The Book of Evidence Against Humans

Hank Williams I'll never get out of this world alive

2010-09-23T00:00:00.000+01:00

The Poor Can't Pay

2010-09-22T21:10:00.001+01:00

http://www.thepoorcantpay.ie/activist-resources

The Consumer Show

2010-09-22T19:16:00.000+01:00

http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1080815

The School-Capitalist Axis

2010-09-16T01:28:00.000+01:00

Slavery in theory is horrible, in practice it is far worse. For in practice not only is one not free but what one must do to acheive freedom may put one in an even worse position than when one was enslaved. The worst slavery is when one thinks one has a clearcut choice but in fact one is caught between a rock and a hard face. With the school-capitalist axis one is enslaved for 75 years and free for 5*.

At the age of 5 one goes off to playschool and one has no choice because one hasn't the brains nor the experience to figure out what lies ahead and one is too physically weak to resist anyway.

After playschool is primary school and one is in the same position.

At the age of 13 one enters secondary school and even if one has the brains and experience to realise the truth now the law forces one to go.

At the age of 15 one has a choice, continue to put up with the school-capitalist axis and suffer the emotional and psychological pain that goes with it or leave school and face a low wage or the dole.

At the age of 18 one leaves secondary school with those very horrors that are at the heart of the axis, the Leaving Cert. Even if one does the Leaving Cert one is STILL not guaranteed a deccent wage. If one does badly one can expect a low wage,if any.

School and work are so similar that it as only a matter of time before somebody would figure out that school is only to get people ready for work. At school and work there are bosses, their minions and the average joe workers, lunchbreaks, deadlines, uniforms, canteens (in secondary school), 9 o'clock start and a leave no earlier than 3 pm.The students don't get paid for going to school however as the reward for going to school is the ability to earn a decent wage and yet one has little choice in how one gets that, I for one doubt that remaining part of the tyranny is a reward.

From 19 to 65 one either works (and a small few get most of the money from the work, regardless of WHO does the work!Worse yet there are taxes and other expenses) or risks that the dole will suffice.I say if there were no wage slavery or income tax and work was almost completely voluntary and that people are paid according to their effort rather than according to how much money the winedossers** want for themselves then people will be more enthusiastic about work and I'd say enough would work and work hard enough for the economy to be successful.

From 65 to one's dieing day one either chooses a pension and takes the risk that it is enough or one takes pension and continues to work and risk your health being past your physical best. Because people have enough money or perhaps even a lot they think that things are fine but I know that most people are stupid, that the axis fools people into believing that success within the tyranny is the highest success. I also know that ideas have a far better chance of surviving if they are already conventional and that worst of all most people odn't know that the axis exists or that it is a tyranny. I asked teachers in primary what school was for and I was told that it was to teach people to read and write, I replied that could I go because I could read and write fine. No answer was given and I still had to go. There you have it, the school-capitalist axis is 75 years of slavery and 5 of freedom but during that freedom your mind isn't properly formed yet so it seems that humans think that consciousness should necessitate submission.

*At the time of writing (late 2010) the life expectancy of Ireland is 78 years and I suspect 2 years is not much (relatively speaking) nowadays.

**The very rich very few, I name them so because they don't have to work a day in their lives and most probably don't either.In Ireland alone for example 50% of the wealth was controlled by 5% of the population during the Celtic Tiger.

Stop domestic violence against women! - Council of Europe

2010-09-09T13:13:00.000+01:00

End School Book Racketeering

2010-09-08T22:35:00.004+01:00

For minor changes people are expected to pay the full price of the book again. I say if the big companies want the whole price they should change the whole product! I've heard 2 teachers say that this racketeering is unfair, and teachers of all people should know atrocious economics when they see it!

Prison Mainly Dosen't Work

2010-09-08T21:10:00.002+01:00

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/217666/alternatives_to_prison_why_imprisonment.html?singlepage=true&cat=17

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980372-1,00.html

http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/standard.asp?id=1741

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/88348

How to be a Youtube Famous Vblogger!

2010-09-06T16:52:00.000+01:00

Libertarianism is Crap

2010-09-05T23:49:00.001+01:00

The below article is both funny and true. (I'm neither libertarian nor authoritarian).

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Libertarianism

An Unfeasable Contradiction

2010-09-05T22:57:00.006+01:00

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tbGG4gWAD9SZQNll3J_3Bpw&hl=en#gid=0

In any economy how much there is in total is key. A poor American for example is certainly far better off than a poor person in Sierra Leone. So, more production is better. Even with the aid of machines one human can only produce so much. So it should be as easy for as many people as possible to just go out there and start producing. With school however 11% have almost no chance at all of getting a job and 15% are unlikely to get a job. Oh sure 55.5% have an excellent chance but that is a horrifying inefficiency. Firstly, inefficiency means waste. A waste of 44.5% means you waste 44.5% of your time and 25% of 12 years is a long time in which so much could happen. Secondly, 44.5% of human beings cannot produce even inefficiently even if they wanted to produce like demons. This is an attack on freedom! Thirdly, the 44.5% that cannot get jobs have no other choice but to draw the dole and this costs the state when these same people could have been producing as well as the people that passed the Leaving Cert. Without the Leaving Cert and forcing people to go a building for half a day, 5 days a week the state would MAKE far more money than it does and would lose far less due to more people being ALLOWED to work at all and there would be far less money to pay to keep schools open at all. Plus, surely it is better to have 100 happy workers than 55 unhappy workers? Furthermore under Siorafrican education there would be massive savings compared to the current state of schooling and the money saved could be used to house, feed and clothe poor people thereby gradually making them able to work and thus increasing the workforce and production.

More Subjects, Less Results

2010-09-05T22:18:00.002+01:00

In Siorafricanist education there are 5 subjects and together these cover absolutely everything whether real or not, their combined scope is infinite and 5 subjects isn't too much to keep in mind. Plus, its easy going hands-off approach means learning may actually become (gasp) popular! As for school on the other hand you don't want to be there in the first place and so every subject is one more piece of work that you don't want to do. School is jack of all trades, Siorafricanist education lets you choose what you WANT to learn and rewards you for choosing more than one subject while with school you don't get a choice. Not convinced? Well, see for yourself:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tbGG4gWAD9SZQNll3J_3Bpw&hl=en#gid=0

2010-09-05T21:43:00.003+01:00

Burning My English Books!!!

2010-09-05T21:02:00.000+01:00

Burning School Books

2010-09-05T20:56:00.000+01:00

Burning my School Books

2010-09-05T20:53:00.000+01:00

Burning school books in a school desk

2010-09-05T20:51:00.000+01:00

Burning Our School Crap pt2

2010-09-05T20:45:00.000+01:00

Anti-School Campaign

2010-09-05T20:38:00.000+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=BD3A97243A14210C

The Murder Machine by Patrick Pearse

2010-09-05T15:25:00.001+01:00

http://www.eirigi.org/pdfs/irish_politics/Murder_Machine.pdf

Blair the War Criminal Getting Far Less Than What He Deserves

2010-09-05T14:23:00.001+01:00

http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest040910_2.html

End Proportional Representation

2010-09-03T17:46:00.004+01:00

It's politically elitist even though it's a democratic system. As you know by now if something is one thing in theory but something else in practice it is wrong and illogical (same thing really as I type before). Proportional representation is dreadful in theory and as bad if not worse in practice as you will see in the link below:

http://www.game-point.net/misc/election2005/

Massive Educational Wastes of Time

2010-08-30T02:29:00.003+01:00

In secondary schools subjects that won't be on the Leaving Certificate are nonetheless thought, a massive waste of time as they don't earn people any points. As if that isn't enough let me take them apart individually.

Religion

I am still deeply Catholic and intend to remain so forever but like school as a whole forcing people to learn something will put them off it. Youth always gets less and less religious so teaching religion in school isn't working. Furthermore, nobody should be foolish enough to underestimate the importance of religion. Anyone who does ought to be spoken to by a wise person who does recognise its importance and if they still won't listen it is their own fault and their own price.

CSPE

Until 5th year nobody can vote so why teach this? Worse yet, at present teaching of it stops after 3rd year so there's a whole year to forget its importance! Furthermore, who seriously listens to children in the west? Nobody with a vote would be a polite understatement! A child can best further a cause by researching it thoroughly first and then when 18 the person is not only well able to defend and promote the cause but will also actually be listened to and can threaten to vote against the goal's opposers.

People should learn to exercise for an hour a day by themselves, it dosen't take school to figure that out, also school is one-size-fits-all so the fitter are unchallenged and the unfit are overwhelmed.

Warishell09 deaths threats.....AGAIN!.wmv

2010-08-21T22:52:00.000+01:00

More Anti-School

2010-08-21T07:52:00.003+01:00

http://www.wesjones.com/gatto1.htm

http://www.youtube.com/user/DeschoolingSociety

http://www.edflix.org/gatto.htm

http://gracellewellyn.com/

Launchpadmovement

2010-08-21T05:22:00.000+01:00

http://www.launchpadmovement.com/

School Survival Guide

2010-08-21T03:57:00.000+01:00

======================================================================
..: School Survival Guide :..
www.school-survival.net/guide
======================================================================

Version 1.3

Author: SoulRiser
Contact: guide (AT) school-survival.net

Latest update: 2/April/2007

Latest version can always be found here first:
www.school-survival.net/guide

Other known places you can get a copy:
groups.yahoo.com/group/schoolsurvival/files

If you are hosting this file somewhere and keeping it up to date, let
me know and I'll add your site to this list :)

======================================================================
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
======================================================================

This text file is a collection of the content found at www.school-
survival.net - the reason this was done was to give anyone an easy
way to distribute the information on the site. Print it, copy it,
host it on your site, go ahead! Just don't edit the file in any way.

It would be difficult to include every single page on the entire site
in one measly text file, so only the most "important" pages will be
included. What's "important", you might ask? The most informational
or well-written articles, for example. Things submitted by visitors,
like pranks or things like that as well. Basically, sort of like a
condensed version of the site, for easy reference at school or
wherever else you may be. Printers love text files, too ;)

======================================================================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
======================================================================

TIP: To jump to any section quickly, copy the section number and the
title, then use the search function in your text reader to jump to
that section. For example, to go straight to the poem called "Used to
be" using Notepad, you'd copy "[2.4.2] Used to be", press CTRL+F (and
paste it into the search box if it's not already in there), and hit
ENTER.

[1] The WHAT (Introductions)
[1.1] School Survival, the site
[1.2] What "anti-school" really means
[1.3] Alternatives to school

[2] The WHY (Articles & Poetry)
[2.1] Who wouldn't be ëschool phobicí?
by Sarah Fitz-Claridge (a psychologist)
[2.2] You're not worthless
by SoulRiser (School Survival's webmistress)
[2.3] Harm in the School System
by Shaun Kerry, M.D. (a social psychiatrist)
[2.4] How public education cripples our kids, and why
by John Taylor Gatto (a teacher)
[2.5] Poetry about school & youth rights
[2.5.1] School Frustrations
by SoulRiser
[2.5.2] Used to be
by SoulRiser
[2.5.3] Our mark in passing
by Spooky Poet
[2.5.4] Take Action
by Badlands17

[3] The HOW (Guides & Tips)
[3.1] How to Survive School: An Introduction
[3.2] Hate school? Do something!
[3.3] What NOT to do
[3.4] How to Organize a Student Revolution
[3.5] Discipline and punishment
[3.6] 'Zine-making guide
[3.7] School Pranks & Wasting Class Time
[3.8] Disobey and Resist
[3.9] Counterpropaganda
[3.10] Defend your site/blog: Anonymity Guidelines

[4] Other Stuff
[4.1] Spread the word
[4.2] Noteworthy links
[4.3] Credits & Thanks
[4.4] Copyright Info
[4.5] Revision History
[4.6] Viewing Tips

======================================================================
[1] The WHAT (Introductions)
======================================================================

First of all, why would anyone hate school so much that they'd make
two sites about it, and then seven years after that, condense all the
info into a really long guide?

Well, that deserves a good explanation, and you're not going to get
one here. You'll get a good explanation by reading the Articles in
this guide, but if you just want it "in a nutshell", here are three
simple reasons:

1. School tries to teach everyone the same thing in the same way.
Everybody's different, but school doesn't cater to that.
2. Way too many teachers out there (not all, of course) like to
enforce their superiority by punishing students for no good reason
whatsoever.
3. "Learning" in school is done by following elaborate "learning
methods", none of which are really much more than ways to trick your
brain into remembering things it otherwise would disregard.

