============================================================================
 Addendum                                        Issue# 41  -  2nd May 2002
 URL: http://www.adden.tr.cx/
 Author : Steak, cleaning wipes taste weird
========================== Education? as if ===============================

Apologies dear readers for my lack of files over the last few days, it has
come to my attention how far behind I am in my school work. So I have had
to (and I hate this expression) "pull my socks up" and knuckle down to the 
work that my lovely institution sets me to do. Unfortunately this does not 
leave much time for me to write issues of addendum, this plagues me intensely.
 
If only I had more time, if only I could just freeze time and take time out
from learning about the parietal, frontal, temporal and occipital lobe, and
concentrate on the things that really make me feel good like writing this.

I have many ideas for addendums, things I want to write down a quick flick
through my ideas notebook reveals no less than ten ideas for issue's that
I have not had time to even start because of bloody school work, and another
quick flick through my "unpublished" directory reveals thirteen issues that
are at least half finished and I have not had time to finish because of
school work.

I find this a trifle unfair. But unfortunately in today’s modern society
of learning for all and compulsory education institutions I have about
as much say in my own personal education as a moldy cheese sandwich.

But I can always dream, and that is where this issue comes into the picture

Have you been to school, if you have you will know what I am talking about
if not then you will not have a clue, if you are not going to make a point
and you have some other way of educating yourself then I applaud your efforts
and I aspire to be like you. However if you are not going because you
dropped out and you can't be bothered in knowledge then shame on you, I hope you
enjoy your fine prospering career as a garbage man or the head of a
internationally successful software company *cough*Microsoft*cough* 

this file is one for the school-goer's

I noticed something the other day, when we go to school we give up our rights.
We go there in the hope that we will be taught relevant information about
how the world works and how to survive in it, instead we get our inner 
personality and spark squashed, our names are taken away and we are issued
with a number. Mine is something like 880511J I think, I have to put this 
at the top of every test and examination I do. Another regime did this 
a while back when they were in power, perhaps you have heard of them, 
they were named the national socialist German workers party, more commonly 
known as the Nazi’s

We go to school and we become zombies, nothing more, just zombies, we get this
piece of paper that tells us what room we have to be in. We go their and
give our control to somebody for fifty minuets, they tell us what to do, we
do it. If they don't tell us what to do we do nothing. There is no
individuality in our work, each of us writes the same thing and put nothing
of what we are into the piece. Each segment is a lifeless boring piece of work
which deserves nothing but to be thrown away.

If you try to input some humor, opinion, suspense, creativity or intriguing 
aspects to a piece of work, teachers lifelessly put a red mark through it,
mark the spelling or punctuation and tell you to re-do the piece without a
the funny bits, making you feel like an halfwit, they even get annoyed because
the work does not conform to a standard and they have to take the time
to think about the ironic comedy. They want a standard piece that they
can mark based on a set number of rules and regulations.

We can go into a class room and the teacher could ask us to write 
"taxation" on a piece of paper. We would do it, we don't ask why we just
do it simply because the person told us so. I don't think that is right

They clump us together based on age, not intelligence or understanding level
I am personally not able to grasp many of the things at my level and I still
feel like a child inside, yet I am constantly expected to write page after 
page on subjects that I cannot understand let alone comprehend.

School is no longer a place to learn and to gain education but has turned
into a place where your essence and nobility are squashed and distorted
into something inhuman, where your drive and creativity are sacrificed to
turn you into a pre-packaged, franchised "functioning" member of the
machine named society.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for striving for knowledge and trying to
understand the world but this is the wrong way. Knowledge and information
does not follow a set pattern or routine it is different for each and every
individual. It is a perfect model of chaos theory when I am ready to learn 
about the structure of the cerebral cortex, it may not be the time that my 
next-door neighbor is, yet if he or she is the same age as me she or he is 
expected to be able to do it and if they can't they are labeled an idiot.

I feel, no I know that I am perfectly capable of teaching myself, if I can
take the time to learn the inner workings of a matter/anti-matter reaction
chamber, a fictional device that hasn't even been invented yet then I also
know that I have the ability to learn about the inner workings and cell
structure of a human being. I would enjoy it immensely as well if only
I didn't have to obey to a set patter and a deadline. When you put a set
deadline on knowledge, it no longer becomes fun but a chore and an
unpleasant exercise

Knowledge and education should not be unpleasant and horrible but fun
and entertaining, I love learning about the human body and it's working's
it's just that I don't want to do it when my biology teacher tells me
that I have to because my brain may not be physically ready to handle that 
said information.

Oh well I guess I can't do anything about it, better play dumb like 
most other numbers and just keep my head low and try not to be too different
for fear of ridicule.


============================================================================
 Addendum                                        Issue# 41  -  2nd May 2002
 (C) Steak May 2002
============================================================================