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The Most Important Lesson You'll Ever Learn in School

wetherobots.com — When people are ordered to do something by someone they view in authority, most will obey even when doing so violates their consciences.

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  • bobthebruce123, on 02/19/2008, -5/+70This is why the 0-5 education plan scares me. Right from the cradle, a Brave New World...
    • senorcool, on 02/19/2008, -2/+23Community, Identity, Stability
      • sockpuppets, on 02/19/2008, -8/+7Recession, Repression, Regression
        • debuggercll, on 02/19/2008, -1/+24Developers, developers, developers, developers, developers.
        • jkarhu24, on 02/19/2008, -2/+20Marsha, Marhsa, Marsha!

        • GliTCH82, on 02/19/2008, -5/+2C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-Combo Breaker!

          Am I doing it right?
        • jkarhu24, on 06/14/2008, -0/+1WRONG!
    • sexybobo, on 02/19/2008, -2/+25http://aycu29.webshots.com/image/42708/20030766019 ...
      Mirror
    • ChazHollywood, on 02/19/2008, -17/+29Why raise your own kids when you can have the Government do it. I mean, your job as a receptionist is really much more important than being there and raising your child.
      • revjustin2, on 02/19/2008, -7/+37I'll be glad to take your advice, pull my kids out of school and "raise" them in a cardboard box behind the 7-11while we all starve to death.
        • ChazHollywood, on 02/19/2008, -7/+11You live in a cardboard box behind 7-11?
        • thall, on 02/19/2008, -2/+14I think he was talking about his friend the straw man....
      • Fenchurch72, on 02/19/2008, -9/+5Your comment pisses me off in so very many ways. It is my sincere hope that you were being sarcastic.... otherwise you're a bit ignorant.
        • Swivelstick, on 02/19/2008, -1/+14Who's ignorant? What did feminism and other such ism's give us except slavery. The necessity that both parents have to work just to pay the bills mm great stuff..
          • Fenchurch72, on 02/23/2008, -0/+2Its ignorant to assume that a receptionist who is also a mother values her reception job more than she values her children. Yes, I'd say that's ignorant.
        • OverlordXenu, on 02/19/2008, -1/+10You know, there are stay-at-home dads.

          Most mothers and fathers who choose to stay home and raise their kids _choose_ to do so.

          I would rather raise my kids than have a nanny raise them.
        • Pikk, on 02/19/2008, -3/+10@ Overlord & Swivel.
          Not everyone has that option. Many people are attempting to raise a child by themselves. doesn't really leave them the option to stay at home. I guess they shouldn't have had unprotected sex, or had an abortion, or whatever, but condoms and abortions are expensive. And many people don't think it's necessary, and then the kid is a year or two old and suddenly has no dad.
          And, feminism didn't CAUSE the necessity of 2 income households, that is caused by corporations attempting to squeeze out maximum profits. And the societal conditioning to GET MORE NEW BETTER STUFF.
          I guess most of you are wealthy. I mean, you obviously have access to computers and the internet. Think about the people that don't have the option of leaving work to take care of their kids. That's what corporations want, you to work all the time, and your kids to do whatever the advertisements tell them. Eventually we'll stop having actual families and everyone will have a "corporate family" ugh. how many times have I heard the phrase "welcome to the X family" when I started working for company X. ***** it. I'm moving to the third world.
          • sexybobo, on 02/19/2008, -1/+9You are really defending people who think condoms cost too much?
            My family was poor it was me my 2 sisters and my mom and dad living off my dads income as a janitor. It wasn't easy but we were able to live just fine and our mom was able to stay home to raise us.
          • Akaji, on 02/19/2008, -5/+10"condoms and abortions are expensive"
            Not having sex is free.
          • jkarhu24, on 02/19/2008, -7/+2You're obviously a virgin.
          • sunkist22, on 02/19/2008, -0/+4@akaji: some people actually want children. what most people need to figure out is that they do not have to go broke to have them. there are a lot of 'expenses' that come with children that can be avoided. You do not have to buy all new baby stuff to be considered a good parent.
          • OverlordXenu, on 02/20/2008, -0/+2I was raised by a single parent. I assumed the original comment was talking about a two-parent family, as any job is more important than raising your kids yourself if you have no other source of income...Well, bad wording, but I'm sure you get what I mean.
    • GfunkGbuss, on 02/19/2008, -4/+31Everyone thought I was crazy when I argued with my teacher that I didn't want to do the assignment she had me do for missing a day of school, then running outside and refusing to eat lunch simply because I kept asking "Why do we ALWAYS have to eat lunch at the same time? Why do we have no control?" in third grade. Seeing this comment made me remember that, and also made me feel like I actually did the right thing by questioning the complete and total authority within the school.
      • xptoast, on 02/19/2008, -2/+4IF they were smart they would know the answer as there is some answers. They also tend to fail with teaching concepts. They usually do not give an actual applicable situation in which you are going to be using the concept they are teaching you. This promotes not learning, but instead frustration.
      • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -6/+10Oh my God shut the ***** up, I'm tired of hearing how everyone on Digg was a brilliant, insightful, subversive revolutionary when they were 10 years old. You were just some brat who didn't want to do work or do what anybody said to be difficult. This is a common behaviour found in several small children, sorry to rain on your "Man, I was a genius" parade Che.
        • AgarwaenUmarth, on 02/19/2008, -1/+7Guevara would've shot everybody during lunch. Sadistic bastard.
      • Accolade1, on 02/19/2008, -4/+4You honestly seeing insight in complaining about being given time to eat lunch? Naive and pathetic. You sure took a big stance against "complete and total authority within the school." You also missed a day of school and couldn't complete an assignment? Tough beans.
    • BESTenemy, on 02/19/2008, -0/+9Wonder if Pavlov got his experiment ideas while listening to bells at school.
      • jkarhu24, on 02/19/2008, -0/+9When I was in high school, a sudden pang of hunger hit me right before 11:20, because I was expecting lunch. It happened at the same time everyday. Routine is awesome though.... it kind of is. You get a lot done. I have a disjointed life right now, and I have to say I get less done.
        • fokov, on 02/19/2008, -0/+5Most people keep regular schedules later in life. As you mentioned it is good to have a routine. This helps people wake up, sleep, and get their body ready to eat at certain times. Chaos can work, but I believe normal routines are good. They can also help you mind do one thing, while you perform all those pointless tasks that you have to do later in life.
        • xptoast, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1They do have reasons but usually teachers don't know them or think its necessary to explain the concepts behind it.
      • GliTCH82, on 02/19/2008, -4/+2By the way, Pavlov Media at Arden Villas in Orlando, FL SUCKS MY BALLS. WORST INTERNET EVER, AVOID AT ALL COSTS. They will ***** YOU for downloading more than 200 MB/day, even though they claim it's unlimited. They will ***** YOU if you use torrents even for 20 seconds, and they will ***** YOU for online gaming. Basically, the only site you can go to where you do not GET ***** is maybe their home page, or cnn.com.

        This service is a communist piece of ***** meant for Soviet communal internet where everybody works together for the motherland, meaning if you use it for anything substantial at all you WILL GET *****.

        Please continue.
        • captZEEbo, on 02/20/2008, -0/+2get a blog
          • GliTCH82, on 02/20/2008, -2/+1You really think I should? They like me, they really like me!

            ...

            Play me off the stage Johnny!

            *cue vaudeville piano music*
    • AgarwaenUmarth, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Hey, they authorized a new Logan this week!
    • johnn11238, on 02/19/2008, -2/+5Home Schooling:
      It ain't just for Jesus freaks anymore.
    • expatcatalyst, on 02/20/2008, -0/+1This pretty much says it all: http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/
  • lodibug3, on 02/19/2008, -40/+34Just one of the reasons we homeschool!
    • BingoPower, on 02/19/2008, -23/+90Congratulations! When it comes to your children's social skills, the wheel will be going but the hamster will be dead.
      • DCUK, on 02/19/2008, -5/+23They will only have problems if the parents don't take them to social activities "after school" I know several families that home school, their children do more outside of school hours than most other kids do (sitting in front of TV/computer etc)

        This is one MYTH about home-schooling that really doesn't take much thought to dispel. . . . but it's down to the parent, any parent not taking steps to socialise their child should be forced to put them back into a school
        • xptoast, on 02/19/2008, -1/+7Even putting them into public school doesn't help much. I was in a public school and didn't understand or socialize well. Oh well. I figured it out now.
          • GliTCH82, on 02/19/2008, -2/+3Excellent work, man. I have even more respect for people like you. =)
      • revjustin2, on 02/19/2008, -2/+19My kid not only has more social interaction now that he's homeschooled, I would say that the quality of the interactions are also better. The kids he hangs out with now are generally happy, well adjusted sweethearts. That wasn't the case when he was in school.
        • Azuroth, on 02/19/2008, -9/+4Well, he'll certainly be well prepared to deal with all the non-happy well adjusted people he will meet later then!
      • Swivelstick, on 02/19/2008, -4/+12Why is BingoPower being dugg when it's an ill informed comment? Are we so inured that anything outside of the norm is bad which if I'm not mistaken is the whole point of this caricature?