Interested yet? Scroll down to the Articles section for more :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.1] School Survival, the site
www.school-survival.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I started making the site in March 1999. Originally it was basically
just because I was angry with the way my school had changed and I
needed someplace to "get it out of my system". Since then I've been
looking at other anti-school sites and most of them just say "MY
school SUcks!". I wanted my site to be more than just that. I wanted
the site to be the kind of place where people who feel the same as I
did can come to and see that they're not alone. That they're not
"bad" for feeling the way they do.

More at: www.school-survival.net/about/aboutsite.php

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.2] What "anti-school" really means
www.school-survival.net/about/anti-school.php
----------------------------------------------------------------------

What anti-school does NOT mean

We are not anti-education. We are not anti-learning. Learning means
to acquire knowledge, and education is basically learning with help
from other people. Those are both good things. Right, now that that's
out of the way, what is "anti-school" all about then?

What anti-school DOES mean

Lets face a few facts first. How many people remember more than 10%
of the stuff they "learned" at school? I personally don't know of
any, apart from people who later on became school teachers. School
doesn't give students just about ANY choice of what they would like
to learn about, or HOW they would like to learn it. In fact, it's
gotten so bad, that every time someone mentions the word "learn",
people instantly think of "memorize". Just look at all those "memory-
enhancer" things on the market, and "mind-maps" and whatever other
method of memorizing things. Memorizing is NOT the same as learning!
School is about MEMORIZING, not LEARNING anything useful (hey, apart
from basic reading and writing, but they even manage to make that so
awfully boring most kids hate learning about it).

So, in short, "anti-school" means exactly what it says. We are
against school, because school is giving education and learning a bad
reputation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.3] Alternatives to school
www.school-survival.net/alternatives.php
----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you think kids would not learn ANYTHING if it were not for school,
consider this: If there are going to be schools, they should not be
run by the government, and should only teach the bare basics like
reading/writing and working with numbers. Current schools accomplish
this in a few years, and then the rest of the time up to 12 years
they force kids to memorize all kinds of drivel most of them will
never use again. In effect, they are wasting people's youth. If kids
can learn the basics on their own or elsewhere, there should be
nothing forcing them to still go to school.

Here are a few short descriptions of some of the more common
alternatives to public schools.

Homeschooling

If you have cool parents, this could work quite well. This is also
often done among different families as a team effort - say your mom
teaches maths and your neighbours' dad teaches history or something.

Unschooling

Basically like homeschooling, except there are no "set" lesson plans.
You learn about whatever interests you, when it interests you.
Usually the hardest idea for parents to swallow :P

Private schools

Private schools have the potential to be a lot better than public
ones, but sadly a lot of them aren't. The usual complaint is that
everyone is a snobbish rich kid. But still, there may be a GOOD
private school in your area, so look around.

Charter schools
Written by: Happy Camper

An independent studies program. They aren't completely common or
widely available yet but it is definitely worth looking into. It's a
homeschool program for middle schoolers and highschoolers that allow
them to still graduate with a high school diploma. Right now I cover
my US History credit through a sheet of 40 short essay questions,
have a basic english curriculum in which I will be doing various
projects on various books mostly to do with American Literature, and
possibly a few essays, I also have a series of vocab questions to go
through to prepare me for the SAT, any book I read in my free time I
can count down as long as I do a small report on it, I go in to the
public school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to cover my
language credit and take a french class with the local public school
kids. I audit a math class which basically means I follow the precalc
curriculum at the local public school without being required to
attend those long tedious lectures (I'm pretty good when it comes to
math, those lectures are just a waste of time) but still coming in
for the tests. Gym and art credits you may ask? I dance and then
volunteer for theatre projects. Any other conventions I attend such
as a young Writer's convention that I attended not far back, I can
log too. My transcript won't appear as a normal highschool transcript
and I will have to jump through some extra hoops when applying to
colleges. Next year, rather than take classes through the highschool,
I will very likely take my classes through a community college
nearby. This is a perfect fit for me. Under my current condition I
have no problem researching and doing work. I mainly have a problem
going into school and have both social and academic expectations of
me on a daily basis. But I can go into the Charter center and use
those materials there almost as a study hall. I'm accountable to them
so I don't just sit at home and play video games every day without
ever working on my graduation requirements. But yeah. I'm pretty
smart...looking into becoming an author. But the highschool
attendence life just never worked for me. We are invited to the prom
and theatre productions down at the local public school, but I doubt
I'll do either.

The magic of charter schools. I just happened to be surprised they
haven't been brought up yet. It's that homeschool alternative without
the smock dress conservative stereotype. I mean...my Mom isn't really
involved in teaching me at all. I just research and teach myself. I
do wish I had this alternative earlier on.

Links

www.school-survival.net/directory/Alternatives

Unschooling:

www.unschooling.org
www.unschooling.com
www.holtgws.com
groups.yahoo.com/group/worldwideunschoolers
home.rmci.net/abell/page7.htm

Homeschooling:

www.learninfreedom.org
homeschooling.about.com
www.kaleidoscapes.com

Books

www.school-survival.net/books

Because many parents are more likely to trust paper than some
internet site, here are some recommended books explaining why school
is bad, guides on how to unschool/homeschool and various other things.

The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real
Life and Education, by Grace Llewellyn
The Unprocessed Child: Living Without School, by Valerie Fitzenreiter
Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don't Go To School, by Grace
Llewellyn

Add to this page
----------------------------------------------

This is just a very basic little list so far - if you think I've left
out something major, contact me and tell me about it. As always, site
suggestions for the Directory are very much appreciated.

======================================================================
[2] The WHY (Articles & Poetry)
www.school-survival.net/articles
======================================================================

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.1] Who wouldn't be ëschool phobicí?
by Sarah Fitz-Claridge (a psychologist)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

ëSchool phobiaí is a dreadful label for some children's perfectly
understandable response to being compelled to go to school against
their will. They are not phobic, any more than a conscientious
objector is a coward; they are refusing ñ and in most cases very
nobly. Over the years, I have spoken to many worried parents of
school-refusing children. The outrages these children have been
subjected to in the name of ëeducationí disgust me. They have been
saddled with a pseudo-medical label that has deliberate connotations
of ëmental illnessí ñ with all the stigma and the implied (and not-so-
implied) menace that goes with that. Their perfectly reasonable
dissent, and their desperately courageous resistance to being hurt
and harmed has been cynically redefined as ëoverdependence,í
ëpsychological instability,í and ëimmaturity.í They have been
psychologically tortured under the guise of psychiatric or
psychological ëtreatmentí for a non-existent ailment. Their parents ñ
also demeaned by labels such as ëoverprotectiveí ñ have been
threatened with court action unless they physically force their
terrified, traumatised children into school every day. Many such
parents who have sought my advice have themselves been in a terrible
state of stress and trauma. Why don't they just comply? Because they
know that forcing their child to go so school is immoral,
psychologically harmful, and inimical to their child's education.

Or do they know that? Parents often do not seem to know it
consciously. Or if they do, they also ëknowí the contradictory idea
that it is right and important for children to be schooled, because
the law, the psychiatric, psychological, and educational professions
all say so. They may be nice people in many respects, but as a result
of their own parents' coercion, they are simply unable to see how
damaging and wrong it is to force a child to go to school.

Ask parents what they would think of a system which not only
imprisons innocent people (some of whom are terrified and suffer
lifelong trauma as a result) for many years but then forces them to
obey every whim of the warders, takes up their time with mind-numbing
makework, leaving them almost no time for their own pursuits, and in
some cases even force-feeds inmates, and so on. Thinking of vicious
tyrants like Saddam Hussein, most will be incensed. They will rail
against the brutality and immorality of such a system. Until you tell
them that you were referring to our own dear school system. Then they
will think that you are guilty of hyperbole, and that anyway,
schoolchildren get nights and weekends out, unlike ërealí prisoners.
Oh, well that's all right then! They are only imprisoned for five
days out of seven. Super. And I suppose that the knowledge that they
are to be locked up for five days a week for eleven years does not
remotely affect them on the days when they are ëfreeí? False. The
psychological effects of school hang like a pall over children's
lives, twisting their thinking and stunting their intellectual and
psychological growth, whether it is a school day or not.

How would you feel if you were told today that you must go to school
for the next eleven years, that you must attend all the classes I
have deemed necessary for you, that you must submit to humiliating
procedures and that you will probably be in fear for your physical
safety much of the time. But worse, that you will have to put your
own life on hold for eleven years in order to jump through the hoops
that will be set up for you?

Even this comparison fails to capture some of the more destructive
effects of compulsory schooling on children. Childhood is both the
most important and the most vulnerable period of life. Children are
at the beginning of their lives and do not have the inner resources
that you might use to palliate an eleven-year imprisonment.
Furthermore you are not in the position of having an overwhelming
need to please your parents. As adults, most of us have to a
significant extent escaped the need not to disappoint our parents or
invoke their wrath. But children cannot throw off the need for their
parents' love and approval without terrible emotional cost.

Even given that I am free from parental coercion, being forced to go
to school would ruin my life. I should have to give up doing and
thinking about what I want to do and think about, when and where I
want to. Life is all too short and precious to waste doing things we
don't want to do. In spending seven hours a day, five days a week,
doing lessons that are at best only accidentally related to things I
am interested in, I should be enacting someone else's notion of what
I should do and of who I am. I should have no mental energy left to
spend another seven hours at home thinking about the things I really
want to think about. This would be very debilitating, and would
adversely affect me at weekends too, because all the time, I should
have in mind that on Monday morning, I must be back at school. The
knowledge that there is a time limit ñ that on Monday morning I must
be back at school ñ would make it very difficult to start any major
project or train of thought during weekends and short holidays. (And
that is assuming that there is no homework. I once spent virtually an
entire six-week summer holiday solving 590 sets of simultaneous
equations, only to return to school to find that the teacher, having
had second thoughts about the drudgery of marking the work he had
ordered, exercised his right to choose and claimed to have been
joking. I wasn't laughing.) I used to feel an increasing sense of
dread as the weekend or school holiday wore on. I used to feel
physically sick every Sunday night.

Was I labelled ëschool phobicí? No. My mother thought I loved school,
because I did quite well and didn't make a fuss about going. She was
very surprised when, some years ago, I told her that I had loathed
school. As William Blake wrote,

And because I am happy, & dance & sing.
They think they have done me no injury...

Children whose parents would neither dream of forcing them to go to
school nor of preventing them from going, and who support their
children in anything they want to do, and who do not allow themselves
to be drawn by the school system into a conspiracy against their
children, have a very different experience of school if they do
choose to go. Not having to worry about their parents' approval (for
they will have it anyway), they are free to take their teachers just
as seriously as they deserve. They are free to do what they think
right instead of deferring to authority. They are free to leave.

Sadly, there are very few such children, for most parents cannot
bring themselves to cede this elementary aspect of self-
determination: they wouldn't dream of allowing their children to
leave school just because they want to, or indeed to attend just
because they want to. Some of the children become deeply miserable as
a result; some rebel; some really do go mad in the end. Is this
surprising? I have, if anything, more hope for children who kick and
scream when their parents drag them into school than for children who
respond only inwardly, as I did, for the kickers and screamers are
still fighting; they still have a sense of self; they have not been
successfully crushed and moulded by the system. They are like the
character played by Jack Nicholson in the very important film One
Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. And teachers and parents who calmly
conspire in this despicable treatment of fellow human beings (yes,
children are human beings too) are like the serenely evil psychiatric
nurse in that film.

So I, as an adult and a psychologist, want to say to any children out
there who hate school: you are not alone. Most people hate it too,
but usually they don't feel entitled to say so, and many can't bear
to think about it so they hardly even know how they feel. You are not
mad ñ you don't have a Deep Psychological Problem (though you might
develop one if you stay in school against your will!); and you are
not bad for wanting to live your life the way you choose, doing what
you think right ñ that is what everyone should be doing. You are not
the problem: coercion is the problem. Being forced to go to school is
the problem.

Original article and some more links:
http://www.fitz-claridge.com/Articles/schoolphobia.html

Written by: Sarah Fitz-Claridge (a real psychologist)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.2] You're not worthless
by SoulRiser (School Survival's webmistress)
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"Schools have rules that you have to obey. If you disobey, you will
be punished. Respect people higher than you. Don't backchat. Shut up
while a teacher is talking. Stop wasting the teacher's time and do
your work."

