This is the thread where Megaman bitches yet again about how his school is socialist.

Pip Boy · 10-21-2009, 05:16 PM

Well, I've been bitching for quite some time now that my school is socialist. That would be totally okay if it weren't a public school, but it is, and it is very, very, very socialist. Like, 9/10 on the Marx-o-meter.

EXAMPLES:

School uniforms instated for reasons that are total bullshit.

A ban on any drinks (including water) being brought into school by students.

A ban on electronic devices of any kind except for calculators, regardless of circumstances. (Meaning that a music player or similar device will be confiscated on sight, even during lunch and other times)

Students are forced to sign a document upon their enrollment stating that the school reserves the right to search their person and posessions for anything for any or no reason.

There is a "rule zero" in the school's rules referred to as "Willful disobedience" stating that a teacher may give you detention or suspend you for any or no reason.

The reason I'm re-hashing this for the umpteen jillionth time is that I need to write a position paper (pick a side on a controversial or debatable topic and debate it), and have decided that my school's controversial and often bullshit rules are a mighty fine topic.

Anyways, seeing as most online debates I find for this consist of "No u can't have uniforms cuz they're against the constertushun and that means that they're bad" I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could see a debate on this in a more intellectual environment. You guys also often have a knack for finding statistics on things like this to back it up.

My feelings on this are: The parish (louisiana word for county) has a very controlling 'big brother' attitude about school policy. A lot of it goes farther than I can explain just by saying that they have uniforms and other things like that. I've been to 5 different American High Schools and this is the first I've had a problem with. Because they fail to allow students to make any choices for themselves, they never learn to make responsible decisions on their own. I also have reason to believe that students are psychologically affected by this, as the rates of teen pregnancy, underage drinking (and deaths related to drinking), and methamphetamine addictions are far higher in my parish that those surrounding it.

Right now my goal is simply to write my paper. If I find any really good evidence I might try pulling some viva la revolution shit to get the community more active in their childrens' educations. I have heard many,
many parents are as irritated with the school district as I am because the school's blatant disrespect for students is instantly directed towards any parents who take their childrens' side on the issue.

Does anyone know where to find statistics on things like this to help make my point stronger for my paper, and does anyone know more than me about politics that could maybe give me suggestions on how to get shit done? I have an ACT score of 27 (after my first time taking it) and can easily get a GED, so I'm not too worried about having to drop out it if looks like they'll try to expel me. I actually know someone who works at the local university who is as fed up with the high school's bullshit as I am and has guaranteed me that with my test scores etc it would be easy for me to get into college there at the start of the next semester if I were to leave the school.

Marc v4.0 · 10-21-2009, 05:25 PM

Except for the Uniform thing, those rules are pretty much standard as far as I know.

And I don't think Socialist is the word you are looking for, really.

krogothwolf · 10-21-2009, 05:26 PM

You could argue that uniforms limits individuality and creativity. The forcing to sign the document is sort of beyond what is probably allowed. You would need your parents there, plus I thought I heard somewhere that a school did that once and was taken to court over it and lost because it's a massive breach of privacy and they as they aren't a certain type of government organization they don't actually have that power.

stefan · 10-21-2009, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megaman FTW

socialist

You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.

Pip Boy · 10-21-2009, 05:29 PM

Did I mention that the school counselor explicitly lies to students so they'll shut up and leave her alone when they have questions about why she hasn't been doing her job? I have to repeat a civics class that I've already had because it was called "American Government" in california, and even though its the same kind of credit, rather than go through the arduous process of emailing the school board about it, she decided to just tell me she would and then send me off without another word. She has a condescending attitude that high school students are children that should be seen and not heard that is mirrored in every member of the staff save for perhaps 3 or 4 teachers in the entire school. You're not allowed to wear the clothes they say you can't wear. You're not allowed to drink anything that they say you can't drink (and I'm not referring to alcohol, they have a ban on energy drinks that recently expanded to include all drinks containing sugar). They blunt students over the head with manufactured school spirit in the form of saying that the only kind of hoodie you're allowed to wear is one bought from the school. Students who drive motorcycles are not permitted to park them on the school campus. The main problem with posting this in a forum (and in writing an essay on this) is not necessarily written in school rules, but in the attitude that the administration takes on it. A student can be punished for anything or nothing by any teacher because of the "willful disobedience" rule. The administration has also demonstrated many, many times that they don't give a flying shit about students unless they're the 'favorite' kid that got high test scores or GPA to make the school look good. They've blatantly ignored problems that students have with their classes (such as my problem with repeating a class for no reason) simply because those students aren't worth their time.

I say that the school is socialist because socialism isn't a written rule, but a political ideal, which really is the problem with this school. Power itself isn't the problem in any school, its how the administration allows that power to be abused. If they decide they're allowed to do it, they're allowed to do it, and there is jack shit that anyone can do about it.