        Sorry BigW didn't see your comment!!
        • BingoPower, on 02/19/2008, -4/+1It is perhaps the hamster reference :)
        • BrapAllgood, on 02/19/2008, -0/+7We dugg it (I think) because we all remember 'those kids' from 'that family' when we were growing up and it made us involuntarily giggle...or voluntarily, in my case for sure. :) (They lived across the street. That house smelled bad.)

          Personally, if I were to have kids (no plan to) I would homeschool them. Public school did little for me and private school was terrifying.
      • fokov, on 02/19/2008, -1/+3public, private, home school. They all can be great, and others can be worse. I knew some home schooled people that were weird (the result of little social interaction, or at least not quality interaction), while others were very well spoken and great sales people (go figure). It really depends on the quality of the teachers and what they are teaching. I believe that public school should be canceled when teachers want to give out busy work, or just call recess so the kids can exercise (they probably need it), then again, if they teacher doesn't want to do his/her job they should be fired. One thing that might help some of you is great people that you meet during your life will come from many different backgrounds.
    • sockpuppets, on 02/19/2008, -16/+47My children look forward to teasing your children.
      • BigW, on 02/19/2008, -5/+16I'm sure they'll tease them because they're being told to by their peers.
        Say wasn't that the whole point of this? That kids are being taught to go along even if they know what they're being told to do isn't quite right.
        Glad to see you offering up your children to support the status quo and doing just what those in authority want.
      • revjustin2, on 02/19/2008, -3/+37My children look forward to hiring your children to mop the floors.
        • sockpuppets, on 02/19/2008, -4/+10They're made of cotton, it would be a reasonable and respectable profession in the sockpuppet community.
      • oldhick, on 02/19/2008, -3/+1And one day your kids will for theirs so tease away!
    • macweirdo42, on 02/19/2008, -8/+4Glad to see that your children are apparently the only children on the entire face of the goddamn planet that matter.
    • Pikk, on 02/19/2008, -3/+17So you guys are saying Social Skills are more important than the ability to think for yourself? man... you stupid bastards must have gone to public school!
      • thall, on 02/19/2008, -1/+12Even worse, they are implying that kids can't learn those quality social skills outside of public school. Not in extra-curricular activities, not at public places, not at home, not even at work!
    • BESTenemy, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3 Our entire society is structured upon conformity. The real world is the place where an individual doesn't matter, where people have to do things that they don't want to do. School is a glimpse of that world with one exception - you don't have to pay for the luxury of enjoying it. When you grow up, you'll get all those things, plus bills, and the same day to re-live over and over for the rest of your life, unless you manage to fall into the one percent of the population that manages to get exactly what they want out of life, or have needs compatible with their means.
      • fokov, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1It isn't just ours, most societies are designed to have a majority of the people wanting the exact same things. That is what binds them together. As for not getting what you want out of life, they easiest way to get that if you don't have the looks is to be smart. Don't just wait for education and a job to come to you, go out and get the knowledge that is required for the better job. Sacrifice the bad time wasting habbits like watching tvs/movies and drinking/drugs. I firmly believe college can be a waste of time, unless you need the piece of paper like me. Most of the learning I had to do myself (didn't have the $ to go to a high end school). However, people in industry think that piece of paper is worth something, therefore it is better to have it. Other ways to get the $ you want or just the property you want, is to create your own business. When you work hard to get rich, you boss gets richer off you (stolen from DK). Most people don't get what they want in life because they let time go by and don't work/fight for it. Deciding and believing you will fight for a good life is more of the battle than you will realize.
        • BESTenemy, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Although the system tries to convince us that we can be anything, if we put effort into it, the reality is, the system itself relies on failure as much as it does on success. There are jobs that people don't want to do. They would not go to school if they knew they would end up as garbage collectors, sewage plant operators, or janitors. One of the goals of education is to separate people into groups - get a certain percent of failures that would fill the jobs society needs just as much as the high paying ones.

          I used to discuss issues with my former roommate. He was a plumber and I was a programmer at the time. He told me that his job was more important than mine, cause he could live fine without a computer, but I would not last a day without a working toilet.