Doesn't it make you sick? Don't you just hate it when a teacher makes
an example out of a student that got an A for something and asks you
why you can't achieve the same? Or when a teacher is in a bad mood
and snaps at you, then when you defend yourself you get in trouble
for "backchatting"? Or when a teacher is talking about something that
has nothing to do with you, and you're trying to tell something
important to a friend, then you are told to shut up and respect the
teacher?

You are led to believe that you are a little piece of nothing, and
might as well let people tell you what to do because you're not
capable of making your own decisions. A lot of schools make a list of
all the "top-achievers" to brag with, but a lot of the time the
students who don't get high marks see it and feel ashamed. If you're
one of those "under-achievers", don't be ashamed, be proud. Why?
Because there are plenty of things you can do much better than those
so-called "top-achievers". Everyone's good at something and bad at
something else. Find what you're good at, concentrate on it, and
laugh at anyone who tries to tell you you're stupid.

Who are the most important people in schools? Not the principal, not
the teachers... the students are. Not their parents, them. They are
the ones who have to go there every day. They don't get paid to go
there - they are forced to go. In most schools, the remaining
students who haven't run away or committed suicide deserve a medal for
ENDURANCE! So, considering the fact that us students are the most
important (parents being the second most important, they have to pay
for our mistreatment), shouldn't we be treated a little more like
humans with our own unique personalities, our own goals and dreams,
our own ideas and opinions, instead of being looked down upon as if
we're nothing more than disobedient, ungrateful brats? I think we
should be.

Written by: SoulRiser

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[2.3] Harm in the School System
by Shaun Kerry, M.D. (a social psychiatrist)
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As a social psychiatrist, I examine society much like a doctor
examines a patient. One of the most troubling ailments that I
encounter is our school system, which - without ever realizing it -
harms the majority of our students.

It is my belief that our school system is the most fundamental cause
of the social problems that our society faces today. Far from being
expensive, the solution to this problem would cost no money.

Speaking from a psychiatric perspective, our most critical mental
attributes involve emotions, judgment, a sense of priority, empathy,
conscience, interpersonal relations, self-esteem, identity,
independence, the ability to concentrate, and a number of other whole-
brain functions that defy description. I will lump all of these
attributes under the term 'mindfulness'. Reading comprehension level,
mathematical ability, and standardized test scores are much further
down the priority list.

There is a sharp jump in the incidence of mental illness immediately
after children begin school. This would suggest that something about
our school system is in direct conflict with the human psyche. The
academy-award-winning film American Beauty captures the essence of
social dysfunction in today's world, and has the power to portray
many things that cannot equally be expressed through the written
word. I would urge you to see this film. Note how most of the
characters in this film suffer from a major personality disorder. By
restructuring our schools, many such disorders could be prevented. I
will show you how.

First, we must conquer our obsession with attempting to align
academic achievement with a time-table. Everyone has a very unique
personality, and therefore, learns at a different pace. Some people
are ready to learn how to read at age 3, while others may be better
to suited to learning how at age 10. In schools, we force subject
matter down the throats of the students. We neglect to realize,
however, that children learn much more quickly and effectively if
they are receptive and eager to learn the subject matter. Children
could master the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic far more
quickly, if they were allowed to learn what they wanted to learn when
they wanted to learn it.

Prior to about 1850, schooling as we presently understand the term -
wasn't considered critical to the development of young minds.
Granted, some children did attend schools, but only as often as they
wanted to.

Classroom education was far from mandatory, yet children still
learned to read, write, and perform arithmetic. In fact, Senator
Kennedy's office once released a paper stating that prior to the
implementation of compulsory education, the literacy rate was 98%.
Afterwards, the figure never exceeded 91%.

Forcing people to learn has no value, and is extremely harmful.
Tests, grades, busywork, and competition are at the core of the
problems that plague our schools. The motivation to learn must come
from within the student. Often, we become so concerned with
fulfilling the demands of other people, that we lose track of what we
feel and who we are. I have met or worked with countless individuals
who are intellectually well developed, but who have lost touch with
their inner-self.

As a child, everyone is curious and eager to learn. Before attending
school and being subjected to this process of coercion, children
manage to learn a complex language (in bilingual families, two
languages) and a copious amount of things about their environment.
There is no reason why such learning could not continue without the
negative effects of rigid institutionalization and standardized test
scores, which seem to form the basis of modern-day education. Rather
than hindering the growth of our children, we must provide an
environment that will nourish them, and facilitate continuous
learning.

Shaun Kerry, M.D.
Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
http://www.school-reform.net/

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[2.4] How public education cripples our kids, and why
by John Taylor Gatto (a teacher)
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I taught for thirty years in some of the worst schools in Manhattan,
and in some of the best, and during that time I became an expert in
boredom. Boredom was everywhere in my world, and if you asked the
kids, as I often did, why they felt so bored, they always gave the
same answers: They said the work was stupid, that it made no sense,
that they already knew it. They said they wanted to be doing
something real, not just sitting around. They said teachers didn't
seem to know much about their subjects and clearly weren't interested
in learning more. And the kids were right: their teachers were every
bit as bored as they were.

Boredom is the common condition of schoolteachers, and anyone who has
spent time in a teachers' lounge can vouch for the low energy, the
whining, the dispirited attitudes, to be found there. When asked why
they feel bored, the teachers tend to blame the kids, as you might
expect. Who wouldn't get bored teaching students who are rude and
interested only in grades? If even that. Of course, teachers are
themselves products of the same twelve-year compulsory school
programs that so thoroughly bore their students, and as school
personnel they are trapped inside structures even more rigid than
those imposed upon the children. Who, then, is to blame?

We all are. My grandfather taught me that. One afternoon when I was
seven I complained to him of boredom, and he batted me hard on the
head. He told me that I was never to use that term in his presence
again, that if I was bored it was my fault and no one else's. The
obligation to amuse and instruct myself was entirely my own, and
people who didn't know that were childish people, to be avoided if
possible. Certainty not to be trusted. That episode cured me of
boredom forever, and here and there over the years I was able to pass
on the lesson to some remarkable student. For the most part, however,
I found it futile to challenge the official notion that boredom and
childishness were the natural state of affairs in the classroom.
Often I had to defy custom, and even bend the law, to help kids break
out of this trap.

The empire struck back, of course; childish adults regularly conflate
opposition with disloyalty. I once returned from a medical leave to
discover that all evidence of my having been granted the leave had
been purposely destroyed, that my job had been terminated, and that I
no longer possessed even a teaching license. After nine months of
tormented effort I was able to retrieve the license when a school
secretary testified to witnessing the plot unfold. In the meantime my
family suffered more than I care to remember. By the time I finally
retired in 1991, 1 had more than enough reason to think of our
schools-with their long-term, cell-block-style, forced confinement of
both students and teachers-as virtual factories of childishness. Yet
I honestly could not see why they had to be that way. My own
experience had revealed to me what many other teachers must learn
along the way, too, yet keep to themselves for fear of reprisal: if
we wanted to we could easily and inexpensively jettison the old,
stupid structures and help kids take an education rather than merely
receive a schooling. We could encourage the best qualities of
youthfulness-curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for
surprising insightsimply by being more flexible about time, texts,
and tests, by introducing kids to truly competent adults, and by
giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a
risk every now and then.

But we don't do that. And the more I asked why not, and persisted in
thinking about the "problem" of schooling as an engineer might, the
more I missed the point: What if there is no "problem" with our
schools? What if they are the way they are, so expensively flying in
the face of common sense and long experience in how children learn
things, not because they are doing something wrong but because they
are doing something right? Is it possible that George W. Bush
accidentally spoke the truth when he said we would "leave no child
behind"? Could it be that our schools are designed to make sure not
one of them ever really grows up?

Do we really need school? I don't mean education, just forced
schooling: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year,
for twelve years. Is this deadly routine really necessary? And if so,
for what? Don't hide behind reading, writing, and arithmetic as a
rationale, because 2 million happy homeschoolers have surely put that
banal justification to rest. Even if they hadn't, a considerable
number of well-known Americans never went through the twelve-year
wringer our kids currently go through, and they turned out all right.
George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham
Lincoln? Someone taught them, to be sure, but they were not products
of a school system, and not one of them was ever "graduated" from a
secondary school. Throughout most of American history, kids generally
didn't go to high school, yet the unschooled rose to be admirals,
like Farragut; inventors, like Edison; captains of industry like
Carnegie and Rockefeller; writers, like Melville and Twain and
Conrad; and even scholars, like Margaret Mead. In fact, until pretty
recently people who reached the age of thirteen weren't looked upon
as children at all. Ariel Durant, who co-wrote an enormous, and very
good, multivolume history of the world with her husband, Will, was
happily married at fifteen, and who could reasonably claim that Ariel
Durant was an uneducated person? Unschooled, perhaps, but not
uneducated.

We have been taught (that is, schooled) in this country to think of
"success" as synonymous with, or at least dependent upon,
"schooling," but historically that isn't true in either an
intellectual or a financial sense. And plenty of people throughout
the world today find a way to educate themselves without resorting to
a system of compulsory secondary schools that all too often resemble
prisons. Why, then, do Americans confuse education with just such a
system? What exactly is the purpose of our public schools?

Mass schooling of a compulsory nature really got its teeth into the
United States between 1905 and 1915, though it was conceived of much
earlier and pushed for throughout most of the nineteenth century. The
reason given for this enormous upheaval of family life and cultural
traditions was, roughly speaking, threefold:

1) To make good people. 2) To make good citizens. 3) To make each
person his or her personal best. These goals are still trotted out
today on a regular basis, and most of us accept them in one form or
another as a decent definition of public education's mission, however
short schools actually fall in achieving them. But we are dead wrong.
Compounding our error is the fact that the national literature holds
numerous and surprisingly consistent statements of compulsory
schooling's true purpose. We have, for example, the great H. L.
Mencken, who wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the
aim of public education is not

to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their
intelligence. ... Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim
... is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same
safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down
dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States... and
that is its aim everywhere else.

Because of Mencken's reputation as a satirist, we might be tempted to
dismiss this passage as a bit of hyperbolic sarcasm. His article,
however, goes on to trace the template for our own educational system
back to the now vanished, though never to be forgotten, military
state of Prussia. And although he was certainly aware of the irony
that we had recently been at war with Germany, the heir to Prussian
thought and culture, Mencken was being perfectly serious here. Our
educational system really is Prussian in origin, and that really is
cause for concern.

The odd fact of a Prussian provenance for our schools pops up again
and again once you know to look for it. William James alluded to it
many times at the turn of the century. Orestes Brownson, the hero of
Christopher Lasch's 1991 book, The True and Only Heaven, was publicly
denouncing the Prussianization of American schools back in the 1840s.
Horace Mann's "Seventh Annual Report" to the Massachusetts State
Board of Education in 1843 is essentially a paean to the land of
Frederick the Great and a call for its schooling to be brought here.
That Prussian culture loomed large in America is hardly surprising,
given our early association with that utopian state. A Prussian
served as Washington's aide during the Revolutionary War, and so many
German-speaking people had settled here by 1795 that Congress
considered publishing a German-language edition of the federal laws.
But what shocks is that we should so eagerly have adopted one of the
very worst aspects of Prussian culture: an educational system
deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects, to hamstring
the inner life, to deny students appreciable leadership skills, and
to ensure docile and incomplete citizens 11 in order to render the
populace "manageable."

It was from James Bryant Conant-president of Harvard for twenty
years, WWI poison-gas specialist, WWII executive on the atomic-bomb
project, high commissioner of the American zone in Germany after
WWII, and truly one of the most influential figures of the twentieth
century-that I first got wind of the real purposes of American
schooling. Without Conant, we would probably not have the same style
and degree of standardized testing that we enjoy today, nor would we
be blessed with gargantuan high schools that warehouse 2,000 to 4,000
students at a time, like the famous Columbine High in Littleton,
Colorado. Shortly after I retired from teaching I picked up Conant's
1959 book-length essay, The Child the Parent and the State, and was
more than a little intrigued to see him mention in passing that the
modern schools we attend were the result of a "revolution" engineered
between 1905 and 1930. A revolution? He declines to elaborate, but he
does direct the curious and the uninformed to Alexander Inglis's 1918
book, Principles of Secondary Education, in which "one saw this
revolution through the eyes of a revolutionary."