Marc v4.0 · 10-21-2009, 05:32 PM

Right, sorry, you found the only school that hires lazy assholes because they have to take what's available due to no one wanting to be a teacher because the 'system' doesn't give them enough money to pay the teachers attractivly. :p

Socialist still isn't the right word.

Thadius · 10-21-2009, 05:33 PM

Oh I do believe it is time for this school to be introduced to a NEW form of evil. Their form is blatant, obvious.

Megaman. Give me the raw data and I will write you a paper that will pierce the heavens.

Kim · 10-21-2009, 05:48 PM

Hey, guys, do you know what Socialist is? It's like, when the man is totally infringing on your rights. That's how you know Obama is evil. Because he's Socialist and wants to make you slaves to the government.

A social or economic philosophy? What the shit have you been smoking? That's not what Socialism is. It's about taking rights away, dummy.

Socialism.

Melfice · 10-21-2009, 06:07 PM

Socialism, ideally, intends to spread equality and solidarity.
Megaman, I'm thinking you're dealing with a communist or even dictatorial school.

Socialism really isn't all too keen on invading privacy and completely taking away your rights. Socialism wants to equalize all of it's "subjects'" rights, so that there is, ideally, no more "The Man".
At least, that's how I understood it from our classes when we dealt with this shit. And I might even be remembering wrongly...

Now, ideally, I want to say "Basically what NonCon is saying, except in reverse (more or less)", but I must admit I have a hard time understanding* if he's being sarcastic (italics would indicate so!) or serious. I'm going to say it's sarcasm...

* Totally on my end, though. Dutch, y'know.

Magic_Marker · 10-21-2009, 06:13 PM

It's usually better to assume sarcasm on this forum until proven otherwise.

10-21-2009, 05:16 PM	#1
Pip Boy Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: A right and proper Nerd Cave Posts: 2,460	This is the thread where Megaman bitches yet again about how his school is socialist. Well, I've been bitching for quite some time now that my school is socialist. That would be totally okay if it weren't a public school, but it is, and it is very, very, very socialist. Like, 9/10 on the Marx-o-meter. EXAMPLES: School uniforms instated for reasons that are total bullshit. A ban on any drinks (including water) being brought into school by students. A ban on electronic devices of any kind except for calculators, regardless of circumstances. (Meaning that a music player or similar device will be confiscated on sight, even during lunch and other times) Students are forced to sign a document upon their enrollment stating that the school reserves the right to search their person and posessions for anything for any or no reason. There is a "rule zero" in the school's rules referred to as "Willful disobedience" stating that a teacher may give you detention or suspend you for any or no reason. The reason I'm re-hashing this for the umpteen jillionth time is that I need to write a position paper (pick a side on a controversial or debatable topic and debate it), and have decided that my school's controversial and often bullshit rules are a mighty fine topic. Anyways, seeing as most online debates I find for this consist of "No u can't have uniforms cuz they're against the constertushun and that means that they're bad" I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could see a debate on this in a more intellectual environment. You guys also often have a knack for finding statistics on things like this to back it up. My feelings on this are: The parish (louisiana word for county) has a very controlling 'big brother' attitude about school policy. A lot of it goes farther than I can explain just by saying that they have uniforms and other things like that. I've been to 5 different American High Schools and this is the first I've had a problem with. Because they fail to allow students to make any choices for themselves, they never learn to make responsible decisions on their own. I also have reason to believe that students are psychologically affected by this, as the rates of teen pregnancy, underage drinking (and deaths related to drinking), and methamphetamine addictions are far higher in my parish that those surrounding it. Right now my goal is simply to write my paper. If I find any really good evidence I might try pulling some viva la revolution shit to get the community more active in their childrens' educations. I have heard many, many parents are as irritated with the school district as I am because the school's blatant disrespect for students is instantly directed towards any parents who take their childrens' side on the issue. Does anyone know where to find statistics on things like this to help make my point stronger for my paper, and does anyone know more than me about politics that could maybe give me suggestions on how to get shit done? I have an ACT score of 27 (after my first time taking it) and can easily get a GED, so I'm not too worried about having to drop out it if looks like they'll try to expel me. I actually know someone who works at the local university who is as fed up with the high school's bullshit as I am and has guaranteed me that with my test scores etc it would be easy for me to get into college there at the start of the next semester if I were to leave the school. Last edited by Pip Boy; 10-21-2009 at 05:19 PM.