          I do tend to agree with him. There are constructive occupations, and there are basic ones. There are foundations that we have to have in order to be able to functionas as a society. We need few leaders, we need many workers and the willingness to co-exist peacefully. There are too many of us. We all have needs and someone has to do the job, whether they like it or not.
          • fokov, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1I agree. But which job do you prefer: program or manual labor? I bet if you toilet did break, and no one was around, you would probably have the intelligence to at least search for a fix to the problem. You may not be able to do everything he would do, but in my opinion, it would take an extremely shorter period of time to train you to be a plumber than a programmers (depending on your job. I develop as well, and I know someone with no exp couldn't walk into my job and succeed within a few weeks).
            Before I get attacked, I am not saying all "those" style jobs are skill less, it just takes less to do them. I do understand that one can't do everything, I can't be the President of the US because I would either have to sell out and be a puppet or the fact that I would tell people straight up what the problems there are and they would hate me for it. However, I do not believe someone is born to be only garbage man. If they failed at everything else, then look into the work ethic and time spent learning. I bet it would be very minimal. I knew many people that played around in HS, some failed and some passed. Then the ones that passed went to College and failed because they never had a true learning routine/work ethic. Now they work in cheat restaurants, serving food they can't afford to even pay for. On the other hand, I have seen my brother not pass the 9th grade in HS to be on the Deans list in college for 3 years straight. The difference is he learned that without an education he would be stuck living paycheck to paycheck with no career only jobs. If that is what any one of you wants ,that is fine. I grown up watching my family history: very poor parents when they were growing up, little more wealthy for me and my siblings, but still living in debt. I wanted to make sure I wasn't like that so I payed attention in school, and now have a good job making more money at 25 than my father's current job.
            I believe we all have the ability, the difference is some others don't utilize it for whatever reason they use to justify their life. I do get sick of the people saying I'm lucky, when I was studying and they weren't. I wasn't born smart, I was actually threatened with remedial courses in my early education period. In the end, I left in the "gifted" or advanced classes. Nothing is impossible with hard work and motivation.
  • allaboutdatiki, on 02/19/2008, -5/+17Just Say No!
  • JimmySpaza, on 02/19/2008, -121/+16Government schools suck for this reason. Use private schools or homeschool if you can. Otherwise, prepare for little Johnny to be indoctrinated in the ways of homosexuality, theory of global warming, and other anti-Christian liberalism.
    • blast_flame, on 02/19/2008, -7/+55You had me up until the word "homosexuality."
    • ovset, on 02/19/2008, -7/+29Right, because informing kids is "liberalistic" and "anti-Christian". Boo hoo.
    • yoinkdigg, on 02/19/2008, -19/+6Don't know why people are digging OP down, he HAD to have been being sarcastic. I refuse to believe that there exists anyone that retarded.
      • MacEnvy, on 02/19/2008, -3/+16Welcome to digg.
      • Janv1er, on 02/19/2008, -4/+9Welcome to America.
      • johnnick, on 02/19/2008, -1/+9See JimmySpaza's other posts. That's completely consistent with everything else he's posted on digg.
        • Azuroth, on 02/19/2008, -1/+2Implying he either truly believes it, or is a remarkably consistent troll. Taking bets, anyone for b? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
          • MacEnvy, on 02/19/2008, -2/+2Or it could be answer c: Someone's paying him.
          • JimmySpaza, on 02/20/2008, -2/+1Nah. I really believe it. Most people don't think like you do, buddy.
      • lamprey187, on 02/19/2008, -1/+3he is that ignorant, I wish it was sarcasm as well.
    • Arcesius, on 02/19/2008, -5/+16Ah, there's the JimmySpaza I know and blocked. Thanks for giving me something to report this time, too, you dregs of humanity.
      • quaunaut, on 02/19/2008, -2/+13While I don't agree with him at all, that isn't anything worthy of reporting. He simply expressed his opinion.
      • oldhick, on 02/19/2008, -6/+4What exactly was there to report? Ignorant, but hardly offensive. Maybe you just like to report people you disagree with, but discussion is usually a good thing.
    • revjustin2, on 02/19/2008, -1/+8Just for the record, there are lots of normal people homeschooling their kids.
    • Coffeedemon, on 02/19/2008, -2/+3Little off topic... this guy may be a troll and lying or maybe not. We're going to see the products of that kind of attitude in a decade or so when more of the homeschool kids come out into the real world. Some are going to be well socialized, some are going to come out talking like this guy.... and they'll many times lack even the tact you see in a typical comment thread. Scary times ahead.
    • bagboyrebel, on 02/19/2008, -3/+2I'm pretty sure this was sarcasm...
      • TheUnlearn, on 02/19/2008, -1/+6wrong
      • johnnick, on 02/19/2008, -1/+5Check his other posts. This is completely consistent with his other positions. So either he's always sarcastic, to the point where it appears that he believes what he's writing, or this is what he actually believes.
        • bagboyrebel, on 02/20/2008, -1/+3you have a point, I retract my previous statement.
    • Fatvod, on 02/19/2008, -2/+1youre dumb
    • toxicshok, on 02/19/2008, -2/+1as a public school student I would just like to say, you have no ***** idea what you are talking about. Homosexuality is looked down in you standard urban HS, and all the gansta wearing crosses leads me to believe they aren't antichristian. so you wrong.
  • janiceelizabeth, on 02/19/2008, -8/+86The problem with homeschooling is that some parents suck more than some schools - there's no real answer - we all land somewhere in life and take our chances with our parents and their choice of "education" for us. Independent thinkers will make up their own minds but we're all indoctrinated by our environment to some extent.
    • chubbybubba, on 02/19/2008, -1/+3True, that. Children don't have a choice in what environment they start in. If one thinks about it however, environment is actually a filter. The more difficult the environment the greater the creme of student that raises to the top. It's not a coincidence that some of the most successful people in the world come from the most difficult environment, having the more difficult lives. Whatever method of education a student is born in can be both their best and worst motivator.
    • lennybird, on 02/19/2008, -0/+6I'm a junior, and have been homeschooled since the start. While it is important for your parent (in this case, my mom) to be persistant and set some ground rules at an earlier age, there is less of a need after starting highschool. After becoming a freshmen my mom gave me a little more slack which, was at first a bad thing. I abused it, and was ignorant; thus, I am now suffering the consequences. Now though, I am little more ambitious and able to learn what I want to learn, along with the basics such as math, english, e.t.c. Precision education or general education. Though it greatly depends on the student's character.
    • SuperWinner, on 02/19/2008, -0/+5Everything I know now, I taught myself after I left high school. Nothing beats self motivation.
      • jkarhu24, on 02/19/2008, -0/+7You have to have self motivation IN SCHOOL too
    • stillasleep00, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1I've done both public school and homeschool, and neither is any sort of substitute for self committal to education. Inquisitive minds will know what to glean from a lesson and leave the rest behind.
    • AgarwaenUmarth, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Except that the government steals from me to fund your indoctrination.
  • Jakerzon, on 02/19/2008, -12/+75Thats exactly why I hated High School. All the teachers (and I mean all of them) had this blind superiority complex and I clashed with so many of them. Many of the other students were almost as bad, too. I went to a very liberal school and was around all these holier than thou instigating idiots, so this ***** makes a lot of sense.
    All I'm saying is that this resonates with me. Carry on.
    • Archon810, on 02/19/2008, -1/+5Berkeley High is it?
    • rodbotic, on 02/19/2008, -7/+23so every teacher.... and many of the students were the problem.....
      so it's everyone else that was the problem. not the one who didn't listen or do any homework.
      I see.
      • xptoast, on 02/19/2008, -1/+2Every environment lends to your personality. So in a way its their fault as it seemed to be a majority of his sensory input. That is of course unless he rivals their concepts and actions in which he then again is being affected by them directly.
    • ahoyhoy, on 02/19/2008, -2/+11What you don't understand is that High School teachers are in a tough situation in which they have to deal with almost fully-formed adults, who, although aren't fully matured, are much more intelligent and therefore probably less complacent than Elementry School students. As a result, if they don't act like everything they say is right, the students will always seek to take advantage at bring that teacher down. I know this, because I was one of those students, and I was always trying to rail my teachers on everything.
      • fokov, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1It is apart of nature to question authority.
    • triskele, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2I didn't really clash with any teachers until college, and that got me my only F ever. When your Organic Chem II Lab prof breaks 2 of the three instruments required to do the "instrumental" portion of the course, and the following week hands out a stack of readouts she obtained from a different source myself and one other student [totaling half the class] refused to do them. Needless to say we both failed despite carrying an A and high B average up until that point. It didn't help that the lab tech basically taught the course and the prof was an adjunct and avoided any out of class confrontation on the matter.
      • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -3/+0Real mature, I'm sure the prof had some insidious motive for asigning you wok to cover the percentage of your mark that sh was now unable to attribute to your performance in the instrumental portion of the course. I' surprised you were able to carry that average considering the complete incompetence you displayed in this particular decision.
        • triskele, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1The whole point of an INSTRUMENTAL section of a lab course is to learn to use or at least become familiar with the instruments, not be handed readouts from a sample run that someone else did at a facility 30 miles away. Do you wonder why you're getting dugg down?
    • apollomurga, on 02/20/2008, -0/+1What i notice is teachers got so high and mighty being full of themselves, and believe they can dish out any stupid order and act very condescending just because they are a teacher and we need to give them respect.
    • mahlerfan999, on 02/22/2008, -0/+0I understand what you're saying, but look at it from the teacher's position:

      (a) many students have a superiority complex and always think they're always right because they were placed in environment where they are never told otherwise. They feel entitled to do whatever they want with no repercussions. The truth of the matter is that nearly all high school students need to learn humility so that they can actually learn.

      (b) many students don't want to be in school and are unruly and misbehave. High school teachers must be dictators to keep the class in order, else the class will turn into chaos.

      That doesn't excuse many times when high school teachers are abusing their authority, but hopefully it shows you that teachers are not as evil and power hungry as you see them to be.
  • Hellman109, on 02/19/2008, -10/+20Homeschool is a very US thing isnt it? Ive never heard of anyone doing it here in Australia, defiantly not as common as I hear about it in the US.

    I dont think its the right answer too, as part of school is learning other skills teachers dont teach, EG social skills and such.

    I also fought with certain superiority complexed teachers in my time too, EG why was religion more like 'teach the kids that Christianity is the only good religion, and make up BS rules about cults to make everything else seem like a cult'. EG, 'religions' have to be around a long time, 'cults' are the ones that are relativly new. I asked why Jesus started a cult... Teacher couldnt answer that one (oh but Christianity is old, no it wasnt, not at the time FFS).

    In Business Management we had to do up a full business plan, fair enough, good skill to learn in a business class, although I wanted to do it on running a cult... Although that teacher was fantastic they didnt like the idea of my company being about selling false promises...
    • bryanwebster, on 02/19/2008, -2/+6I don't even know if Homeschool is allowed in the UK
      • vaga222, on 02/19/2008, -0/+8It is allowed in the UK but rarely do any parents use it.