Inglis, for whom a lecture in education at Harvard is named, makes it
perfectly clear that compulsory schooling on this continent was
intended to be just what it had been for Prussia in the 1820s: a
fifth column into the burgeoning democratic movement that threatened
to give the peasants and the proletarians a voice at the bargaining
table. Modern, industrialized, compulsory schooling was to make a
sort of surgical incision into the prospective unity of these
underclasses. Divide children by subject, by age-grading, by constant
rankings on tests, and by many other more subtle means, and it was
unlikely that the ignorant mass of mankind, separated in childhood,
would ever re-integrate into a dangerous whole.

Inglis breaks down the purpose - the actual purpose - of modern
schooling into six basic functions, any one of which is enough to
curl the hair of those innocent enough to believe the three
traditional goals listed earlier:

1) The adjustive or adaptive function. Schools are to establish fixed
habits of reaction to authority. This, of course, precludes critical
judgment completely. It also pretty much destroys the idea that
useful or interesting material should be taught, because you can't
test for reflexive obedience until you know whether you can make kids
learn, and do, foolish and boring things.

2) The integrating function. This might well be called "the
conformity function," because its intention is to make children as
alike as possible. People who conform are predictable, and this is of
great use to those who wish to harness and manipulate a large labor
force.

3) The diagnostic and directive function. School is meant to
determine each student's proper social role. This is done by logging
evidence mathematically and anecdotally on cumulative records. As in
"your permanent record." Yes, you do have one.

4) The differentiating function. Once their social role has been
"diagnosed," children are to be sorted by role and trained only so
far as their destination in the social machine merits - and not one
step further. So much for making kids their personal best.

5) The selective function. This refers not to human choice at all but
to Darwin's theory of natural selection as applied to what he called
"the favored races." In short, the idea is to help things along by
consciously attempting to improve the breeding stock. Schools are
meant to tag the unfit - with poor grades, remedial placement, and
other punishments - clearly enough that their peers will accept them
as inferior and effectively bar them from the reproductive
sweepstakes. That's what all those little humiliations from first
grade onward were intended to do: wash the dirt down the drain.

6) The propaedeutic function. The societal system implied by these
rules will require an elite group of caretakers. To that end, a small
fraction of the kids will quietly be taught how to manage this
continuing project, how to watch over and control a population
deliberately dumbed down and declawed in order that government might
proceed unchallenged and corporations might never want for obedient
labor.

That, unfortunately, is the purpose of mandatory public education in
this country. And lest you take Inglis for an isolated crank with a
rather too cynical take on the educational enterprise, you should
know that he was hardly alone in championing these ideas. Conant
himself, building on the ideas of Horace Mann and others, campaigned
tirelessly for an American school system designed along the same
lines. Men like George Peabody, who funded the cause of mandatory
schooling throughout the South, surely understood that the Prussian
system was useful in creating not only a harmless electorate and a
servile labor force but also a virtual herd of mindless consumers. In
time a great number of industrial titans came to recognize the
enormous profits to be had by cultivating and tending just such a
herd via public education, among them Andrew Carnegie and John D.
Rockefeller.

There you have it. Now you know. We don't need Karl Marx's conception
of a grand warfare between the classes to see that it is in the
interest of complex management, economic or political, to dumb people
down, to demoralize them, to divide them from one another, and to
discard them if they don't conform. Class may frame the proposition,
as when Woodrow Wilson, then president of Princeton University, said
the following to the New York City School Teachers Association in
1909: "We want one class of persons to have a liberal education, and
we want another class of persons, a very much larger class, of
necessity, in every society, to forgo the privileges of a liberal
education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual
tasks." But the motives behind the disgusting decisions that bring
about these ends need not be class-based at all. They can stem purely
from fear, or from the by now familiar belief that "efficiency" is
the paramount virtue, rather than love, liberty, laughter, or hope.
Above all, they can stem from simple greed.

There were vast fortunes to be made, after all, in an economy based
on mass production and organized to favor the large corporation
rather than the small business or the family farm. But mass
production required mass consumption, and at the turn of the
twentieth century most Americans considered it both unnatural and
unwise to buy things they didn't actually need. Mandatory schooling
was a godsend on that count. School didn't have to train kids in any
direct sense to think they should consume nonstop, because it did
something even better: it encouraged them not to think at all. And
that left them sitting ducks for another great invention of the
modern era - marketing.

Now, you needn't have studied marketing to know that there are two
groups of people who can always be convinced to consume more than
they need to: addicts and children. School has done a pretty good job
of turning our children into addicts, but it has done a spectacular
job of turning our children into children. Again, this is no
accident. Theorists from Plato to Rousseau to our own Dr. Inglis knew
that if children could be cloistered with other children, stripped of
responsibility and independence, encouraged to develop only the
trivializing emotions of greed, envy, jealousy, and fear, they would
grow older but never truly grow up. In the 1934 edition of his once
well-known book Public Education in the United States, Ellwood P.
Cubberley detailed and praised the way the strategy of successive
school enlargements had extended childhood by two to six years, and
forced schooling was at that point still quite new. This same
Cubberley - who was dean of Stanford's School of Education, a
textbook editor at Houghton Mifflin, and Conant's friend and
correspondent at Harvard - had written the following in the 1922
edition of his book Public School Administration: "Our schools are
... factories in which the raw products (children) are to be shaped
and fashioned .... And it is the business of the school to build its
pupils according to the specifications laid down."

It's perfectly obvious from our society today what those
specifications were. Maturity has by now been banished from nearly
every aspect of our lives. Easy divorce laws have removed the need to
work at relationships; easy credit has removed the need for fiscal
self-control; easy entertainment has removed the need to learn to
entertain oneself; easy answers have removed the need to ask
questions. We have become a nation of children, happy to surrender
our judgments and our wills to political exhortations and commercial
blandishments that would insult actual adults. We buy televisions,
and then we buy the things we see on the television. We buy
computers, and then we buy the things we see on the computer. We buy
$150 sneakers whether we need them or not, and when they fall apart
too soon we buy another pair. We drive SUVs and believe the lie that
they constitute a kind of life insurance, even when we're upside-down
in them. And, worst of all, we don't bat an eye when Ari Fleischer
tells us to "be careful what you say," even if we remember having
been told somewhere back in school that America is the land of the
free. We simply buy that one too. Our schooling, as intended, has
seen to it.

Now for the good news. Once you understand the logic behind modern
schooling, its tricks and traps are fairly easy to avoid. School
trains children to be employees and consumers; teach your own to be
leaders and adventurers. School trains children to obey reflexively;
teach your own to think critically and independently. Well-schooled
kids have a low threshold for boredom; help your own to develop an
inner life so that they'll never be bored. Urge them to take on the
serious material, the grown-up material, in history, literature,
philosophy, music, art, economics, theology - all the stuff
schoolteachers know well enough to avoid. Challenge your kids with
plenty of solitude so that they can learn to enjoy their own company,
to conduct inner dialogues. Well-schooled people are conditioned to
dread being alone, and they seek constant companionship through the
TV, the computer, the cell phone, and through shallow friendships
quickly acquired and quickly abandoned. Your children should have a
more meaningful life, and they can.

First, though, we must wake up to what our schools really are:
laboratories of experimentation on young minds, drill centers for the
habits and attitudes that corporate society demands. Mandatory
education serves children only incidentally; its real purpose is to
turn them into servants. Don't let your own have their childhoods
extended, not even for a day. If David Farragut could take command of
a captured British warship as a pre-teen, if Thomas Edison could
publish a broadsheet at the age of twelve, if Ben Franklin could
apprentice himself to a printer at the same age (then put himself
through a course of study that would choke a Yale senior today),
there's no telling what your own kids could do. After a long life,
and thirty years in the public school trenches, I've concluded that
genius is as common as dirt. We suppress our genius only because we
haven't yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men
and women. The solution, I think, is simple and glorious. Let them
manage themselves.

Written by: John Taylor Gatto

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[2.5] Poetry about school & youth rights
www.school-survival.net/poetry
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[2.5.1] School Frustrations
by SoulRiser
--------------------------------------------------------------

Schools don't educate
they teach us to fear
and surrender to fate

Schools make learning dull
memorizing details is simply no fun

Of course it's all indirect
it's hidden so well that
no-one would suspect
that it's here and it's there
look around, it's not fair

You turn to the class
and ask a question

I would gladly reply
if I were so inclined

But something else is on my mind
learning of a different kind

The things that mean the most to me
are good and pure and true and free

I speak with a friend
and I'm punished for that
when I try to defend
I'm thrown out for backchat

Respect is something
that you have to earn
but you yell, demand
and give none in return

Written by: SoulRiser

[2.5.2] Used to be
by SoulRiser
--------------------------------------------------------------

This is a poem I wrote about my school.

--------

There used to be respect here
when it wasn't in demand
excellence in atmosphere
kindness all around
but advertising those facts
wouldn't work in this town

emphasizing other things
removing many choices
one by one they disappear
silencing our voices

you protect yourself from open minds
as you shrug the blame away
took a chance with one of a kind
and then lied to save your name

you started by ignoring
and slowly grew to greed
now all the good has fallen
because of one bad seed.

Written by: SoulRiser

[2.5.3] Our mark in passing
by Spooky Poet
--------------------------------------------------------------

This is a poem I wrote while still in Public School about... well,
public school. I was in my school's "gifted and talented" program yet
recieved no guidance, counseling or consideration for the particular
challenges that Gifted students face. The attitude was that of "You
are Gifted, thus you should excel with minimal effort in all of your
classes." Yeah, okay. I would if I wasn't so damn bored by the lack
of challenge that I stop paying attention long enough to lose track
of the lesson.

Our Mark In Passing December 5, 1989

Look at us, sitting in rows organized and lined up. Our seats
identical. Only our faces and clothes are different and they can even
make our clothes the same if they decide to. Eight times a day we go
to the same places we were the day before. The teacher checks each
day to be sure you're in the same seat you were in the day before.
And to think, this place is supposed to teach us to be "well rounded
individuals." Sure, we'll be well rounded, every corner will have
been smoothed over, So that our rough edges will not catch, snag or
irritate the Walls as we are processed through this building. Heaven
forbid we make a mark on the instituion as we pass. "Say "thankyou"
to all the teachers, even the ones you hate and say only happy things
to the parents when you graduate, then smile and go away. Fit in with
society the way we made you to fit, don't make waves, don't change
things, or we will have failed in our attempt of programming you as
we taught." But we will not come out as individuals, our rough edges
and corners made us different, and so in smoothing them over they rub
out and cover up our identities. All that lost so that the System can
process us through without wearing out. Yet some of us are hard, like
diamonds, we cannot be smoothed and the Walls bleed with change where
we have been pushed through. The wound will heal but there will still
be the scar, we will have made our mark in passing.

Spooky Poet

spookypoet@angelfire.com

Note: I had a habit of walking down the hallways with my hands
"clawing" the painted cinderblock walls of my school well before I
wrote this poem. It was a friend that pointed out the possible
symbology of that after she read the poem.

[2.5.4] Take Action
by Badlands17
--------------------------------------------------------------

Theyíre just like other people
But now, theyíre the steeple
Of a tower of arbitrary hate
Of ìyouíre just going to have to waitî
The amount of time you are on this Earth
Does not indicate your intellect and worth
Young man; donít wait
Fight the fight; set things straight
If you believe in yourself
You can fight the ice shelf
Itís projecting out to you
And saying ìthis is what you have to doî
Fight back; say ìYou donít control my life
The opportunities are rife
Rife without you
I want to be throughî
But then you remember
You are simply a stray ember
In the big fire theyíre burning you in

Written by: Badlands17

======================================================================
[3] The HOW (Guides & Tips)
======================================================================

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[3.1] How to Survive School: An Introduction
----------------------------------------------------------------------

This article is aimed at young people who hate school and would
rather be somewhere else. These young people often actually love to
learn - the problem is that few subjects offered at school are
interesting to them, or the way in which it is presented is just
horribly boring.

Before I go on, it is possible to legally get out of school, and get
your education in other ways, through homeschooling or unschooling
(if your parents will let you). Since this article is more focused on
how to survive school if you can't get out, more information about
those options will be listed at the bottom of this article.

Here are five vital points that will help you keep your sanity:

1) Just because they like it, doesn't mean you have to.

Everybody's different. People like different things, people do things
in different ways. Why should school be an exception? What were they
thinking when they designed a school that would teach everyone the
same stuff in the same way? Did they really think that would work?
Fact is, it doesn't work. Not for everyone, at least. If you prefer
to do things your own way, that's a GOOD thing. Those kids who
function best when told what to do every second of their lives will
probably be working for you someday.

