Threats given to children to make them study hard
September 28th 2007 12:26
Threats given to children to make them study hard
Study is such an important factor that varies from subculture to subculture. Note I did not say culture to culture as that would be too stereotypical. You humans like monkeys are tribal beasts that want to be part of our group. Fortunately in Australia the endemic class and racial divisions that have cursed the much of rest of the world, so the real divisions are actually in education. Forget the mega rich as they are the fantasy life that is unattainable to us normal folk it is education that determines the amount of control you will have over your future. Damn it. Our parents believed this and the teachers believed this and so inevitably do I. It is not my fault that I believe this I have been coached and threatened (mostly threatened) to study hard or something bad will happen. “You will end up like that man….”
Looking back I am thinking that some of these threats worked and other may seem pointless yet here are so examples.
It is a Jungle Out There!
The age of high unemployment may have pass for now but there was a time when it was the biggest problem young people had to face. Usually a worried looking teacher who had chosen the only job that he could not be sacked from would give this advice. “How are you suppose to survive in the real world it you don’t know the periodic table. It is Jungle out there, a real jungle and if you don’t know that they will eat you alive.” Teenagers are not very impressionable and any hint of a hostile world equates to a possible rumble and thus seems more attractive.
See what happen to your uncle
“See what happened to your uncle. He had everything and he threw it all away. He was top of his year 9 class and in the last few years of school he just loafed off. He went to parties, smoked dope, drank cheap cask wine and hung around the bad (code for really Hot) girls. Now look at him.” The last I heard of this uncle was that he was still going to parties, smoking dope, drinking cheap wine and hanging around hot women. So what is down side of this?
Seriously, you owe it to your people to study hard.
Now this one is a bit complicated and I often wonder why it matters. So if I get a good pass on my English exam all the people from my great grandfathers country will be so proud that they will personally write me a letter of thanks. “Dear Damo, we all thank you for achieving this great honour of getting an education. We thank you on behalf of the whole country/religion/town/race and on behalf of the generations of dead people wait for you to do this.” Thanks for the thought.
Why can’t you be like your brother Bob? (not his real name)
This is the “Get a haircut and get a real job,” talk that ever parent knows that they should not give but gives anyway. From experience I have noticed that parenthood entails many examples of saying and doing things that you promised you would never do. Mostly because you see them as the mistakes your parents made and you expect that you will be better than them. Yet half way through seeing poor tests results and that dreaded parent teacher meeting you find that the ghosts of the past come back to haunt another generation. Don’t feel bad because you kid will grow up expecting to be better and failing just as you did. Hehehehe. The revenge of time.
Without a good education you will end up working in a factory
Kids have dreams for their future and the types of careers that they will have. Constantly they are being asked what they will do when they grow up. Rock Star, Policeman, Firefighter, Doctor. I have never heard anyone say that they wanted to grow up and work on the production line at a sprocket factory. The whole concept of work is sold to children like a life sentence that starts one day after graduation. Yet the sentence was passed in childhood as soon as the child does not pass an exam in spelling. If you can’t spell mauve then it is off to be a human robot for you. You will be free after you become sixty five.
The horror does not end there as every person that happens to be on the road is pointed out as a case study. “See that drunk there. He is living on the street because he could not do long division.” Fair enough but he seemed happy to me and even offered me something from his battle of metho.
Yet it is the self induced fear of failure that springs the mind to work and the hand to write down the outdated facts of Social Studies Classes. The man who sweeps the street makes you wonder how this person ended up in this position in life. Just like the fellow who was put to maintain the public toilets and does so with radio constantly fixed to the horse racing. This was the failed to study horror story thrown up in everyone’s faces.
Many years ago there were still some homes that did not have sewage connected. The local council provided the service of large can for human waste. The truck was once called the ‘night wagon’ and drove from home to home every fortnight to exchange the cans. Yes this was the pinnacle of someone’s career as they closed the lid and carried the heavy can on their hat back to the waiting truck. These were always middle aged men. So the pure terror of not having enough education to avoid this job was enough to make even the laziest person study harder.