        I think people who live in good areas with good schools are happy to have their kids in the system and people who live in the bad areas are not able to spend the time educating their children because of the high tax burden on low wage earners in the UK.
    • DCUK, on 02/19/2008, -4/+5They will only have problems if the parents don't take them to social activities "after school" I know several families that home school, their children do more outside of school hours than most other kids do (sitting in front of TV/computer etc)
      This is one MYTH about home-schooling that really doesn't take much thought to dispel. . . . but it's down to the parent, any parent not taking steps to socialise their child should be forced to put them back into a school
      • MacEnvy, on 02/19/2008, -2/+8It's hard to believe that the normal 8 hours per day of peer interaction can be matched by a few hours a week of extracurriculars. They might be *better* adapted to society than those who don't get any interaction at all, but from the homeschooled kids I've known (and I grew up in a rural, highly religious area that had several homeschool families) it's very rare for one to be able to interact completely normally with "normal" kids. I guess I knew two kids that could versus maybe a dozen that came off as stone cold freaks when confronted with kids their own age.
        • andycr512, on 02/19/2008, -3/+2You don't really believe you interact with peers for 8 hours a day in school, do you? As I remember it, school involved lots of quietly listening to the teacher, reading and writing stuff, and a little interaction in between. Perhaps it's changed since... But I doubt it.
          • Coffeedemon, on 02/19/2008, -2/+6Someone didn't have any friends
          • jkarhu24, on 02/19/2008, -1/+3Someone got their work done and got good grades (instead of talking in class)
        • thall, on 02/19/2008, -2/+4@MacEnvy,
          What school teaches by having their students socialize all the time?? When I was in class pretty much the only time you were allowed to talk was with the teacher. Remember how even "passing notes" was frowned on?

          If you're referring to the few minutes of break between class and during lunch hour, I hardly see how public schools provide the unmatched skills of "peer interaction" there.
        • zarrel40, on 02/19/2008, -1/+2your thinking about what you were supposed to do in school. How many people actually do what they are supposed to do in class?

          I'm a Junior and right now i know that in class is were most of my social interaction is. Most of my friends right now are based on my classes that i had when i was a freshman. And still my friends this year are different from my friends last year because of the classes I am in now and therefore what students i interact with daily. If you really think back to your high school years, you didn't actually sit quietly and listen to the teacher all class. Unless you were a socially challenged kid you would be interacting with at least the person beside you if not the people around you.
      • 93ex, on 02/19/2008, -1/+4I coach home schoolers in ice skating every week, and either they don't know how to listen, don't know how to have fun, or don't know how to interact. I'm blunt with the parents, if a child doesn't listen while we are doing a drill, and does whatever he wants, off the ice. Some parents are far too lenient on the kids at home, and it shows.
        • thall, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3I'm for home schooling but I really think it's in the everyone's best interest to first learn how to efficiently teach. Otherwise it might as well be the blind leading the blind.
    • Xondar, on 02/19/2008, -2/+12Actually to the Roman and Jewish authorities of the day Christianity was a cult.

      But, unlike many modern cults *coughScientologycough* Christianity never required anyone to pony up $2000 to get to the next "level."

      What I'm saying is, there is a very clear difference between cults and religions.
      • squelched, on 02/19/2008, -6/+2Christianity requires you to attend prayer and actively believe these stories of greatness they spit at you. I think our society will never advance to its fullest extent until people start to grasp that religion is crap.

        wiki: Cult typically refers to a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream, with a notably positive or negative popular perception. In common or populist usage, "cult" has a positive connotation for groups of art, music, writing, fiction, and fashion devotees, but a negative connotation for new religious, extreme political, questionable therapeutic, and pyramidal business groups. For this reason, most, if not all, non-fan groups that are called cults reject this label.

        A religion is a set of beliefs and practices generally organized around supernatural and moral claims, and often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.
        • xptoast, on 02/19/2008, -2/+3You don't know much about Christianity if this is what you think. Honestly a lot of Christians dont. God only requires what is needed. The rest is up to you. For instance...

          Would you want God to acept you if you rejected Him or if you kept doing rotten things that was directly opposed to good and moral things? Would you want Him to still care if you did those good and moral things but said, "I'm a good person but I am not a Christian." (A Christian loves God by the way.) It is about real concepts that we as humans use all the time in our relationships, or at screwing over a relationship. Do you believe marriage is a cult because it has supposed rules? Do you think life is a cult because of society creating cohesive and coercive rules and movements that control your thoughts no matter what you do? Control my thoughts? Oh no. Well they do even if you don't think so. Cause..Effect. You will always have a response in your mind. That is the control. You don't have control over having a response to them.
          • squelched, on 02/20/2008, -1/+1Regrettably, I was raised Christian. Living my life without the influence of "GOD" and religion has proved much more practical and thought out than wasting my time at church ect. What makes me laugh is how people still attend church, and believe in these stupid ideas (if you think Christianity is reality you are insane). Digg me down, I care less..
        • marcus1060, on 02/20/2008, -1/+2The fact you quoted Wikipedia gets you buried.

          It is not a valid source!!
          • xptoast, on 02/20/2008, -2/+1Most of the time it is. Whoever started that stupid rumor that wiki is a bunch of crap is a bunch of crap.
          • Xondar, on 02/20/2008, -2/+1xptoast: I [Citation needed] don't think that [Citation needed] Wikipedia [Citation needed] should be thought of as the [Citation needed] definitive source [Citation needed] for winning arguments [Citation needed].

            For example, Wikipedia says: "'cult' has a positive connotation for groups of art, music, writing, fiction, and fashion devotees," but you wouldn't say that a fan of a "cult classic" film, like say Evil Dead, is in "The Cult of Evil Dead." That doesn't make any sense at all. Yet that's what Wikipedia has implied here. Also, Wikipedia says "but a negative connotation for new religious, extreme political, questionable therapeutic, and pyramidal business groups." Essentially, Wikipedia is saying that Amway and Herbalife are cults. That also makes little sense.
    • Zipko, on 02/19/2008, -3/+2The problem cults have is that they often either commit mass suicide or do something illegal that gets them broken up. A lot of weird cults that spring up just aren't designed for long term success.

      Legitimate religions now all got their start mostly by branching off of an existing religion, so they weren't as radical as what we think of a cult being. Christianity still believed in the same god as the Jews so it wasn't as big of a leap for people to convert to the 'Son of God' religion than if they had tried making the claim that it was a total different god all together.

      Also, Scientology isn't a cult, it's a BUSINESS MODEL.
      • OverlordXenu, on 02/19/2008, -2/+1Christianity started with a crime. Remember Jesus was killed?

        Yeah.
        • xptoast, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1Christianity didn't start with a crime. You do know the bible didn't start there right? It started with the beginning of time.
          • insertAliasHere, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1Christianity started with Christ, or so the story goes. The Old Testament refers to the history of the Jews.
          • xptoast, on 02/20/2008, -0/+1Nope. Christianity is the belief in God from the beginning. To forsake the beginning you cant be a true Christian.
    • matts009, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Homeschoolers still gain valuable social skills. I was homeschooled since first grade and was part of a group of 140 other families who also homeschooled their children. We did a lot of things as a group -- I had a bunch of other friends who were homeschooled as well. In my opinion, I think we gained better social skills because not only did we socialize with kids our age, but very younger and very older kids who were also being homeschooled. Contrasting that with high school, where you would mostly stick to socializing with people in your grade, as the higher grade won't talk to you and you wouldn't want to talk to the lower grade as it's all about seniority.

      I'm 23 now, graduated from college, and I'm doing just fine.
    • 501337, on 02/20/2008, -0/+2http://www.d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com
  • kidvitacus, on 02/19/2008, -29/+42I honestly don't see anything wrong with this cartoon at all. As a parent, I understand and ACCEPT my role in teaching my son about life and what he will need to be prepared for adulthood. At one point or another in everyone's life, there are tasks that must be performed simply because someone at a higher level (be it a teacher, or boss, or parent) simply asked us to do it. That doesn't mean you'll understand it or even like it, but it needs to get done. Its part of respect and trust.

    In my son's 5th grade class there is an amazing amount of authoritative questioning going on and it drives me nuts. I feel it is conversations like this that cause this. Sure, question what is going on around you but RESPECT those in a position that demand respect. And as a child, you had better show respect for the adults in your life regardless of your opinion. If you haven't noticed, I can't stand it when a child has been given (yes, given. They are taught to act this way by parents) the authority to question adults and converse as equals.

    sorry, I'll get off my soap box now.
    • NoPis10, on 02/19/2008, -10/+32maybe if the teachers showed the same respect by not wasting the students time with *****.
      • Zipko, on 02/19/2008, -2/+11Problem is that a 5th grader isn't in a good position to determine what educational exercises are a waste of time and what aren't. Another adult observing the way a teacher runs their class can make that call, but kids can't. A student may be right thinking an exercise is ***** meant only to waste time, but usually there's a lesson and by immediately dismissing the exercise you miss the lesson.