What about those people who assume that just because they did well in
school or even liked it, that everyone should be capable of the same
results? Don't worry about them. You can't expect everyone to
understand you, just as they can't expect everyone to react to school
the way they did. You could try to reason with them, but some people
just won't change their minds no matter what, so don't lose sleep
over them.

2) You're not the only one.

Lots of young people hate school. Lots of older people still hate
school. Does that mean people who hate school are doomed to "flip
burgers the rest of their lives"? Nope. Just because someone hates
school doesn't mean they hate learning - in fact, often people hate
school precisely BECAUSE they love learning - school is so boring it
gives learning a bad name.

Some people who won the Nobel Prize hated school:

George Bernard Shaw said, "There is nothing on earth intended for
innocent people so horrible as a school."
Albert Einstein said, "Education is what remains after one has
forgotten everything he learned in school."

3) How educational is school really?

You listen to a lesson, you do some exercises, you are given a test.
In order to pass the test, you must memorize information - this is
often done by following elaborate "learning methods", none of which
are really much more than ways to trick your brain into remembering
things it otherwise would disregard. Some people actually remember
some of this information later in their lives - especially if they
happen to go into a career that's somehow related to it. Most people,
on the other hand, don't remember much more than 20% of everything
they ever learned at school - including the skills needed for
reading, writing and working with numbers.

4) What's the point, then?

If you're stuck in school, and your parents won't let you get out and
try something else, don't despair! There is some fun to be had in
school. If you already have a good circle of friends there, you're
off to a good start. If not, whatever you do, don't change yourself
to "fit in" with any crowd so that they'll let you hang out with them.

If there's one thing people who like school are right about, it's
that "school is what you make of it". This is true. If you don't want
it to be boring, bring something interesting to do. Just don't make
it too obvious or it might get confiscated for being a "distraction
from your education". Make a "mission" for yourself to achieve in
school - this could be anything you choose, or a good cause - like
finding all the young people in your school who can't stand it, and
handing them a printed copy of this article.

5) Getting your life back.

If homework and tests are taking up time that you could spend doing
things that actually interest you, there are ways around it. If your
parents aren't too fussy about your marks, you could just do the bare
minimum required to pass. If, on the other hand, they want "nothing
but the best", maybe you should try reasoning with them. Tell them
how school makes you feel. Explain to them that you'd learn a lot
more if things weren't forced on you. It's bad enough having the
teachers down your throat about all sorts of things, but having your
parents on your back as well is like being attacked from all sides
with no escape. If you can't get a word in, try writing it down and
having them read it when you're not in the same room with them.
Either way, try not to show your anger, or at least don't make it
look like you're angry with them. Most people take that the wrong way.

Having your parents on your side is really the best way to survive
school with your sanity intact, and it's a luxury not many young
people have. Put as much effort into reasoning with your parents as
you possibly can, and only after all else fails should you consider
other ways of getting good marks that don't involve working so hard,
like finding a friend and helping each other finish the work off
quicker.

Hopefully this article has helped you in some way, or at least
cheered you up a bit. Don't ever give up - school may seem like
prison or even hell, but it won't last forever. Maybe you can even
help out some other people along the way. Good luck.

HELPFUL LINKS
www.school-survival.net/articles - More articles about school
www.school-survival.net/alternatives.php - Alternatives to school
(homeschooling, unschooling, etc.)
learninfreedom.org/Nobel_hates_school.html - More Nobel Prize winners
who hated school

© Copyright 2006 SoulRiser, webmistress of www.school-survival.net

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.2] Hate school? Do something!
www.school-survival.net/mission
----------------------------------------------------------------------

This section is still a bit unfinished. Expect more soon :)

Since this site's focus is more on helping kids who hate school,
that's what the focus of this section is as well. Most people who
want to change things seem to be more focused on "reforming" the
schools - and they don't seem to realise that all their efforts
trying to change schools aren't letting the young people know that
there are people out there who actually care about them. From the
unhappy kids' point of view, everyone just keeps telling them to
"sweat it out" and that it's "for their own good". Who would want to
live in a world where nobody cares or understands?

So, for the most part, the #1 priority is reaching out to kids who
are unhappy in school, explaining that doing well in school isn't
some miracle guarantee that the rest of their lives will be peachy,
and that there are alternatives to going to a "prison" every day to
"learn".

This is one of the guestbook posts on School Survival:

From: Emie
This is one of my favorite sites. When I first found this site
last year, I was frustrated and upset with the homework I was
supposed to be doing. I randomly typed something into the search
engine, like "school is bad" or something like that, and this site
came up. Once I started to read this site, espescially the Opinions
section, I was completely amazed. This site was the first thing I had
ever seen that expressed my feelings for school completely. It seemed
sometimes like what I was reading was what I'd been feeling for
years, but couldn't put into words myself. Just knowing other people
felt the way I did was a great feeling. Thanks for making such a
great site, having a site like this really makes a difference to
people! ^_^

That's why reaching out to kids who hate school is the #1 priority.

Things you can do to help
----------------------------------------------

Guidelines

* Try not to yell at a teacher, no matter how angry you are. If
you yell, they'll just have an excuse to say you're immature. Stay
calm while they yell :)
* Don't pick on every teacher just because they're a teacher, be
nice to the nice teachers.
* Don't break stuff or hurt people. Scroll down for reasons why.

Now, onto the stuff you can do:

Start your own underground 'zine, or distribute other ones you've
found. Or print copies of the School Survival Guide and distribute
that. Or use the print link on any page on this site, and pass that
around.

Protest whenever someone gets suspended or expelled for something
dress code related, or for having a nailclipper or some other so-
called "weapon", and also for doing a school website, making a 'zine,
or exercising their free speech in any way.
More info: defendyoursites.tripod.com

Be sure to let your nice teachers know that you appreciate them.

Have a student survey run every once in a while, asking them what
they think of various rules and other things at your school, and
forward the results to the principal.

Give your school a report card! Grade the various aspects of it, like
how much respect students get, the excitement level of classes, smell
of the bathrooms, etc. Print lots of copies and give them to people
or stick them on the bulletin boards and stuff. Get students to sign
it too if you like (and make photocopies then).

Have some fun, waste some time, play a prank or two.

Refuse to take a test. This works best for standardized tests that
don't count for anything. Get together and have lots of students just
leave those tests blank. If asked why you're leaving it blank,
explain your frustrations with the current school system placing so
much weight on tests and grades and numbers. You could fill in your
reasons for leaving it blank on your answer sheet itself, if you like.

Join up with other student groups and protesters, and work together
with them. If you're in the US, you should almost definitely join or
start a NYRA (Youth Rights) chapter as well.
www.youthrights.org

If you have a school newspaper, try to get involved. Then have a
little column or something with students opinions on various school
issues.

Make a list of all the closed-minded teachers and a separate list of
good teachers, and give copies of both lists to new students to warn
them.

Every time you have to do a speech or some presentation, try to put
an anti-school message in it. I did this often enough that my one
teacher got all annoyed one time after a speech about school and he
said "My word, would you stop talking about school in everything you
do?!" :)

If you have to say the pledge, get creative, make up your own words
to fit with it and say those instead. If everyone in the class would
be saying different words all at the same time, it will have quite an
effect. If you come up with a good alternative pledge and want to
share it with the world, post it on the forums. Also, if you have to
sing or say your school's anthem, you can do the same with that.

If you're a parent, encourage your kids to talk to you about stuff.
The best way to do that is to listen to them without immediately
judging what they say. If you can communicate, you can work together.

Print out the How to be a Good Teacher guide, and give it to
teachers... or just leave it where they will find it :) ... Or, if
you're a teacher and you're reading this page, I'd highly recommend
checking out the guide, maybe you could pick up a tip or two ;)
www.school-survival.net/kit/How_to_be_a_good_teacher.php

Tips
----------------------------------------------

Kirby wrote:

Before going into battle, only an idiot would fail to find out where
they are going. The same goes for guerilla disobedience.

If you want to do something to screw up school, print out and carry
in a binder copies of laws, court cases, school newspapers, commitee
meeting minutes, policies, budgets, etc. that can help you shake
things up. Also remember to read them, and summarize if they are long.

This way if you see a teacher screwing up, you can tell authorities
exactly what they did, and they can't give you any excuses either :D

Things you can do online
----------------------------------------------

Helping people isn't limited to the "real world" :)

Forums

If you often visit forums, search them for any posts people have made
about school. Every now and then, someone gets really frustrated
about school and posts about it on whichever forum they happen to be
on. This is a good time to reply to them, assure them there's nothing
wrong with hating school, let them know about some alternatives, and
maybe paste a few quotes or links to articles.

How this all fits together
----------------------------------------------

Protesting unfair things at school is all fine and dandy if you want
to get a rule changed, but you'd be surprised how much more you can
influence than rules. If your protest doesn't get through to the
administration, that's okay, because more than likely your protest
accomplished something a lot more important: you demonstrated to the
other students that they don't have to take school sitting down, that
they can have their say no matter what, and that working together to
get something done isn't impossible.

Making it more interesting
----------------------------------------------

To make this whole spread-the-word campaign more interesting, you
could form clubs. For example, a 'RATS Club'. Basically, once you've
reached out to a few people who hate school, why not ask them to help
you reach out to more? Every idea further up on this page will be a
lot more fun if lots of people do it together, not to mention it will
be a lot more effective as well. For added effect, make t-shirts
stating your cause as well.

You can download some designs here:
www.school-survival.net/store

Or order ready-printed shirts, caps, mugs etc. here:
www.cafepress.com/schoolsurvival

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.3] What NOT to do
www.school-survival.net/mission/dont.php
----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you've ever wanted to know how to make a movement fail, this page
will tell you how.

Break Stuff and Hurt People

Nothing ruins your credibility like breaking stuff and hurting
people. It doesn't matter which of the two you do, either one will
ruin everything. Even if you do ten thousand good deeds afterwards,
people will never forget the damage you caused.

Breaking stuff and hurting people gets teachers pissed off at you,
and there's no way they'll take your ideas seriously if you get their
attention by messing stuff up. If you think the teachers are your
"enemy" and this is "war" and that breaking stuff will make them
respect you, you're wrong. They will fear you and hate you. When was
the last time you had any genuine respect for someone you hated? When
was the last time you wanted to listen to their ideas and work with
them?

Don't feed the stereotype.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.4] How to Organize a Student Revolution
by Jeremy Hammond of hackthissite.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Student walkouts are a powerful act of protest. It can be a way to
unite with your peers and build a culture of resistance at your
school. It is a way to temporarily turn your school upside down and
put the students in charge for a change. It is also valuable
organizing training for when the real revolution comes. And if done
right, it can have a big enough impact that actual change in the
system is made.

Probably the first comment youíll have is ìsomething like that will
never happen at my schoolî. At least thatís what I was saying at the
beginning of my senior year of high school. I never thought we would
be able to get away with half the stuff we pulled off. Our school was
so boring, mundane, uninteresting. By the end of the year, we had
published an underground newspaper distributed in several local high
schools, had formed a network of radical student activists, and
organized a student walkout of hundreds of kids in protest of the war
in Iraq.

There is absolutely no reason why you cannot accomplish the same, or
better. The ultimate achievement would be a student strike, sit-in,
or walkout. But before the fun stuff comes a lot of movement
building. Set your sights high, but take practical approaches to your
goals.

Before we go any further, your movement must be _about_ something. If
itís just ëfor the hell of ití, you should stop reading now because
you will fail miserably regardless. So you need a cause behind your
movement? No! You need a movement behind your cause! If you do not
have a clear message, you will be quickly written off as mindless
teenage rebellion. By having a purpose for the action, you gain
legitimacy among faculty and conservative students and reduce the
risk of discipline from the authorities. So make this meaningful.
Remember: this is a forum for you to express your dissatisfaction
with the status quo. Believe me, every school has something unfair
about it - dress code, censorship, abusive administrators, pledge of
allegiance, etc. If you play your cards right, something may even get
done about it.

Right. So now that you have selected a few issues to raise a ruckus
about, the first thing you must do before you develop grandoise plans
for student revolution is to start talking to people. Gather their
thoughts about these issues. Try to get them all riled up and wanting
to take action. While many people have their personal differences,
almost everyone if you talk to them long enough will agree on some
fundamental principles that things are incredibly unfair and
something should be done about it.

