Wanting To Go To School
After reading this article, and thinking about how brave this girl was when she spoke out about wanting to get an education and by thusly standing up to the Taliban I thought about how often I tried to stay home from school when I was a kid. Any mothers that are reading this have probably experienced a time when her child faked an illness or something in order to stay home from school.
Schools in America can suck for a kid, they are not as fun as staying home and watching TV or playing video games. When I stayed home from school, even if my mother banned the TV, I had my books and I loved to read. Plus schools are where the bullying happens. I can't tell you how often I've heard or said "kids can be mean to each other." We accept this as fact. Honestly, I've not done much to try to change it, of course my kids are all dogs so it's different.
It wasn't until I got into High School and had a really good teacher in a field that I was really interested in learning that I became dedicated to school, that I became resistant at all cost to go to school rather than stay home. You might guess that it was my ceramics teacher and class that created that change. In those days, for that class, I might have stood up to the Taliban. I was young and bullet proof, or so I thought. It was really, really important to me. Like it was to this girl, like it is to many girls in Pakistan, Afganistan, and lots of other countries where education is not just something that a child has to do.
Other Stuff:
Three Cups of Tea
Check out the gallery page - Future Relics Gallery by Lori Buff
Schools in America can suck for a kid, they are not as fun as staying home and watching TV or playing video games. When I stayed home from school, even if my mother banned the TV, I had my books and I loved to read. Plus schools are where the bullying happens. I can't tell you how often I've heard or said "kids can be mean to each other." We accept this as fact. Honestly, I've not done much to try to change it, of course my kids are all dogs so it's different.
It wasn't until I got into High School and had a really good teacher in a field that I was really interested in learning that I became dedicated to school, that I became resistant at all cost to go to school rather than stay home. You might guess that it was my ceramics teacher and class that created that change. In those days, for that class, I might have stood up to the Taliban. I was young and bullet proof, or so I thought. It was really, really important to me. Like it was to this girl, like it is to many girls in Pakistan, Afganistan, and lots of other countries where education is not just something that a child has to do.
Other Stuff:
Three Cups of Tea
Check out the gallery page - Future Relics Gallery by Lori Buff
Yeah kids and adults can be bullies.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad but true Linda.
DeleteEveryone deserves a fair and good education, but I think educating women is the most powerful thing a nation can do . I can't say that school was a great experience for me. I had terrible teachers, went through forced integration in 5th grade, which none of us kids seemed to mind but the parents really behaved badly, there was sooooo much bullying, soooo much drug and alcohol use and it all seemed a big waste of time for me. My daughter, on the other hand had an amazing education, fantastic teachers and she is much more prepared for her future than I was. YAY for an education worth fighting for. I would not have fought for the one I got, but I sure would fight for the one my daughter got.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracey, I think you make a really good point here. We should fight for great education for our kids, even those of us that don't have kids. We can get involved via our vote and our voice. We all pay school tax, we should all have an input in our future by helping kids have a worthwhile school experience now.
DeleteA very thoughtful blog post, Lori! I know in the culture in which I was raised, women were discouraged from getting anything other than a high school education. When I went to college, I lost relationships with members of my family who thought I should have gotten married at 18 instead. I'm glad that I stuck with it and finished my education - it absolutely altered the person that I was into the person that I am today.
ReplyDelete