When Education Policy Promotes Rigidity, Rebellion is the Only Option

It is astonishing to me that we as a nation have embraced education policies which promote extreme uniformity and rigidity at a time when we face problems such as Climate Change, Extreme Economic Inequality, and Growth of the Prison Industrial Complex, which will require unprecedented levels of creativity and active citizenship if we are to find solutions which minimize the damage they are doing. We need young people's imaginations to be freed, their minds unleashed, their courage honed by asking difficult questions. Instead we are forcing them to sit still, absorb and regurgitate huge amounts of information, and face sharp disciplinary action if they deviate from the plans made for them. This type of education, intentionally or not, is designed to insure that the status quo, no matter how damaging it is persists without significant challenge. That is why we must not only encourage our young people to rebel against this stifling educational regime, we must set an example for them by rebelling ourselves.