You will quickly discover that one of the first things that you must
overcome is any personal inhibitions you might have towards people.
Do NOT be shy or self-restrained. Donít be afraid to go up to total
strangers in a friendly way and start sharing all these personal
experiences. Reach out to people of different cultural backgrounds.
Donít let social cliques and popularity contests keep the student
body divided - believe me, everyone can unite around the common idea
that school is a big waste of time.

Once you get a band of students who want to do something about it,
you should call a general meeting. Make little flyers and posters and
put them up around school announcing when, where, and why. Get
everyone you can together in one room to make some decisions about
what can be done about the issue in question. Have everyone go around
the room and introduce themselves. Make sure no one feels
uncomfortable or left out. I also recommend that you read up about
how to organize a meeting based on the directly democratic concensus
process where everyone is equal to share ideas on an anti-
authoritarian basis.

Whether you want to organize an official student group or remain
unofficial is up to you. There are advantages and disadvantages.
While being an official student organization, the administration will
be forced to consider your actions with more legitimacy, and provide
you with school resources, rooms, announcements on the PA, putting
posters up around school, etc. However, you are bound by school
regulations, which may tie your hands from any fun or rebellious
activities. Of course, that does not mean that you can work
independent of the organizationIt entirely depends on the context of
your school. Gather as much information about school policies
regarding student organizations and discuss this choice with the
other group members.

Now that you have an activist scene growing at your school, itís time
to release some publications. Consider making an underground
newsletter to bring your message to the people. Or just make half-
page leaflets. Make the content quick, concise, but most importantly,
INTERESTING! No one wants to read a dry, intellectual analysis of
this old dudeís interpretation of whatever. Boredom is counter-
revolutionary. Your movement needs to be fun, enjoyable and exciting,
or no one will want to participate. And when you distribute it to
students, raise a ruckus! Stand near the doors in the cafeteria
handing out your propaganda while shouting stuff! Make a scene! Blow
bubbles and fill the halls with laughter! Get hundreds of copies to
your friends so that they can distribute them to their friends and
their friends, etc. Make sure every single student has access to it.
And promote discussion - bring up the debate in your classes, at
lunch tables, with strangers in the lunch line, etc. By now, it has
entered the popular consciousness, the seeds have been planted, you
have a strong activist scene, and the time is ripe for an action.

What you should do depends entirely on the context your movement
takes place in. Try to coincide your action with a particular date of
significance(in response to a controversial policy made by the
government or your school administration, anti-war protest in nearby
cities, etc). If possible, look at your local independent media
center(indymedia.org) to see if there are other student activist
groups planning any actions - and try to coordinate your actions with
theirs. Some things to consider might be a student walkout, a sit-in
in your school, a march to join up with a larger protest downtown, or
in some situations, a simple teach-in to just discuss the issues
might be appropriate. However, in order to have any degree of
success, you must find a way to bring all the unfocused meaningless
rebellion into organized rebellion with a purpose.

Weeks before the event, you should prepare some outreach propaganda.
Tape posters up on the walls, in restrooms, classrooms, bulletin
boards. Make quarter page flyers explaining where, when, and why.
Make a website, advertise it in the official school paper. If you
can, try to get it on the school announcements. Make it exciting -
hype it up! Make it the topic of everyoneís discussion. Tell everyone
you see - even people you donít know. Do not be afraid to talk to
people you donít know - get used to presenting your movement in a
quick two minute discussion, and _donít be shy_!

Handling the local press is an important factor to consider. A press
release should be drafted explaining what, who, where, when, and why.
It should be short and concise, yet still keep all the points you
want to make intact. Stick to a few key phrases that are repeated
everywhere - signs, buttons, leaflets, etc. Around a week before the
event, send press releases to all the local newspapers and television
networks. Try to invite reporters to take pictures and interview
people. At the least, get some of your own people to take pictures
and document the event. We were able to make it on network television
and several other newspapers.

The protest itself is a blank canvas for you to draw on. Have ideas
for activities ready. Donít be afraid of creating a ruckus - but
everything you do must have an obvious purpose. Keep things light-
hearted and energetic. Donít sit still for a second - dull moments
are killer, and people will lose interest. Bring fun things to the
protest itself. Make drums out of buckets. Make flags and signs.
Bring people to play instruments. Get a dance circle going. Have lots
of random shit to hand out. Consider graffiti to add some life to
your area. Make it lively, entertaining, and interesting - yet still
have a very clear, concise point which you are able to back up. When
people start leaving, they should be filled with the spirit of
activism, having made contacts with other activists, and looking
forward to or organizing their own future actions. People should be
energized and empowered after the action, not disenchanted and dulled.

There is a certain high one can get from organizing a successful
action. If done right, the protest can be a liberating experience for
you and your comrades beyond anything else(even sex and the best
drugs). If you are lucky enough to achieve the ecstasy of the moment,
you know you have been doing something right.

After the action, you should prepare a communique about the events,
and call upon other members and their parents to call the school
board to leave their comments. Depending on the success of your
action, they may be forced to issue a statement or change policies if
you have built a solid movement with serious argument that pressures
the power that be.

-------

Youíre probably wondering why this guide appeared in this magazine.
Itís not about hacking. However, it is about building movements of
people to accomplish something in real life - a quality that is
lacking in computers and computer users. In this increasingly
oppressive world, people need to work with others and fight for
social justice. All too often hackers consider themselves elite and
above it all in the compute realm, but when presented with injustice
in the realm world, they simply submit themselves to dominating
forces. No more. Resistance is fertile!

by Jeremy Hammond of hackthissite.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.5] Discipline and punishment
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Schools need rules to control students. They single out and punish
students who break those rules, to discourage others from doing the
same. This can be exploited - they can't single out more than a few
students at a time. Imagine half the school getting suspended on the
same day (or even in the same week) - it's just not possible.

The more students who work together in a walkout/protest/civil
disobedience, the less possible it is to punish them. As soon as you
have a large number of students doing something, you can see how
little power the school administration really has over students. When
they can't punish students, they're pretty powerless. Every time a
protest happens, the administration feels threatened, and it becomes
clearer that students actually have power OVER the administration,
but only if they work together.

As soon as the administration knows a protest is being planned, they
can easily try to threaten students by telling them protesters will
be suspended or punished in another way, but they know that will be
impossible. They just hope to discourage students from taking part.
The best way around this is to make sure students know how all of
this works, then no threat can scare them off.

The school administration can however punish the organizers of a
walkout/protest, in the hopes of discouraging students from
organizing such things in future. But they can only punish them if
they know who they are. If they don't know who is passing around
leaflets and sticking up posters, they can't do anything to them.
Another way around it is to simply not have one person known as
"organizer" - let a big bunch of students be the organizers, that way
it'll be harder to track down and punish them, and also will make the
whole protest more democratic. Another idea is to have someone help
in your protest that is out of school, and just pretend that he/she
is the organizer. If the organizer does get in trouble, and the
administration threatens to expel them, call a lawyer or contact some
other community/student group. If the school administration knows
it'll be a lot of hassle and trouble to go through with the
expulsion, they might change their minds.

Here's a quote from one of the articles in the Tales of Protest
section, showing how well people can work together to avoid
punishment:
'One officer shouted "Who is responsible for this?", I raised my hand
and shouted back from the middle if the 30- 40 person crowd, "I am".
Lucky me I had picked some really good protesters. The rest one by
one raised their hand and shouted the same thing.'

If all else fails, make a noise! Start petitions, have more protests,
make sure everybody knows how student's rights to free speech are
getting trampled.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.6] 'Zine-making guide
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Paper 'Zines:

Step 1: Write your stuff
This is the most important part. If your content isn't interesting,
nobody will care how cool your 'zine may look. Make sure your 'zine
makes people think and opens their eyes.

Step 2: Layout
You can use whatever software you happen to have, Microsoft Word will
do. Publisher is better for making the layout precise by page, but
use whatever you have. Unlike the content in step 1, your layout
isn't that important. For your first issue, you shouldn't try to make
your 'zine too long, generally 1 or 2 pages is enough for the first
one. If you want to have more, put it in issue 2.

Step 3: Printing
You're gonna need a printer for this one. Print in high quality, and
make a double-sided page (page 2 on the back of page 1). Then, run to
the nearest place that can make photocopies. Ask them to make the
copies also double-sided, so that it will work out cheaper and easier
(no lost pages or staples).

Step 4: Distribution
This depends on your school. If you're just starting out, you can
walk around with a pack of issues and hand it out to random people in
the hallways. If you get to class early, put one on each desk (again,
that depends on your teacher). You could put a pack in a good place,
like in the front of the school, or on a table in a hallway. You
could also put a copy on students' cars in the parking lot, depending
on how your school is set up. Either way, as long as distributing
your 'zine doesn't cause much disruption of normal classes, they
can't stop you from continuing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.7] School Pranks & Wasting Class Time
----------------------------------------------------------------------

These are harmless pranks that you can use to waste some time in
class, get out early, or cause some confusion among teachers. There
will be nothing listed here that involves making a huge mess or
breaking stuff - because who has to clean that up? The janitor/cleaner,
and what did they ever do to you? Have some morals people, honestly,
give the poor cleaners a break :P

Big words
Submitted by Andy
Whenever a teacher says a big word, ALWAYS ask what it means. Go
further and ask where the word originated from, stray off the topic,
etc.

Computer problems
Submitted by Sarah
If you're working on a computer, make it crash or reset it and
complain there's something wrong with it. Then the teacher could take
a while to fix it, maybe they call a technician.

Computer problems II
Submitted by NoThaut
In computer class, unplug your mouse and keyboard from the computer
and say the computer froze. It'll baffle your teacher.

Consumer report
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
Write a 'consumer report' on the 'education' you've been consuming.
Distribute it to parents at school functions.

Copying notes
Submitted by Pedro
If you have to copy notes from the overhead or the board, pretend it
is taking you a long time. when the teacher asks if everyones
finished copying them, say no. then, if they erase the notes or take
the notes off the overhead, complain that you didn't finish copying
them. usually the teacher will let you borrow their personal copy of
the notes. if you 'forget to return them' it will mess up their
classes for the rest of the day, which is nice if you have a friend
in the same class before or after you.

Crying in class
Submitted by libby
Completely skip a project then get hysterical and cry about it. The
teacher will have to deal with your emotional problems before they
can do anything else. Or you could say you just broke up with a
girl/boyfriend and cry about that.

Dress code protest
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
If your school still has a dress code protest it having everyone do
something disruptive that does not violate the code. For example, dye
your hair green with food coloring.

Epidemics
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
Have giant coughing or sneezing epidemics in class or study hall.

Forward in time
Submitted by old hand
If you can get to class before the teacher, grab the clock in the
room and set the hand forward 10 minutes. You should have someone
stand outside the door and make a lot of noise if they see the
teacher coming.

Free choice reports
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
Use your 'free choice' book reports, term papers, etc. to read
revolutionary literature and further the political education of you
and your class.

Gay marriage
Submitted by j3
If you have a teacher whom you know to have a problem with gay
people, raise your hand and ask 'what is wrong with gay marriages',
causing a class discussion.

Information service
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
Start an information service to get new students opinions and
warnings about the teachers and administrators before enrollment day.

Look stuff up
Submitted by Jen
Ask a question that the teacher won't know the answer to, then when
they don't answer, insist that you want to know, and maybe they'll
look it up or something.

Lost bag
Submitted by libby
Pretend you lost your school bag/backpack or say someone stole it.
Say you can't do anything without it, get the teacher to let you look
for it. Then stay away as long as you like.

Lost contact lens
Submitted by the monkey
When there is a sub and as usual dont want to do jacksquat, have
someone raise your (or a friend's) hand and say you or your friend
lost a contact lens. The sub SHOULD agree and have the class help you
find it. All you got to do is pretend to look. Before you know it
class is over.

Newspaper stands
Submitted by SoulRiser
If you have a newspaper stand in your school: When nobody's looking,
insert lots of underground papers or stuff printed from this site.

Notices
Submitted by SoulRiser
Collect school notices (stuff that gets sent to teachers with info on
meetings, etc). Make your own ones that look similar, and distribute
it to teachers. Like tell certain teachers you hate that times have
changed and that they don't have a class (when they do). They either
won't show up, or will get confused and go ask, which will make the
principal confused, which will make everyone confused.... There,
you've successfully confused everyone. Feel proud :) You can take
this further and make notices saying there's no school on a specific
day for whatever reason.

