class was given an assignment to come up with ideas for new laws. Classmates of mine had ideas like, "make swearing illegal" or "ban getting drunk." The practicality of some of these suggestions was called into question and rightly so. How could some of these overreaching laws be enforced?
I won't be disingenuous. I understand that part of the purpose of this assignment was to get us to think critically about policy ideas. But that doesn't change the fact that an inherent part of the lesson is the idea that it is the government's job to regulate choices. Forget about personal autonomy, if Big Brother decides that certain choices are "wrong" you could be fined, beaten, jailed or even killed. Actions that were A-okay yesterday will now make you a criminal. Because the government says so. To paraphrase a very wise man named Hawkeye, from the movie Captain America: Civil War:
The government, gentlemen! The government is here! They see all! They know what's best for you, whether your like it or not...
Conclusion
I won't pretend that I got nothing out of my entire experience in public school. I learned a lot of things that I otherwise wouldn't have committed myself to learning on my own. I had a few great teachers who were actually interested in helping me grow as an individual and challenge many of my assumptions.
But that only proves how individuals can make a difference. Individual teachers impacting the lives of individual students. The institution itself however... it's a factory that was specifically designed to take human beings in one end and spit out useful, compliant citizens on the other.
I'm glad I'm out. I've had to work really hard to overcome some of my programming, but like I said at the top, I'm pretty well adjusted.
Thanks for reading and please follow me
~Seth
P.S. To my wife (who is a teacher): I'm sorry if I've offended you. I think you will be one of those great individual teachers who will have a positive impact on students. Do you still like me?
IMAGE SOURCES
- Banner - Waffle Mag, modified and re-uploaded by me
- Police Arrest - Wikimedia Commons
- The Strap - Wikipedia
- Classroom - Wikipedia
- Classroom 2 - Wikimedia Commons
- Captain America Thumbs Up - Comic Trash