High School: Illusion

I doubt anyone else sees what I’m about to explain, but hey, we’re all weird in some sort of way.

I kind of feel like Ishmael on the outside looking in, or Daniel Quinn, all of a sudden realizing that all that he’s ever known is a trick. An illusion brought down over our eyes to shield us from what we don’t want to hear or see. What I see is an illusion. High school is an illusion that administrators cast over unsuspecting students. The illusion of importance is the first and foremost when it comes to the hoax. Every student must be handled with care.

Students will not receive the discipline they require for their first, second, maybe third offence. A student who is caught throwing food may get a warning, then maybe another, until they’re finally given a detention of an hour or so the next day. No big deal. However, in the real world, no one will even think of such things, because they don’t want a confrontation. People will do anything to avoid confrontation.

In school, every student is considered. They are given the illusion that they are a person to the world. Every teacher must account for each students feelings and make sure they don’t do anything offending. In real life, each person is just a number, and everyone, aside from your friends will definitely have no consideration for your feelings. They won’t care if you’re offended, because the bottom line is: you don’t have the right from being offended.

There is nothing protecting you. Next, is the illusion of success. In school, A’s are a superficial way to show what’s been learned. Too many people study the hour before/ memorize the words for the quiz/ cheat/ procrastinate/ write something they don’t mean because it’s the easiest thing to say. Teachers assume that if a student gets good grades that they’re a good person who volunteers, and has a good character; well it just isn’t so.

But because this assumption is made, the good students are rewarded with favor from the teacher, that they used underhanded tactics to get (which isn’t very moral or good at all). However, the trick to the illusion is that ease is key. It’s important for everyone to succeed, and that’s the illusion. The truth is, not everyone is going to succeed, however in high school, if a student fails, they retake the class as many times as it takes, they may even become super seniors by the time they do pass, however, in the real world, it’s not imperative that everyone succeed. The thing is, there won’t be second chances sometimes when a person fails.

There’s not always going to be “next year” or “next time.” And that’s a fact, Jack. Lastly, there’s the illusion of utopia. High school seems like the perfect place. With order and all kinds of people.

Everyone gets food and the majority of people treat you nicely, there’s always going to be people to be around and people who like you. It’s a comfortable place and a safe place to be. Even though monotony can become a drag, students still get out of bed every morning to come to school to be around their friends. School has stability and a schedule that makes the students feel like they can form a comfortable routine. There are always interesting things too like gossip and sports.

People get into fights, they talk about their life, they swear and rebel to get attention and laughs, but when it comes down to it, most students miss the point of high school. High school has become something social, instead of what it really should be about: learning. High school is supposed to prepare people for the real world, but I’d have to say, high school is doing a rather poor job of it. In closing, I hope I’ve illuminated some of my observations. I don’t know if there are people out there who will feel the way I do about this, but I hope that somehow students can come back to realize what school is all about: learning.