Phone the teacher
Submitted by Shaft
If you can get access to a phone at school (or nearby), before class,
phone school and ask to speak to the teacher you have next. Say it's
urgent. If you're a good talker you can keep him/her busy for a long
time.

Questions, questions...
Submitted by SoulRiser
While the teacher's talking, ask a question on something he/she was
talking about 5 minutes ago. He can't get angry, because you're
participating in class, except you will set him back. The rest of the
class will be free while he re-explains the stuff.... If you work
together, you could have people take turns doing this sort of thing,
eventually the whole period will be gone. This works best with
teachers that have a habit of straying off the point ;-)

Recycled essays
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
Save your book reports and essays. Give them to other students to use
next year or re-use them yourself with different teachers.

Subject canceled
Submitted by Anonymous
Write on the board something like "[subject] canceled", replacing
[subject] with a subject that you have later on. If the kids think
the teacher wrote it they won't show up for class and you might get
the period off. Its best to do it with a class at the end of the day.

Teacher evaluation
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
If your school won't have a teacher evaluation make up some forms and
do it yourself. Compile the result and publicize them to students,
faculty, school board, and community.

The Wailing Hall
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook, added to by SoulRiser
Start wailing in the halls - get lots of other people to do it too at
the same time for the best effect. (If this doesn't make sense to
you, search for info on "The Wailing Wall" in Israel).

The mystery
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
Leave notes and hints that 'Tuesday's the day'. (Or anything else
that sounds mysterious enough)

The rumour mill
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
Periodically have students go to the office to have some rumor
confirmed or denied.

What's the point?
Submitted by SoulRiser
If you hate a subject, moan a lot and ask questions like "what is the
point to this?" or "I'm never gonna use this in life". Depending on
the teacher, you could start a long discussion from that, and let the
others do the talking while you can peacefully daydream...

Your pants are wet
Submitted by The School Stoppers Textbook
If you've got the nerve piss in your pants while giving an oral
report.

There used to be other things like glueing the teacher's coffee cup
to the desk, or putting slimy stuff on doorknobs on this page as
well, but I removed those. Things like that may waste a bit of time
(like, 5 seconds), but are likely to piss the teacher off, who will
then be less likely to tolerate less irritating things afterward,
like the stuff on this page. Don't bother to try and submit ideas
like that, because I won't add them... seriously, 99% of the stuff
that gets submitted is something like "glue this shut" or "put poop
on the doorknob", or even potentially lethal things like leaving
bunsen burners on in the science class (blowing up classrooms can
kill people, don't even think about it).

Got any other ideas how to waste time?
Then go to www.school-survival.net/kit/pranks and submit it :)
(Please: no glueing locks, dead fish, skunks, poop or blowing up
toilets - I'm tired of getting emails about that kind of thing)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.8] Disobey and Resist
----------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNING: As far as it goes with ignorant teachers, doing these things
could get you labelled as "ungrateful", "disobedient", "rebellious",
"spiteful" and other things like that. So it's up to you. And
another thing: remember the saying "stupidity shouts loudest", which
means that if you do a couple of stupid things along the way (like
hurt somebody or scream at them), then people have a habit of
remembering that more easily than anything else. So.. now you know.
On with it then...

Backchat your teachers. Every time you disagree with what they say,
tell them. But you know how teachers are, so be as polite as you can.
What if they start shouting at you? That just goes to show that
they're immature and can't handle critiscism. Don't get angry back,
cause the more polite and peaceful you are, the less reason they have
to get angry, which just makes them more frustrated. Isn't this fun?
:)

Every time a teacher tells you to stop "backchatting", kindly explain
to them that you're not backchatting, you're only voicing your own
opinion and that it's your right to do so. Tell them that there's
nothing wrong with having your own opinion and tell them that you
understand fully that they may disagree with you. Tell them it's
their right to disagree. But tell them that since you respect their
opinion, they should try to respect yours too.

Every time a teacher tells you to do something, and if they say it in
a forceful kind of way, do it, but before you do, kindly ask them to
try to remember to say "please" next time. And then you'll probably
need to explain the "backchatting" part to them again. Oh well.

When a teacher says you're ungrateful, and starts telling you about
all the good things teachers do for you... let them finish, and then
tell them about all the bad things they do to you. After that, tell
them you can understand that nobody is perfect and everyone makes
mistakes, and apologise for not telling them sooner, and say you hope
that they can change it.

After you've done a few of these things, the average teacher is
likely to call you spiteful sooner or later. If that happens, tell
them you don't like being called spiteful, and that it hurts your
feelings. Say you never intended any of the things you did to be
spiteful, and that you did it to try to help the teacher understand
you better.

If you haven't shouted at anyone, said any swearwords, or punched
anyone in the face, nobody can get you in any trouble since you
haven't really broken any rules. If you get a lot of students to all
do this sort of thing, school might just become more fun...

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.9] Counterpropaganda
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Propaganda

Propaganda does not mean brainwashing or lies, propaganda is media
that is used to spread a message, ideal, or point of view.

Counterpropaganda

Counterpropaganda is propaganda against other propaganda. In our
case, this means using anti-school propaganda to counteract
propaganda spread by the school.

Subverting Propaganda

Subverting school media is a good tactic. It can do three things, 1)
spread a message; 2) cause chaos; and 3) boost morale.

To spread the message, first find a suitable target. The target can
be a poster, a sign, a handout, or any form of media used by the
school. Examine the target and think of a change that can be used as
anti-school propaganda. An easy change would be changing the letters
of a sign. For handouts you could make up your own versions and use
the schools format to make it look legitimate.

When school personnel see or are notified of the subversion, they
will change it back and look for the culprit. If you are not found
you can continue your attack. After a while of messing with the
school the school personnel will start to feel pressure and annoyance.

When a student who hates school sees the message they will feel
comradeship. Just seeing a message aligned with your own views is
empowering, it says "you are not alone." You can see from this site
that this is true. Seeing an anti-school message is like water in the
desert.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.10] Defend your site/blog: Anonymity Guidelines
defendyoursites.tripod.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Below are basic pointers on how to keep your identity hidden from the
people who view your website. This will ensure that your school -and
anyone else- cannot punish you for your opinion.

Introduction and Links

NOTE: YOU NEED NOT GET RID OF YOUR CURRENT BLOG TO UTILIZE AN
ANONYMOUS ONE. As long as you do not mention that you operate BOTH
blogs on your blog (or mention your anonymous one in public) you
should be clear. Use your current one for everyday stuff, like
family, friends, and life. Your anonymous one is recommended only to
provide you a chance to voice your opinions that your school is
likely to crack down on.

Can you truly be anonymous online?

The answer is simple: it depends on who you ask.

In our opinion, the guidelines laid out on this site in addition to
the resources provided will make you extremely hard to track down, if
not impossible. If you are serious about making a blog untraceable,
we recommend that you follow ALL THE GUIDELINES. This will provide
the utmost protection for you and your opinions.

Links

anoniblog.pbwiki.com/Resources
www.stayinvisible.com
tor.eff.org
www.digitalcybersoft.com/ProxyList

Visit our downloads section for additional anonymity resources.
defendyoursites.tripod.com/id27.html

Anonymity Guidelines

1) Do not post ANYTHING on your blog/site under your name. Use a
unique screename. Make sure that your screename is not a nickname or
anything that you are called often, or that you are previously
associated with.

2) Do not mention the names of your friends anywhere on your site.
Use their screename or another name. Same rule with screenames
mentioned above applies here.

3) Do not post pictures of yourself or your friends. This is a
surefire way to be identified.

4) If you do not want to follow 1-3, make your
myspace/livejournal/etc profile private, and only allow your trusted
friends in. Do not give out your site's URL to anyone other than your
trusted friends.

5) Utilize a proxy or the Tor Anonymizer when working on your site.
This should thwart most or all attempts to locate the site/blog's
publisher's IP address.

6) Sites such as blogger.com and livejournal allow you to be pretty
anonymous, but Myspace is pretty open, and as such is not recommended.

7) Never sign up for a blog or site with your real name. Sites such
as myspace are searchable for names of profiles' users, and one of
these searches can be the death of even the most carefully protected
profile.

8) Do not ever talk about your blog to anyone except your close
friends, and make sure to do this in private where you cannot be
overheard.

9) Don't work on your blog or website at school; work on it at home
where there's little chance of school monitoring software or a
teacher looking over your shoulder.

======================================================================
[4] OTHER STUFF
======================================================================

Stuff that doesn't fit in any of the other sections.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.1] Spread the word
www.school-survival.net/support.php
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Distribute this guide anywhere and everywhere - share it on a p2p
network, upload it to public FTP servers, post it on sites you
frequently visit, print it and pass it around, etc.

Banners
----------------------------------------------

www.school-survival.net/link_us.php

Put any of the banners from this page on your site. Your site can be
about anything. In fact, it's good if people looking for all sorts of
other things like games or music find a School Survival banner there.
A text link will do fine too :D

Other stuff
----------------------------------------------

* If you post on forums a lot, put a link to www.school-survival.net
in your signature.
* If you find an interesting news article on another site, post it in
School Survival's news section.
* If you find a great site also about school, add it to the Anti-
School Directory. Mostly I email the owners of sites and tell them
that their site is in the ASD, and ask them to link back.
* Print or write www.school-survival.net on a lot of small pieces of
paper, and shove them inside random library books (hey, it's a free
bookmark).
* Order something from the store and wear it a lot (this isn't about
the money, just about spreading the word - you could also download
the logo's and designs from this page and print them yourself.).

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.2] Noteworthy links
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Links in no particular order whatsoever :)

www.youthrights.org
www.youthrights.net
www.misled-youth.org
www.scared-of-school.tk
www.johntaylorgatto.com
www.fitz-claridge.com
www.learninfreedom.org
soulriser.blogspot.com
kfchildren.blogspot.com
www.buildresources.org
www.nospank.net
www.protest.net
www.socialpacifists.org
www.teenliberty.org
www.freechild.org
www.soundout.org
www.zerointelligence.net
www.gnn.tv
www.indymedia.org
www.wiretapmag.org
www.aprod.org
www.thememoryhole.org
defendyoursites.tripod.com
www.school-reform.net
www.oblivion.net/wiki

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.3] Credits & Thanks
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you's go out to...

MikEms for all his support and love :D

Master of Reality for giving me space on his hosting account for the
site :)

lifeischeese for being generally indispensable :P

Rebelnerd, Ayliana, ANAL_FROST, cradle, freak-of-nature14, Toucanman,
retardhick, xcriteria, Doc Johnson, Happy Camper, Kirby, alucard483,
CRIMSON_SNOWFALL, BigWolf, SLITZ, wsgosset, Demonic Pyro, pyro_rebel,
The Wandering Soul, and all the other forum regulars & moderators for
sticking around :)

Happy Camper for providing info on Charter Schools in the Alternatives
section.

Tengu for permission to include his Anonymity Guidelines in this
guide (defendyoursites.tripod.com).

Everyone else who has ever posted anything anywhere on the site, or
sent me any sort of feedback. All of you kept the site going since
1999. (Yes, even the hate mail. Mwahahahahaha!)

A windy day for (somehow) giving me the idea to put this all in a
guide.

GameFAQs.com and everyone who has a guide hosted there, for all the
good info over the years, but also partly for the inspiration to make
a guide about something totally different like school :P

Everyone in Clan oGk for being the most awesome friends anyone could
ever ask for :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.4] Copyright Info
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copy it, print it, host it on your site, I don't mind. In fact,
please distribute this as much as you can, as long as you don't
change or remove any parts of it ;)

As for specific articles, you can use them in your own 'zines or put
them on your site, as long as you include credit to the author (if
the author's name isn't listed with the article, then assume author
name to be SoulRiser), and you link to their site (in most cases this
will be www.school-survival.net).

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.5] Revision History
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Version 1.3 (2/April/2007):
Added a tips section to the [3.2] Hate school? Do something!
section, with a tip submitted by Kirby.
Added some more site regulars to the credits.
Removed 2 pranks that were bothering me.
Added section on Counterpropaganda, which was posted in the
RATS Knowledgebase section of the Wiki.
Added new article - Harm in the School System
Added 2 new links

Version 1.2 (9/June/2006):
Sections added:
[3.2] Hate school? Do something!
[3.3] What NOT to do
Those replace the RATS Mission page and the RATS Clubs guide.
'What you can do to help' renamed to 'Spread the word'.
Changed the order of things in the Introductions section, and
removed the stuff about RATS (because it is now merged with
School Survival).
Added info on Charter Schools (written by Happy Camper)
Added [3.9] Defend your site/blog: Anonymity Guidelines
from defendyoursites.tripod.com

Version 1.1 (20/May/2006):
Added the 'anti-school explanation' to the 'about' section.
Updated the 'What you can do to help' section a bit.

