Photo by: Marvin Lee
For the longest time I thought it was just me. At times I feel like I’m on the edge, walking the fine line of “surely people can’t be so stupid” and “maybe I’m reading too much into this.” Life goes on; work, kids, sport practices, taking out the trash, paying the bills, it’s all the same. But there is a subtle change, maybe not subtle for others, but I’m starting to sense it more and more. The crowd is getting frustrated.
You’ve been there before, standing in line at the premier of the movie you’ve been waiting for…and then someone cuts in line. People in line start to look at each other and roll their eyes. They take it! And if you’re the peaceful type, you rationalize that it is only one or two people. But it still sticks in your crawl. Then someone else does it. The line starts to chat it up, “Hey buddy, the end of the line is back here!” Then someone else walks up…before they cross the barrier, people are barking and your blood is boiling too! Shouldn’t the theater have someone watching out and enforcing the line? Heck, they put the barriers out for a reason!
Now multiply this feeling by the people who are “awake” here in America. Haven’t you caught yourself saying, “shouldn’t someone be saying or doing something about this?” Soon, you’ll be able to multiple this sentiment by the “sheeple” too! Eventually, they will wake up. By then, they won’t want answers, they will want blood.
To be honest, I can’t pinpoint MY frustration. I really haven’t been hit by the economy like others. I feel blessed! Except for the occasional nail in the tire or dealing with the cell phone provider, things are good. So what is it?
The Thick Red Line…I Mean Tape?
I work in education. I love it. I love working with kids, seeing them grow and learn and finally getting it. I like influencing their behavior, trying to help them see how their negative behavior isn’t beneficial to them and that making good decisions is important. But I hate education too. It’s not in the scope of this article to lay it all out, but let me just say, it’s not the teachers! Yes, there are a few bad apples. But the teachers that I have worked with are quality. I know this might be rare where you are, but it’s the truth.
As an educational leader, I monitor the curriculum that we are teaching. I don’t see socialism hidden inside the curriculum. I don’t even see too much multiculturalism being taught. We are though, a pretty conservative bunch down here. We all talked about the unions in Chicago a while back and couldn’t believe what we were hearing and seeing! Thank goodness the unions aren’t entrenched down here in Texas! The teachers I know just want to help students learn, plain and simple! I can’t say that for everyone though, so check your local public education system.
I had three different professors in graduate school allude to the fact that there was a conspiracy to keep the masses dumbed down. Most of us believe this already. But to have three different professors in three different instances bring this up… They all started talking about it and then would catch themselves. Uh huh! The corporations need their worker bees! Oh don’t let me go on..I’ll start rambling…
The system is created to fail or at least to stay mediocre. I believe all the red tape that we encounter is to make it hard for us to do what we need to do. We know that a student needs a certain service…but we need to try this first, then fill out this piece of paperwork, wait nine weeks, then try this, then get this person involved, then have another meeting and then… Just get out of the way and let us do what we need to do! Decisions need to be made on a local level! Even people in the district office aren’t on the front lines!
And I’m sure this is happening in your line of work too! Government regulations, state initiatives, blah, blah, blah! Things we didn’t ask for, but are forced to do because some idiot didn’t get his Stretch Armstrong for Christmas one year! The road called frustration is long.
Passion vs. I Just Don’t Care
I don’t want to just get by. I’m passionate about what I do. I can’t just go punch a time clock. But the frustration causes me to not care sometimes. I fight against it! I hate feeling like this. But all the crap can make even the most passionate person start to not care.
Maybe that is what is happening? People are fighting against what they know needs to be done and the inability to do it. It causes this inner struggle, bi-polar fight, which leads to MORE frustration. We need to remember why we are doing what we are doing. We need to have goals, a mission, focus. If you don’t have these, you’ll be lost, lost and frustrated. How many of those people do you know out there?
Behaving Badly
Then again there are the tons of people who just do the wrong thing. I mean come on! People just think that they can do whatever or act however they want and not have consequences. Then, I pay for it! You pay for it! That’s right…go ahead have babies, get on food stamps, I’ll willingly/forcibly fork out the funds for your irresponsibility. If you want to have babies, go ahead…but don’t expect me and all the other responsible people out there to be your sugar daddy!
Don’t get me started on people with credit card debt galore and then choose bankruptcy. I have a budget, plan and think about my big purchases.
And All The Other Stuff
And don’t forget all the other stuff out there! Let’s jump off the cliff already, run modern medicine into the ground, give more of the country away to foreigners, allow stupid politicians to continue to get elected and then say “we need to show them who the boss is” when they continue to vote to take our liberties. And just tax me already, launch the missiles and occupy something! You know they are going to do it. This can go on and on and on, but my eye is twitching and I’ve developed a tick. I’m going to go drink some chamomile tea and relax.
Peace,
Todd
P.S. – If you are frustrated and just need to vent a little…or a lot…go ahead in the comments section below. I’ll approve your post right after I send the government some more money. TS
This article first appeared on Ed That Matters.
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Todd Sepulveda
I'm the owner/editor of Prepper Website, a DAILY preparedness aggregator that links to the best preparedness articles on the internet. I'm also a public school administrator and a pastor. My personal blog is Ed That Matters, where I write about preparedness and from time to time, education. Connect with me on one of my social media outlets below.