        And for those who still don't get it, the difference between the 5th grader and the adult that determines who gets to make that call is that education is supposed to give you experience for later in life. So unless you've reached those later stages you're not in a position to say whether the experience you're getting is good or not.
        • thall, on 02/19/2008, -1/+6Those 5th graders should still be permitted to question the exercise, and the educated teacher should be able to explain to a 5th grader why there is value in doing the exercise. Some kids still won't understand, and I agree that then they should just trust in the teacher and follow, but other kids will be more willing to do the exercise if they do understand its value.
          • Zipko, on 02/19/2008, -0/+7Sure they can question it, but how many kids who don't do homework because they think it's a waste bother to talk to their teacher about it. Instead they just let it hurt their grades and complain to everyone but the teacher.

            The attitude expressed by the guy I replied to isn't one questioning why they're doing the work. It's the attitude that the student already knows it's a waste and doesn't need to question it because they're already right.
          • BWAL314, on 02/19/2008, -4/+1Why are we concerned that 5th graders aren't "satisfied" with the quality of their curriculum? THEY ARE 5TH GRADERS!! If a parent has a question, they can ask and receive an explanation from the teacher. Who are 5th graders to determine what is useful and what is a waste of time? Many of them still believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and we're worried about well-trained/educated adults wasting their time with useless assignments?
          • Bobski, on 02/19/2008, -1/+2Would the Karate Kid been who he was if it had to be explained "Wax on, wax off?"
          • nastajus, on 02/19/2008, -0/+4@BWAL314, you hate humans, admit it?
          • nextyoyoma, on 02/20/2008, -0/+2I don't have kids yet, but when I do I plan to try to explain rules. But I also know that sometimes, the only answer a kid can understand is "Because I said so." There's nothing wrong with that. Just because we are conditioned not to reject all authority doesn't mean we are conditioned to be robots. There IS a balance. I don't want to live with either extreme.
          • BWAL314, on 02/20/2008, -0/+0I admit that a 5th grader is in no position (in more ways than one) to question the relevance of anything (besides morality). If they want to ask a question regarding the relevance they should do so in a respectful manner. Continuing to question the teacher over and over regarding an assignment or questioning every assignment because they would rather be playing Halo 3 instead of writing a research paper on the Civil War is unacceptable behavior. Let me ask you something: Has a 5th grader ever told a teacher that an assignment was irrelevant and a waste of time and got the results they wanted? DO THE DAMN WORK AND APPRECIATE THE TIME AND EDUCATION THE TEACHER HAS GIVEN YOU! IT IS A GIFT!
        • BWAL314, on 02/19/2008, -0/+4Great point. Like I said in a previous comment, "They don't know enough to know that they don't know sh!t".
    • VarelseSoul, on 02/19/2008, -4/+17I completely agree with you, Kidvitacus. I'm only 18, but I'm utterly disgusted with my generation. I've seen kids talk back, curse out, even throw punches at teachers who just want to do their jobs. It's ridiculous that parents would allow their kid to do this. If I ever THOUGHT about backtalking my teachers, my parents would have slapped me in the mouth.
      • thall, on 02/19/2008, -2/+2@VarelseSoul,
        The teacher's job is to transfer information into your head, but there are many ways that can be done and, ideally, the teacher should use the method most appropriate for each child, to the best of the teacher's ability. Sadly, some teachers go to the other extreme and just teach with a lazy approach: by reading the book out loud. While I don't agree with students getting violent or rude, they certainly shouldn't be forced to give their utmost respect to the teacher who won't respect them.
        • BWAL314, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1I'd like to know what you do for a living. Hopefully you're a teacher yourself and are implementing these ideas and not working some desk job making more money doing something with less importance.
        • thall, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1What I said applies to any case where someone is teaching something to someone else, whether a school teacher, a coach, a trainer, or even a consultant. I just described what I have learned through experience of teaching others as the general process.
        • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1You need to be reasonable. Perhaps if the students actually put some efort into their education and made efforts to absord and understand what the teacher tries to teach them instead of sitting there like an empty (FULLY EMPTY) cup waiting for the teacher to walk over and pour them full of knowledge.
      • geneusutwerk, on 02/19/2008, -2/+3Just don't forget you are part of our generation.
      • Pikk, on 02/19/2008, -0/+9THAT'S THE THING! Your parents would have slapped you. It's YOUR respect for your parents that makes you respect your teachers, or at least the things your parents taught you (i.e. respect your elders). The kids that are throwing punches either have parents they don't respect (or perhaps see) or have stupid ***** parents that threw punches at their teachers too.
      • nastajus, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Good for your parents, VarelseSoul. Wish more or all parents we're like that.
      • mrwizard14, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1Gotta say, I'll respect them when they earn my respect. Most adults I know are the most prejudiced, small minded, bigots with so little self control that they can't stop stuffing their ***** faces. Then they demand all this busy work. Then when I have mountains of work, my parents spend two hours going over the assignments compared to the ones posted on the internet, and it turns out that I had it right. Those two hours could have been spent doing the work. Have they done anything for anyone except for themselves? Well, they have fed me and clothed me, but that's state mandated. As I sit here in the library, writing this here because I don't have a computer at 15, I realize that they are parasites. When they do something for the world at large instead of for their own money collecting, I will respect them. On the other hand, I obey because I am in the inferior position. I rely on them for food, shelter, and education. You just have to obey with them because that's the status quo in the world. Life ain't fair, so you'd all better get used to it.
        • VarelseSoul, on 02/20/2008, -0/+1"Nobody gets me. :["
          Seriously, at least you're getting an education. At least you aren't starving. Just be thankful you have the opportunity to sit in a library all day on a computer instead of working in a sweatshop.
    • TheUnlearn, on 02/19/2008, -7/+11so what you're saying is, ask questions but then accept any answer you're given for that question. You don't have to agree with someone to respect them, and no one is in a position to "demand respect." Respect is earned not taken. I can't believe that last sentence. So children, no matter how intelligent, aren't allowed to question you because you're old and they're young, you're right and they're wrong, you're smart and they're dumb?
    • Nanobe, on 02/19/2008, -1/+14Patience and willingness to jump through some hoops when needed are definitely important life skills, but so is the ability to think for yourself and to be skeptical and discerning. Unfortunately, the former skills get pounded into our heads much more than the latter, and it's the lack of the latter that tends to lead to some of the biggest mistakes, on both a personal level and a societal level.
    • retardrus, on 02/19/2008, -4/+10You're what's wrong with this cartoon, I'm not sure you understand what respect is. The child has a right to ask, if you can't answer the question in a way that makes sense to them why they're doing what they're doing either a) the the premise behind what you're doing is completely *****, ie mindless drivel homework assignments, religion b) you need to do some homework/thinking yourself so you can sufficiently address the situation.