Version 1.0 (05/May/2006):
Started the guide... version 1.0 is a total of 99kb of pure
text... scary, yet cute... considering the site was started
in 1999 :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.6] Viewing Tips
----------------------------------------------------------------------

This text file is best viewed with a monospace font, like Courier. A
web browser will do just fine. Basically, if the line of numbers is
aligned with the line of hyphens below it, everything else should be
fine as well:

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
----------------------------------------------------------------------

De La Salle Macroom Action Faction

2010-08-19T03:07:00.002+01:00

http://groups.google.ie/group/de-la-salle-macroom-action-faction?msg=new&lnk=gcis&hl=en

http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=10707535307&ShowSims=Y

http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupprofile&groupID=108220590

My Bebo Page

2010-08-18T11:14:00.000+01:00

http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=10706916318

On Student Councils

2010-08-16T22:46:00.005+01:00

A school is essentially a business without pay for the masses and so like in a business keeping the workers happy is very important. In my school the De La Salle in Macroom there has been 5 years of inaction on the Council's part due to students electing messers just for a laugh so I'm convinced that not everyone should be allowed to vote. Instead that the stupidest 5 from every class don't get a vote and the smartest 5 in every class get 2 votes instead but to make sure that this is even fairer people should not be allowed to vote for themselves.. There are still 15 eejits that can vote but 15-10 is better than 20-5 and gives a better chance of the best person for the job getting the job. Furthermore, a list of what a Council CAN do rather than what the teachers or students want them to do should be easily accessible. The 5 worst behaved in a class and 5 stupidest in a class should also be prevented from running to further ensure that the Council is made up of people who know what they're doing.

Of Taxation

2010-08-16T22:30:00.003+01:00

Taxation takes money from people just for existing and anyway a government who cannot manage its finances properly should consider resigning, as should CEOs who likewise fail. It's not a person's fault if he/she exists and so he/she does not deserve to pay for it. If a man works for 60 hours and earns 480 yet pays 20% income tax he gets 80% of the money for 100% of the work and worse yet the government gets 20% of the money for 0% of the work! Inheritance tax punishes people merely for being related to a dead person and yet all humans are and so this tax is not only unfair, it is also illogical. One could counter that taxes go to getting the payer something he/she wants but I refute this as no society that claims to be free can take a person's money OR give them something (even if they want it) without their permission. Siorafricanist economics mean the person who wants something can get it without needing the government to get it for them.

Why The Southeastern US Should Be Independant

2010-08-16T22:19:00.002+01:00

Siorafricanism promotes big countries becoming smaller and small countries becoming bigger then with every country medium sized and war is therefore near suicidal the countries join up to form countries that take up entire continents (Europe country etc.) then the continents join up to form 2 or 3 supercountries then those 2 or 3 join together to make the world all one country.

Aside from that it's clear that neither war nor politics has resolved the differences between the Southeast and the North.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN-so1p-qmo&feature=PlayList&p=FBBEE576F26AAE0F&index=174

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Secession_map_1861.svg

http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.leftnewsandviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/statesfinal.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.leftnewsandviews.com/red-vs-blue/&usg=__uKS71uBKunV9J2wxElI3QrDTkQ8=&h=279&w=450&sz=56&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=Z-TJ9b1Otm2kMM:&tbnh=123&tbnw=198&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dred%2Bstates%2Bblue%2Bstates%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1107%26bih%3D738%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=125&vpy=92&dur=5374&hovh=177&hovw=285&tx=130&ty=129&ei=lqtpTKijOcuNjAfLnNHUBA&oei=V6tpTJuWGou7jAej5IzVBA&esq=4&page=1&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

In Opposition to Federalism

2010-08-16T22:09:00.002+01:00

Both history and the present consistently show that if a human gets something he/she wants then he/she will keep wanting more of it so if you give more power to a region then regions within that region will want more power until eventually all of the power is at mere townland level and the country might aswell be many smaller countries, and many small countries is a bad idea indeed. If a country is invaded it is unlikely that it will be mainly by parachute and so the middle of a country should be the main region regardless of how the country's resources are situated, if a country falls all of its reesources belong to the enemy after all.

RateMyTeachers.com

2010-08-16T05:23:00.000+01:00

http://ie.ratemyteachers.com/faq.php?type=main

MacIntyre Demonstrates; Political Arguments are a Form of Civil War

2010-08-13T22:45:00.002+01:00

http://www.iep.utm.edu/p-macint/#H3

Judge Judy

2010-08-11T14:47:00.001+01:00

http://www.judgejudy.com/

Crap Lyrics

2010-08-10T16:20:00.006+01:00

"Niggers in the Bronx call me Lex cause I push a Lex, and I rock a Rolex and I lounge on Lex', and I love sex."
Peter Gunz, "Deja Vu: Uptown Baby"
Album: Make It Reign

"Never let me slip, cause if I slip, then I'm slippin."
Dr. Dre, "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang"
Album: The Chronic
"When you take a sip you buzz like a hornet Billy Shakespeare wrote a whole bunch of sonnets."
LFO, "Summer Girls"

"Sometime y'all get crimey crimey, grimy grimy But those with a tiny hiney they get whiny whiny."
Cam'Ron, "5 Boroughs"
Album: The Corruptor Soundtrack

"If you don't bring back my muthafuckin' money or my mudafuckin' dope, you can forget about Christmas nigga, cause you ain't gon even see New Years."
Master P ("Do You Know")
"It's like fee, fie, foe, fum, I smell the blood of a jealous ass punk."
Prodigy ("Click Clack")
Album: Blood Money

"I like them black, white, Puerto Rican, or Haitian Like Japanese, Chinese, or even Asian."
Chingy ("Balla Baby")
Album: Powerballin'

"Thirty-two grams raw, chop it in half, get sixteen, double it times three. We got forty-eight, which mean a whole lot of cream Divide the profit by four, subtract it by eight We back to sixteen..."
Foxy Brown ("Affirmative Action")
Album: It Was Written

"I watch my back when I'm walkin, I watch my mouth when I'm talking. My glock cocked when I'm crawling."
Mike Jones ("Scandalous Hoes")
Album: Who is MIke Jones?

Now you know that I'm the Queen of Miami. All that loud talkin, lyin, save that shit for your mammy. Sounds like "blah, blah blah, blah bla blah-blah," I'm like uh-huh (uh-huh) okay (okay), Whassup (whassup) SHUT UP!"
Trina ("Here We Go")
Album: Glamorest Life

It's a hap, hap, happy day, toodle-oodle-oodle-oodle-oodle-ay
-British propganda unsurprisingly

And I'm gonna get stagefright caught in the headlights
-Last Night by the Corrs
You can check out but you can never leave
-Hotel California by The Eagles
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime

Someone left the cake out in the rain
And I don't think that I can take it
'cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!
Richard Harris - MacArthur Park

I don't want to see a ghost
It's the sight that I fear most
I'd rather have a piece of toast
Watch the evening news
Des'ree - Life

Like every girl in history
She bangs, she bangs
Ricky Martin - She Bangs

I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
And I'd like to check you for ticks
Brad Paisley - Ticks

I don`t like cities, but I like New York
Other places make me feel like a dork
Madonna - I Love New York

Oh, I've been to Nice and the Isle of Greece while I've sipped champagne on a yacht
I've moved like Harlow in Monte Carlo and showed 'em what I've got
I've been undressed by kings and I've seen some things that a woman ain't supposed to see
I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me
Hey, you know what paradise is?
It's a lie, a fantasy we create about people and places as we'd like them to be
But you know what truth is?
It's that little baby you're holding, it's that man you fought with this morning
The same one you're going to make love with tonight
That's truth, that's love
Charlene - I've Never Been To Me

So sick of the hobos always begging for change
I don't like how I gotta work and
They just sit around and get paid
I hate all of the people who can't drive their cars.
Bitch you better get outta the way
Before I start falling apart

I hate how my wife is always up my ass
She always wants to buy brand new things
But I don't have the cash.

I hate my job, all of my rich friends
I hate everyone to the bitter end.
Nothing turns out right There's no end in sight
I hate my life!

How come I never get laid? nice guys always lose.
How could she have another headache?
There's always some kind of excuse
I still hate my job, my boss is a dick
I don't get paid nearly enough
To put up with all of his shit

I hate my job, all of my rich friends
I hate everyone to the bitter end.
Nothing turns out right There's no end in sight
I hate my life!

I hate that I can't tell when a girl's underage,
You know, I tell her she's a nice piece of ass,
Then her daddy punches me in the face

So if you're pissed like me
Bitches, here's what you gotta do
Put your middle fingers up in the air
and say "Fuck you!"

I hate my job, all of my rich friends
I hate everyone to the bitter end.
Nothing turns out right There's no end in sight
I hate my life!

So much at stake, can't catch a break
I hate my life
No, it's nothing new and it sucks to be you
I fuckin hate my life
Fuck!
-I Hate My Life by Theory of a Deadman

Cause I don't think that I have got the stomach to stomach calling you today.
-See You by Saves the Day
Here we come a thousand Frenchmen strong and a thousand Frenchmen can't be wrong.
-Les Miserables
A land of opportunity where crime's against the law
-The national anthem of the Kingdom of Lovely by Danny Wallace

Slowly walkin' down the hall,
faster than a cannonball
-Champagne Supernova by Oasis

You know I think I recognise y' face,
but I've never seen you before
-Roll With It by Oasis

Then I gotta rip off y' dress like a warm up
ha
But I'm jus' gettin' warmed up
-I Can Transform Ya by Lil'Wayne and Chris Brown

I transform her to a Ducati
Then I transform me to a Bugati
-I Can Transform Ya by Chris Brown and Lil' Wayne

Democracy (Game)

2010-08-10T16:12:00.001+01:00

The game looks fun judging by the demo and also educational. Let's campaign to have this game released outside of North America!

UN protestors Highlight Chinas Forced Eviction Problem

2010-08-10T16:09:00.000+01:00

Death Note Political Compasses

2010-08-10T15:29:00.003+01:00

There are only 25 episodes in Death Note so this is probably exaggerated.

Economic Left/Right

Social Libertarian/Authorirtarian

Light

0.00

+9.00

+10.00

+5.00

Mello

+10.00

-5.00

Near

0.00

+10.00

Homosexuality and Abortion Are Illogical

2010-08-09T07:09:00.002+01:00

Homosexuality:2 people love each other. They can't have children and so once one of them dies the whole thing is over. Straight relationships might produce children and those children more children, a long line of love.

Abortion:Murder is the killing of a living thing that probably won't kill you. An organism is a living thing, a fetus is an organism though not necessarily human it's about the same as killing some animal in the neighbourhood, the chances are very small of it killing you.

Where Siorafricanism Fits In

2010-07-27T12:14:00.007+01:00

Not all of the tests are impartial and one isn't as detailed as another. Furthermore they aren't necessarily compatible with the political standards of the country you live in.

Left/Right:-6.75

Libertarian/Authoritarian:-1.33

-Politicalcompass.org

Similar to:Mahler,Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.

Inward/Outward:0.402

Right/Left:3.56

-Edwardgaffney.com

Moral Order:-0.5

Moral Rules:5

System:Moderate Socialism

Ideology:Social Democratism,International Socialism

Similar to:Jimmy Carter,Barrack Obama,Parti Socialiste,Francois Bayrou (2007 French election)

-Moralpolitics.com

Left:6.56

Authoritarian:4.82

-Gotoquiz.com

31% permissive (Social Conservative)

18% permissive (Economic Liberal)

-I've forgotten

Personal:20%

Economics:80%

(Conservative)

-Theadvocates.org

Conservative/Progressive:4/12 (Moderate)

Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist:6/12 (Moderate)

Libertarian/Authoritarian:7/12 (Moderate)

Pacifist/Militarist:1/12 (Pacifist)

Best fit into the category of:Republican

-I've forgotten

Left/Right:-0.0243/1.000

Pragmatism/Idealism:-0.2148/1.000

(Left-Idealist)

Similar to:Tony Blair

-Beasts.org

Con:Lib

Social