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I feel your pain man. I work with some of the most caring, talented teachers around. The banging of the heads on the institutional wall only plays into TPTB hands. It’s designed that way. All we get is a bloody forehead and headaches.
Ever read Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville? This is the greatest line from any story ever, “I would prefer not to.” Simple concept. Hard to employ…and keep our job.
Doing the stuff,
Todd
Todd,
I just wish parents knew what it was really like in the classroom. 😉
Dear Todd, I KNOW exactly what you have endured.
I served THREE “tours of duty”-I call it that.
-THREE years in Springfield High School and Technology
-ONE year at Holyoke High School
-THREE years at Springfield Putnam Technical Vocational High school.
Teaching science!
Corrupt administrators…one principal who allowed kids AND PARENTS to threaten teachers and yet screams at teachers “WE HAVE TO PASS THESE KIDS BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WANTS US TO DO.”
Of course, no one reports that the “Principal” gets a pay BONUS for passing and graduating these “students” even with straight “F” grades.
Corrupt and crazy parents-blame the teachers and school, even if the kid comes in with a gun, knife, or drugs!
Parents who demand teacher to pass their kids who NEVER even show up for class.
Parents who harass teachers so their kids can play in the “SuperBowl” of high school football, even though the kid never came to class and repeatedly fails.
Superintendents who ignore when principals threaten kids with “breaking their fingers” for pulling a fire alarm…AND threaten to break their other hand IF they told their parents.
Yes, this principal was allowed to keep his job.
Oh yea, and the superintendents get paid and get BONUSES even though their students (victims) continue to riot, fight, and fail in their education.
I could go on for hours….Naw, I now have my Ph.D. in Biology and teach at a college.
BUT, I see daily the causalities of the mismanaged and corrupt secondary education system.
Frankly, there are bad teachers-burn outs who do not care, saints who DO care, and others who are ground into dust for caring.
Yes, I was in Massachusetts-part of the HUB of education.
And sadly, the HUB is rotten and the kids- the next generation of our nation- are the ultimate victims of this “Divine Commedy of Educational Damnation”.
I think you made some good points.
In prepping, maybe THEN, the entitled and the generation of wanna bees and welfare parasites will learn the HARD way.
Keep being a good teacher and watch your back~!
Best wishes.
Thanks LFR!
I’m actually one of those corrupt administrators though. 😉 I do agree that if we ever have a time where all the preparedness comes to play, this generation will be in for an awakening!
Just today I was thinking about tipping points for people and how many of us will need to be more cognizant of what other people may be dealing with. The example you point out with someone cutting in line is a good one — it’s a very minor issue that is not only about bad manners but socially unacceptable behavior. Yet this is the very type of scene that occurs more and more often. Chalk it up to moral decay. But the example of cutting in line is where we-who-are-sane must think before we react. There’s no doubt that people who won’t/don’t deal with expected social norms are wanting negative attention (and many want the negative reaction, too). This is where our sensible side comes into play. Before we react, we may want to recheck ourselves and ask ourselves if it’s really worth it.
Tipping points are changing — emotions are running higher than before. And there are more people who are drugged up or medicated. Which people can be trusted with a normal reaction and which people are ticking time-bombs? Crowds of people can become dangerous situations when the lone-wolf goes mad. Road rage can ensnare innocent drivers. There are many scenes where we might be set-up to be a victim for someone with emotional problems, not just an attitude. So my thoughts are to remain calm, tactful, and maybe even ignore the small stuff.
It’s all about choices and consequences but there are some situations where calling someone out may not be the right choice because we really can’t second-guess the other person.
When we pay for welfare more $$ goes to the oil companies and other industries than to the poor and needy. Do we really care where our tax dollars go or is beating up the poor and needy just an easier target.
I talk to many people in my job(Home contractor) and they too feel the frustration and are at the breaking point. People not being held accountable for their actions seems to be the norm anymore.
Bankruptcy, walk aways, short sales, welfare, etc…
God Bless America…because we really need it!
Finally – a chance to vent! I recently vented about Christians doing what everyone else does and then expecting different outcomes, even when the Word says otherwise. I was trying to make the point that in these last days, our most important, conscious, pro-active ONGOING activity should be reading the Bible daily! Here’s what I wrote:
“Sadly, many of the middle class are now the working poor because they didn’t educate themselves on the hazards of being in debt up to their eyeballs. I know many will say the prevailing attitude was one of encouraging people to buy things on credit, to take on massive debt. As Christians, we should have known better. There’s ample scripture about debt and avoiding debt. It’s another example of the consequences that can happen when we don’t stay in the Word and make reading it a priority in our daily lives. People – we live in perilous times! You can’t count on even your Pastor to teach you these things from the Word! You have to make up your mind to follow Him in deed or not. Halfway doesn’t cut it. What else are you missing because you don’t read it every day? Just saying….”
I definitely feel the frustration. I teach 4th grade and have recently felt that I am in the wrong profession. Our new administrator has it boiling down her back, and has since laid it on us. I hate the paperwork and the red tape. I feel as though we have failed our students. We have, as in 75% of my class is below grade level, and there is no getting through to them. I blame the home lives, and have since thought it was our 97% free and reduced lunch and the life styles this entails! It’s difficult to deal with a 9 year old who still has potty accidents and another who exposes himself. Its difficult to keep on keeping on. You are not alone. Its refreshing to hear that I am not alone. Thank you for this post.