Hence I say that it is fear of failure that makes people study as much as enthusiasm for learning.
Study is such an important factor that varies from subculture to subculture. Note I did not say culture to culture as that would be too stereotypical. You humans like monkeys are tribal beasts that want to be part of our group. Fortunately in Australia the endemic class and racial divisions that have cursed the much of rest of the world, so the real divisions are actually in education. Forget the mega rich as they are the fantasy life that is unattainable to us normal folk it is education that determines the amount of control you will have over your future. Damn it. Our parents believed this and the teachers believed this and so inevitably do I. It is not my fault that I believe this I have been coached and threatened (mostly threatened) to study hard or something bad will happen. “You will end up like that man….”
It is a Jungle Out There!
The age of high unemployment may have pass for now but there was a time when it was the biggest problem young people had to face. Usually a worried looking teacher who had chosen the only job that he could not be sacked from would give this advice. “How are you suppose to survive in the real world it you don’t know the periodic table. It is Jungle out there, a real jungle and if you don’t know that they will eat you alive.” Teenagers are not very impressionable and any hint of a hostile world equates to a possible rumble and thus seems more attractive.
See what happen to your uncle
“See what happened to your uncle. He had everything and he threw it all away. He was top of his year 9 class and in the last few years of school he just loafed off. He went to parties, smoked dope, drank cheap cask wine and hung around the bad (code for really Hot) girls. Now look at him.” The last I heard of this uncle was that he was still going to parties, smoking dope, drinking cheap wine and hanging around hot women. So what is down side of this?
Now this one is a bit complicated and I often wonder why it matters. So if I get a good pass on my English exam all the people from my great grandfathers country will be so proud that they will personally write me a letter of thanks. “Dear Damo, we all thank you for achieving this great honour of getting an education. We thank you on behalf of the whole country/religion/town/race and on behalf of the generations of dead people wait for you to do this.” Thanks for the thought.
Why can’t you be like your brother Bob? (not his real name)
This is the “Get a haircut and get a real job,” talk that ever parent knows that they should not give but gives anyway. From experience I have noticed that parenthood entails many examples of saying and doing things that you promised you would never do. Mostly because you see them as the mistakes your parents made and you expect that you will be better than them. Yet half way through seeing poor tests results and that dreaded parent teacher meeting you find that the ghosts of the past come back to haunt another generation. Don’t feel bad because you kid will grow up expecting to be better and failing just as you did. Hehehehe. The revenge of time.
Without a good education you will end up working in a factory
Kids have dreams for their future and the types of careers that they will have. Constantly they are being asked what they will do when they grow up. Rock Star, Policeman, Firefighter, Doctor. I have never heard anyone say that they wanted to grow up and work on the production line at a sprocket factory. The whole concept of work is sold to children like a life sentence that starts one day after graduation. Yet the sentence was passed in childhood as soon as the child does not pass an exam in spelling. If you can’t spell mauve then it is off to be a human robot for you. You will be free after you become sixty five.
The horror does not end there as every person that happens to be on the road is pointed out as a case study. “See that drunk there. He is living on the street because he could not do long division.” Fair enough but he seemed happy to me and even offered me something from his battle of metho.
A real 'Dunny Man' would put the can on his head to carry it.
Many years ago there were still some homes that did not have sewage connected. The local council provided the service of large can for human waste. The truck was once called the ‘night wagon’ and drove from home to home every fortnight to exchange the cans. Yes this was the pinnacle of someone’s career as they closed the lid and carried the heavy can on their hat back to the waiting truck. These were always middle aged men. So the pure terror of not having enough education to avoid this job was enough to make even the laziest person study harder.
Hence I say that it is fear of failure that makes people study as much as enthusiasm for learning.
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