      I love it when kids ask me questions, it doesn't mean they have been given the authority to do so it just means they're exercising their intellect, and if you can't mount a decent response then you're really no better than them in the topic at hand and you need to get off your ass and do something about it. Yes there are times when they're being smartasses and off topic, but the second you dismiss a relevant question you're doing them a great diservice
      • Pikk, on 02/19/2008, -2/+2the... socratic method? Ask questions, receive answers, become informed!
        not, learn how to do tasks by repetition.
      • zarrel40, on 02/19/2008, -1/+0here here!
    • BWAL314, on 02/19/2008, -2/+5I agree completely with your comment. It is great to teach your children to question what they do not understand but have some respect doing it (I believe it's called the "But sir..." rule. You get one "But sir..." and past that, it's disrespectful). This is a great life lesson. For those parents that have responded against this comment, tomorrow when you go to work and your boss asks you to do something that you consider a waste of time, let him know what you think and then don't complete the task and see what happens. You might be right (in your own mind) but you'll be fired or on your way to being fired. This is a complete RESPECT issue. Who are children to question the relevance of an assignment anyways? Children (and many parents) don't know enough to know that they don't know sh!t. These teachers have gone to college and been trained extensively on how to teach children. If you don't like the assignments that they give out, question the curriculum or the training, not the underpaid teacher who has made a life decision to prepare your child for adulthood. Many of these teachers are smart enough to be making twice their salaries or more but have chosen to do something more self fulfilling.
      • Pikk, on 02/19/2008, -2/+4many teachers are lazy assholes that just follow some lesson plan designed by Houghton Mifflin to sell more textbooks.
        • BWAL314, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3You are certainly right. There are always going to be a couple of lazy people in every organization or profession. That's life. Teaching children to question assigments from teachers (just in case the teacher happens to be one of the "lazy" ones) is not the solution. There are some lazy cops out there too that don't do a poor job also. Should we teach our children to question them and then have to pick them up from jail everyother day?
      • mrwizard14, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1I'd say that the crappy ones are in the majority.
    • Sabarok, on 02/19/2008, -1/+5No position "demands" respect. Rather, those positions demand that people be respectable so as to be respected. The authoritarian dictator will demand respect, while the loved leader will earn respect
      • BWAL314, on 02/19/2008, -1/+0How enlightening....
      • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -1/+0The sacrifices a teacher has made to teach children should garner them respect, just because you just waltzed into their class for the first time with every intention of disrespecting them from the start doesn't lessen their contribution. This should go without saying, but Digg i so anti-establishment I need to remind everyone that es there are some teahers who don't try, or aren't very good. This is different from any other profession because?
        • mrwizard14, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Yes... Sacrifices. Like that teacher a few weeks that couldn't read. Some effort.
    • Pikk, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3Agreed, people need to respect legitimate authority. The problem is determining what's legitimate. That requires critical thinking, and that's the skill that's being buried in this country.
      • BWAL314, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1I guess kids are smart enough to determine whether their teacher deserves their respect or not.
    • Scira, on 02/19/2008, -0/+4Respect should have nothing to do with age. If a child can converse as an equal on a subject, then they should be treated such. That is the problem with school is that it is automatically assume every child is going to act like one, even though some of them clearly do not.
      I went to a charter for highschool and it was pretty good for a little while, but every year there was a new teacher accustomed to the traditional way of things. Then finally the last year they just stopped treating us like adults so when some of us decided to stop acting like adults they started saying it was insubordination and if we didn't act like children they wouldn't treat us like them. Even though they still treated the well behaved students like children too.
      • BWAL314, on 02/19/2008, -0/+0You and your "classmates" seem to be part of the problem.
      • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -0/+0"Treat them like a child" how? You're going to have to elaborate. Also, children repeatedly underestimate the value of experience, and a child conversing equally on a subject is largely your pipedream.
    • AYork, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Parent here, too. I've had this dilemma as well. I want my children to not blindly accept everything that is said to them, but I also don't want them being disrespectful or unduly disruptive (that is, selfish). There has to be a balance.
      I'm still trying to figure it all out, but my wife and I have worked out a rule that they are allowed to question anything....later. When I or a teacher or someone else says "Do it!", and that thing is not immoral, they are to simply do it. The only filter they are to run it through is morality. If they are being told to do something immoral, don't do it and say why. If it's just (in their mind) pointless, a waste of time, boring, etc. Just do it. Ask why later.
      They can come and ask a question after the fact, provided they do so respectfully and optimistically expectant of a sensible reason to be found. But only after they've actually done it.
    • cphuntington97, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Bottom line lesson of school: do not trust yourself. Other people know what's best for you better than you do. Obey.

      Somehow, I want something better for myself, my peers, and their children than this. Surely education should sensitize us to our incredible powers of feeling and intuition. We are marvelous creatures. We are not just mobile brains.
      • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1How deep. Do you know what? Teachers are trained and educated so that they can educate you. Who are you? Some kid who's decided not to respect anybody and disguise it as an assertion that respect be earned? If that is the case, then this is certainly the reason why the school doesn't respect you. They are an organization of education, with highly trained professionals focused on educating children at several different levels. But you're the genius right? I know you can see through everything and everyone to their true purpose. Wait, you just don't want to do anything and assert your dominance over the teacher like some kind of caveman. You are lucky to be a mobile brain, considering how poorly and selfishly you apply it.
    • NewClassic, on 02/19/2008, -0/+0Well, this is a strange discussion. There's a small, pivoting line between respect and intelligent questioning.

      Personally, there's nothing wrong with questioning the why as well as the what. If a computer-science teacher calls for the assignment, "Here, write a 500 word essay on the state of human beings in their mid-life crisis, cite 15 sources, all found only from Blogs, you must source at least 5 YouTube videos, and it *must* be written in either Latin or Archaic English", then may I encourage my, or any, kid to figure out what the hell a computer science teacher is doing assigning such an asinine assignment. It's perfectly acceptable to question authority with the insane things.

      Granted, disrespect is not the answer, but genuine inquiries should not be discarded or wrongfully filed as disrespect. Sometimes, it's important to have the why. I see no problem with reasonably questioning authority. It's just finding the right line.
      • Zipko, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1The point of that exercise in the context of a computer-science class is to show that the internet can be a good research tool if you follow the trail to the source of the material. Having to write the esay in Latin shows another language shows the ability to learn a new language with the understanding that the basic grammer between languages is the similar(a neccessary skill in being able to quickly pick up a new programming language).

        The fact that you thought your example was an asinine one just goes to show how bad of a judge someone is of determining the worth of an exercise before performing the task rather than waiting until afterwards to see if they learned anything.
  • dupswapdrop, on 02/19/2008, -13/+41Welcome to working for a living! The biggest problem with homeschooling is that kids don't get socialized making it hard for them to get along with normal people.
    • blast_flame, on 02/19/2008, -3/+26I'd probably get along a lot better with other people if I had not been "socialized" in high school.
      • Arcesius, on 02/19/2008, -0/+6That's about the crux of it, innit?
      • lolinyerface, on 02/19/2008, -0/+4How about being bullied day in and day out until you finally turn around and break their nose?
        Then are punished for your awful actions. Public schools are a joke, but I wouldn't promote home schooling either.
        At least I learned about the jerks of the world first hand.
        • Pikk, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3I did that in private school and the principal realized it was TOTALLY justified. Especially since I'd complained about the kid before. The kid and I both had to work in detention and we never had any problems after that!
          ah... youthful vigor.
          • lolinyerface, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Man, that would have been great. This guy, on the other hand, went on to beat his girlfriend and get expelled a month before graduation. He now works part time at a Power House Gym. I guess he didn't like being beaten up by a she geek.
    • plundstedt, on 02/19/2008, -4/+8As a homeschooler, I can back that up. I have an awful talking to people I don't know.
      • TheUnlearn, on 02/19/2008, -0/+12As a public schooler i can say that I'm also awful at talking to people I don't know.
    • DCUK, on 02/19/2008, -4/+9They will only have problems if the parents don't take them to social activities "after school" I know several families that home school, their children do more outside of school hours than most other kids do (sitting in front of TV/computer etc)
      This is one MYTH about home-schooling that really doesn't take much thought to dispel. . . . but it's down to the parent, any parent not taking steps to socialise their child should be forced to put them back into a school
    • aMammoth, on 02/19/2008, -2/+3Meh, its a stereo type that home schoolers don't get 'socialized'. If you do it right there are home school groups where you can make plenty of friends
      I have a friends who was home schooled from kindergarten to 5th grade, in 6th, he became the most popular, and well liked person in the school.
    • matts009, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3Homeschoolers still gain valuable social skills. I was homeschooled since first grade and was part of a group of 140 other families who also homeschooled their children. We did a lot of things as a group -- I had a bunch of other friends who were homeschooled as well. In my opinion, I think we gained better social skills because not only did we socialize with kids our age, but very younger and very older kids who were also being homeschooled. Contrasting that with high school, where you would mostly stick to socializing with people in your grade, as the higher grade won't talk to you and you wouldn't want to talk to the lower grade as it's all about seniority.

      I'm 23 now, graduated from college, and I'm doing just fine.
    • TehMCP, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2I don't really think that your social skills really have much to do with whether you were home-schooled or not. I, for example, was home-schooled and about as anti-social as you could imagine. Emerging into the real world, however, I learned pretty quickly that I needed to at least pretend people didn't suck. At that point I figured out that people weren't nearly as bad as I thought, and I socialize on a normal level.