10-21-2009, 05:25 PM	#2
Marc v4.0 Fight Me, Nerds Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 3,470	Except for the Uniform thing, those rules are pretty much standard as far as I know. And I don't think Socialist is the word you are looking for, really. __________________

10-21-2009, 05:26 PM	#3
krogothwolf Fetched the Candy Cane! Join Date: May 2009 Location: Calgary Posts: 4,278	You could argue that uniforms limits individuality and creativity. The forcing to sign the document is sort of beyond what is probably allowed. You would need your parents there, plus I thought I heard somewhere that a school did that once and was taken to court over it and lost because it's a massive breach of privacy and they as they aren't a certain type of government organization they don't actually have that power. __________________ Knowledge is Power, Power is Knowledge ╔╦╦══╦══╦═╦══╦══╦╗╔╦╦╦╦══╦╗╔═╗ ║═╣╠═║╔╗║╔╣╔╗╠╗╔╣╚╝║║║║╔╗║║║═╣ ║║║╔╗╣╚╝║║║╚╝║║║║╔╗║║║║╚╝║╚╣╔╝ ╚╩╩╝╚╩══╩═╩══╝╚╝╚╝╚╩══╩══╩═╩╝

10-21-2009, 05:29 PM	#5
Pip Boy Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: A right and proper Nerd Cave Posts: 2,460	Did I mention that the school counselor explicitly lies to students so they'll shut up and leave her alone when they have questions about why she hasn't been doing her job? I have to repeat a civics class that I've already had because it was called "American Government" in california, and even though its the same kind of credit, rather than go through the arduous process of emailing the school board about it, she decided to just tell me she would and then send me off without another word. She has a condescending attitude that high school students are children that should be seen and not heard that is mirrored in every member of the staff save for perhaps 3 or 4 teachers in the entire school. You're not allowed to wear the clothes they say you can't wear. You're not allowed to drink anything that they say you can't drink (and I'm not referring to alcohol, they have a ban on energy drinks that recently expanded to include all drinks containing sugar). They blunt students over the head with manufactured school spirit in the form of saying that the only kind of hoodie you're allowed to wear is one bought from the school. Students who drive motorcycles are not permitted to park them on the school campus. The main problem with posting this in a forum (and in writing an essay on this) is not necessarily written in school rules, but in the attitude that the administration takes on it. A student can be punished for anything or nothing by any teacher because of the "willful disobedience" rule. The administration has also demonstrated many, many times that they don't give a flying shit about students unless they're the 'favorite' kid that got high test scores or GPA to make the school look good. They've blatantly ignored problems that students have with their classes (such as my problem with repeating a class for no reason) simply because those students aren't worth their time. I say that the school is socialist because socialism isn't a written rule, but a political ideal, which really is the problem with this school. Power itself isn't the problem in any school, its how the administration allows that power to be abused. If they decide they're allowed to do it, they're allowed to do it, and there is jack shit that anyone can do about it. Last edited by Pip Boy; 10-21-2009 at 05:36 PM.

10-21-2009, 05:32 PM	#6
Marc v4.0 Fight Me, Nerds Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 3,470	Right, sorry, you found the only school that hires lazy assholes because they have to take what's available due to no one wanting to be a teacher because the 'system' doesn't give them enough money to pay the teachers attractivly. :p Socialist still isn't the right word. __________________

10-21-2009, 05:33 PM	#7
Thadius BEARD IMPACT Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: MANLY ANGER Posts: 1,977	Oh I do believe it is time for this school to be introduced to a NEW form of evil. Their form is blatant, obvious. Megaman. Give me the raw data and I will write you a paper that will pierce the heavens. __________________ ANGER HAS NEVER BEEN MORE MANLY THAN THIS.

10-21-2009, 05:48 PM	#8
Kim adorable Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 12,950	Socialism, man. Just whatever... Hey, guys, do you know what Socialist is? It's like, when the man is totally infringing on your rights. That's how you know Obama is evil. Because he's Socialist and wants to make you slaves to the government. A social or economic philosophy? What the shit have you been smoking? That's not what Socialism is. It's about taking rights away, dummy. Socialism. __________________ this post is about how to successfully H the Kimmy Last edited by Kim; 10-21-2009 at 05:51 PM.

10-21-2009, 06:07 PM	#9
Melfice Vigilo - Confido Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4,846	Socialism, ideally, intends to spread equality and solidarity. Megaman, I'm thinking you're dealing with a communist or even dictatorial school. Socialism really isn't all too keen on invading privacy and completely taking away your rights. Socialism wants to equalize all of it's "subjects'" rights, so that there is, ideally, no more "The Man". At least, that's how I understood it from our classes when we dealt with this shit. And I might even be remembering wrongly... Now, ideally, I want to say "Basically what NonCon is saying, except in reverse (more or less)", but I must admit I have a hard time understanding* if he's being sarcastic (italics would indicate so!) or serious. I'm going to say it's sarcasm... * Totally on my end, though. Dutch, y'know. Last edited by Melfice; 10-21-2009 at 06:09 PM.

10-21-2009, 06:13 PM	#10
Magic_Marker Moonwalk Away. Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Dumbfucklahoma. Posts: 1,573	It's usually better to assume sarcasm on this forum until proven otherwise.