      At any rate, you get introverts out of the public system and you get extroverts out of the home-schooled community. While one environment might lend itself more to one than the other, it ultimately depends on what kind of person you are in the first place - and whether you have any reason to want to interact nicely with people or not. *shrug*
  • PerfektXj, on 02/19/2008, -4/+93mirror http://m3.bestpicever.com/piles/?s=valuablelesson
  • exYU, on 02/19/2008, -10/+1It's down..
  • PhantomRogue, on 02/19/2008, -10/+1Any mirror?
  • kent1146, on 02/19/2008, -5/+22The most important lesson I've ever learned from Digg is don't get on the front page unless your hosting can handle it.
  • banido, on 02/19/2008, -18/+2That´s why I never went to school.
    ***** THE AUTHORYTA
  • xthroughmyeyesx, on 02/19/2008, -3/+5I've had this conversation a million times over with peers and co-workers.
    It's a lot funnier to see it in cartoon form, though.
  • mishaco, on 02/19/2008, -6/+1they never teach webhosting .
  • chrisaug18, on 02/19/2008, -8/+19I don't get the last slide?
    • Arcesius, on 02/19/2008, -1/+10He's disenchanted with the education system is all I can see.
    • mupplewell, on 02/19/2008, -7/+0Fatalism leading to emo. It is as it is, (so whats the point).
    • mjfitzge, on 02/19/2008, -1/+25wow, so you've never been depressed? lucky.
    • Fxer, on 02/19/2008, -0/+13He stayed at home, having lost any reason to leave.
    • phazon88, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3He realised the only thing left to do was stay in bed and masturbate under the covers.
  • 2bees, on 02/19/2008, -1/+12Poor Mikey.
  • silentsteps, on 02/19/2008, -6/+6I don't get it :'(
    • Rotzooi, on 02/19/2008, -4/+1Give it a few years, young one.
      • jkarpinski, on 02/19/2008, -6/+4Safe bet I'm older than most of you and I don't get it either. Like most web comics, this is a total waste of electrons.
        • xkingADROCKx, on 02/19/2008, -1/+3"waste of electrons", i see what you did there
  • iknowbob, on 02/19/2008, -12/+6i dont get the last slide...
    • lolinyerface, on 02/19/2008, -1/+7He's scared and upset about the world. Hiding away from the stupidity.
      • nastajus, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Furthermore he's afraid to come out all day. 4:30 PM is already late. That smile is unnerving him, telling how a significant portion of his life will be. Unequal...
  • conblex, on 02/19/2008, -6/+1Lesson well learnt.
  • Haloony, on 02/19/2008, -10/+5I apologize for my ignorance, but I also do not get the last slide. It is also possible that I don't get the whole strip because of the last slide.
  • evilunleashed, on 02/19/2008, -15/+6Welcome to Duloc
    Such a perfect town
    Here we have some rules
    Let us lay them down

    Don't make waves
    Stay in line
    And we'll get along fine
    Duloc is a perfect place

    Keep your feet off the grass
    Shine your shoes
    Wipe your........face
    Duloc is
    Duloc is
    Duloc is a perfect place
  • Xondar, on 02/19/2008, -6/+11I don't get it... Are they robots, or what?
  • kickelephant, on 02/19/2008, -4/+8Lesson #1: learn that you WILL have to kiss ass someday. Lesson #2: You must then learn who's ass to kiss
    • thall, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Please show me a teacher's curriculum that lists these two lessons.
    • Scira, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Well, all teachers who included these lessons are involved in sex scandals.
    • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Leson #3: Disrespecting authority and pretending it's intelligent questioning is the best way to fit in on Digg.
  • anagoge, on 02/19/2008, -1/+7http://i30.tinypic.com/b4c2g0.jpg Mirror mirror
  • deadmantalkin, on 02/19/2008, -2/+9dugg for truth
    • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -1/+0Buried for not remembering all the things you learned in school.
  • revjustin2, on 02/19/2008, -1/+7Why is it that there is a flood of "i don't get it" comments that are posted after this hits the front page?
    • Scira, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Because of the last slide.
    • Doomsan, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Because they sadly don't get it
    • Insomnya3AM, on 02/19/2008, -1/+2The front page is where all of the idiots are at?
  • josegutz, on 02/19/2008, -7/+2And YOU sir...are a GIANT Buttface!!!
  • ostracize, on 02/19/2008, -2/+12Teachers claim homework teaches children discipline and responsibility.

    In fact, it teaches kids how to cut corners. Minimum pain for maximum gain.
    • RedHeadedFreak, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Actually, corporal punishment accomplishes that more effectively, but teachers aren't allowed to do that any more. I'm only 22 and I was paddled in the fourth grade for something I didn't even do (I was probably one of the last school kids to ever get paddled at school). I must say I'm a better person for it. It taught me that the universe was arbitrary and unfair, and that is an important lesson for anyone.
  • crazywarthog, on 02/19/2008, -5/+2Little Johnny is better than you because he has two daddies !
  • h2g242, on 02/19/2008, -10/+3this is dumb. dugg down.
  • Kaitsu, on 02/19/2008, -7/+2Doesn't make much sense, seems more like some lazy person's rant about how he at one point of his life had to participate in tasks that weren't integral to his own future goals.

    I'm sure all the kids in elementary school know well enough what they'll be doing when they're in their 20's to already decide what they should study at the moment and what not.

    "Well Mikey, what would you like to do then if you don't want to write this essay, learn to play an instrument and don't want to participate in this biology project?"
    • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -1/+0Hooray! A voice that is willing to intelligently question Digg's blind mob mentality! Of course, it digs you down, but who cares?
    • whitesaint, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1How does it not make sense? The person who wrote the article had to participate in tasks that weren't integral to his life. Makes perfect sense. Nobody wants to do crap that has no point or in this case just blindly following authority. And about the elementary kids knowing what they want to do when they're in their 20's, are you freaking kidding me? Like all kids who want to be an astronaut or chemical engineer are going to make it?
    • Kerath, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1You missed the point. Clearly the assigment is of no benefit to anyone, no matter that their "future goals" are. I recall many such assignments.
  • macweirdo42, on 02/19/2008, -3/+5I'm a bit puzzled at all the outrage toward the schools. This isn't a statement about public schools - it's a statement about the society for which public schools are preparing our children. We want schools to be churning out mindless automatons, because that's what's gonna be expected for you as soon as you get out of school. I keep reading stories about how recent college grads are actually struggling in the real world because they're unprepared for the harsh reality that in corporate America, independent thought is greatly frowned upon. Certainly, I don't think it's right, but it's the world we live in - I think we need to at least acknowledge it.
    • thall, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3I think you mis-read those stories. Grads are struggling because the harsh reality is that independent thought is a *required* skill to survive in today's market, and many schools struggle to effectively teach this skill. The old-fashioned, rigid "just do what you're told" mentality only applies to entry level employment positions in big, well established corps. Other companies tend to recognize their employees as active business members and encourage innovative thinking to give the company that competitive edge. Skilled free thinkers break out of the employee cube altogether and compete with those corporations head-on.
      • macweirdo42, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3No no - it's very much a case of college grads not being able to adjust to "Do as your told." They can't handle being told what to do, they can't handle not having input, and they can't handle chain-of-command.
        • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -2/+1Well, you really fleshed that argument out. Lucky you share the cool opinion or you're be buried right now.
    • sunkist22, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2Personally, I think the biggest problem is that parents are expecting the school system to do it ALL for them. So many wont even bother to read to kids or help them learn letters before they hit kindergarden. I don't think I'll homeschool but I will help supplement their schooling. Any parent who expects the schools and teachers to do it all are going to end up with badly educated children.
    • Robbothehood, on 02/19/2008, -2/+0I'm going to have to respond to that by saying that you are selfish, jaded and short sighted. If you can't understand why, I'll blame your attitude towards education and the likely malabsorbed lessons it tried to teach you.
  • Supernova36, on 02/19/2008, -1/+2When is Duggmirror going to sort its ***** out? its been months..
  • kyyled, on 02/19/2008, -2/+0http://www.preservenet.com/theory/Illich/Deschooli ... a
  • luet, on 02/19/2008, -1/+3YES someone other than me reads we the robots! Dugg!
  • AYork, on 02/19/2008, -2/+5When I was in grade school, I never liked doing my homework. Most of the time, I'd just ignore it completely; I didn't see the point. Of course, my teachers were very upset about this and talked to my parents. My mom used to be a teacher, so she sympathized with them. She told me that I had to do my homework because I would learn by repetition. The point was that by doing it over and over again, I could show that I was trying to understand the concepts presented in class.
    "So it's so I can understand it?"
    "That's right."
    I had math that night. Subtraction. Part was simple single digit minus single digit (5-3=), then double digit minus single (15-3=), then double minus double (25-13=), then borrowing (23-15). About 20 problems for each section. So I did the first five of each set, made sure I got it right and moved on.

    Hey, I understand the concept. I have shown you that I understand by doing it several times. So what's the problem?

    Teachers were not happy about it. I finally started doing my homework when my mom figured out it was easier to just bribe me than convince me. Started with privileges, then trinkets, then money. Eventually, I funded my Lego habit that way. It was win-win.
    • TheUnlearn, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1Yeah i didn't like doing homework, so i didn't. I made it all the way through high school and came out with a 3.3 GPA and a 1710 on the new SAT (while doing the minimal amount of work possible). That was good enough to get into one of NC's top universities. I'm not saying everyone can or should do it the way I did, just that it is possible to learn the required material without doing it the way teacher's want you to.
    • Dyamalos, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2I think that's how all school was for me. In geometry, I got 95%+ on all the tests, showing I did know the work, and didn't do the homework... ended up with a C in the class. And in my senior English class, I was to do a paper on 'Frankenstein'. Let's just say I never read the book, threw it together in a few hours the night before it was due, and got a B on both the oral and written. Not to mention a comment from my teacher (That claimed at the beginning of the year that she would know if we BSed it) "That was really good".

      Don't get me started on the final we had for that class. Another B and I had no idea what I was doing.
  • ctour95, on 02/19/2008, -7/+4Buried because it was stupid.
    • redmyse, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2Buried you because your comment was stupid.
  • SydneyHopper, on 02/19/2008, -2/+2Christ!, I'm not sure programing our kids to behave to a certain interpretation of conformity is so bad. What is the alternative- attack everything society stands for, that has stood the test of time, over the decades of refinement, through the processes of war and social upheaval. Why not all pull in the right direction and accomplish that much more. It depends if you think mankind if fundamentally good, or evil.
    I've spent years contemplating the nuances of life and it offers nothing but confusion, madness and fear induced paralysis. It is far better to open your heart to the generalized acceptance of conformity.

    However, if you are a genius, ignore everything that i wrote, for it is only through genius that a single vision of what is correct and proper can be disseminated throughout the masses and the cohesive point of forward momentum can be gained. It is up to the rest of us to follow.
  • vamper, on 02/19/2008, -1/+7one simple statement "You can be anything you want"

    greatest lie told to all americans
  • Kenzan, on 02/19/2008, -6/+4ahahha You see, You fools!
    Children do not need structure! You should let them do whatever *they* want and cater to their every whim!
    Children are more wise than adults! If they want to be lazy, LET THEM~! Society should pay for these precious people!
    Self-discipline, ethics, the value of hard work, and structure is an outdated concept and worthless!
    The key to raising children is to let them teach YOU!!
    Don't let the "man" control you!!!!
    Sheeeepple!

    • hoghug, on 02/19/2008, -1/+2You tell em, man. Rote memorization is the key to being a good, productive citizen. Don't let them mean old tree-huggers tell you otherwise.
      • Kenzan, on 02/20/2008, -2/+1The premise of the cartoon is quite lame.
        In the real world, the people who question every assignment given to them are fired in short order.
        Certainly cognitive and critical thinking models should be taught, but as this cartoon depicts small children, it is better to indoctrinate social skills and proper behavior at this level. The cartoon is stating that the educational system is engaged in brainwashing of children. This is ludicrous.

        -And since you work at ***** Pizza Hut, I don't think you're qualified to discuss what is good for society and what isn't.
  • Evolutuon, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1I guess my rebelling was good practice for the times to come.
  • XNihil0Zer0, on 02/19/2008, -2/+3This is why I never did homework.
  • keinsignal, on 02/19/2008, -4/+6Hey, Matt Groening just called from 1987, says he needs his joke back.
    • yournightmare, on 02/19/2008, -1/+2I don't know why you're getting dugg down, you'd figure the digg nerds would be all over the fact that Groening did this same bit first and did waaaay better than this cartoonist.
  • MaruLono, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1is it just my bad luck, or does anyone else have professors like this in their universities?
  • MacTyler, on 02/19/2008, -5/+0posting this from my iPhone in class, haha :)
    • ubergeek09, on 02/22/2008, -0/+1Everyone wishes they could be as cool as you.
  • Dyamalos, on 02/19/2008, -1/+5This comic isn't telling you to "Screw the rules". He gets the realization most of us (I did anyway) got mid way thought school. Even if you did whatever you were tolled and didn't question it, there had to have been some point in your life where you felt like this kid. Most comments for people who agree with this comment aren't saying they should ignore what anyone in a higher position tells them.

    As for the respect aspect. That indeed needs to be earned. I don't care that teachers went to collage, got a degree, or whatever to teach kids, if they are a stuck up ***** about it then they don't get respect. I had a variaty of teachers in high school that I did not respect because of how they treated others. Most of them were Math and English teachers. Most people in my school shared this opinion, and only a handful of the teachers in those departments were liked and respected, because they treated people fairly and if you were willing to step up and show the control to act like an adult, they would treat you as such to the point of, if not equals, close to it.

    And as for the whole 'Children need to do as they are tolled' argument, I agree to a point. Not all kids are the same. Some kids tend to rationalize better than adults and are able to bring them to a higher level. I think that's why in late elementary school and in middle school, I always felt like a social outcast. There's always a handful of kids in the early grade levels that don't fit in with the norm because they are more intelligent or whatever. It really pissed me off as I was going higher in school when teachers would just give a blanket look, seeing nothing but kids, even though some of us were actually a level above the rest.

    Also, for the last panel, how did/would you feel if you made that same realization.
    • sunkist22, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3Actually, some of my best teachers happened to be Math and English teachers... Maybe I lucked out. :) But I agree with you regards to Respect.

      The public school system is a decent BASIS for education. But like the Canadian medical system... we always have the choice to upgrade and buy your own private medicare... wecan always choose to add to your child's education yourself, unless the bare minimum is ok for all parents.
    • MedHead, on 02/20/2008, -0/+5"Tolled"?
  • haroldk, on 02/19/2008, -7/+2Buried for sucking. Why does it suck?

    1. The message sucks. The little orange blob is being judgmental. The little orange blob doesn't have the wisdom to judge if the task is rote and meaningless. And for the purpose, (being in school) the pathetic little blob should accept the teacher's authority.

    2. The cartooning sucks. See http://cagle.msnbc.com/ for some professional cartoonists.

    Chris Harding's 'toon is abominable. He should practice for about 5-10 years and then try again

    Walter Lantz and other real cartoonists should be rolling in their graves over how bad cartoons have gotten.
    • advancedOption, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2I love We the Robots style. It's beautiful. I love all the creative decisions Chris made when forming it.

      You seem to think the internet isn't big enough to have anything other than generic political style cartoons. There are thousands of cartoonists with the styles from the cagle list. But We the Robots is unique retro design, with interesting and querky little stories. I don't think Chris has found his groove with the robots message/story yet, but the strip is very young. I'm looking forward to watching it develop.
    • WoollyMittens, on 02/19/2008, -0/+3Maybe the problem is that you're just elitist and pretentious.
    • hoghug, on 02/19/2008, -1/+1Comment dugg down for being a pretentious bore. We The Robots is a great cartoon which is beautiful in it's deceptive simplicity. You come off as the sort of guy who finds speed metal superior to a simple Beatles tune because the speed metal guy can totally play the notes faster.
  • fixty, on 02/19/2008, -0/+2There's a book on just this topic called "Dumbing Us Down":
    http://www.amazon.com/Dumbing-Down-Curriculum-Comp ...
    • WoollyMittens, on 02/19/2008, -0/+1Most people are too stupid to read books, nowadays.
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