It’s a scene that’s played out in front of me over and over. Tonight, it was at a McDonald’s where I was writing. A group of seven teens — around 17 or 18 — gathered at the other side of the room. They were loud and obnoxious. They had no regard for the people around them. They played loud music and yelled profanity at each other.
The most interesting thing, though, is that they were pretty much identical. They were genetically very different, but they had the same references, the same biases, the same clothes. They had taught one another to conform to a rigid culture — one which punishes those who think too much for themselves.
The more time I spend around people who are socialized by modern popular culture, the more shocked I am that any sane parent turns his children over to schools to train them to be like everybody else.
Whether you realize it or not — or like the realization or not — the biggest role of schools is to make your kids just like the other kids.
I can force child to obey me, but obedience comes with high cost
Admission to elite colleges is signaling, not about learning
He couldn’t mold her into himself, but my dad broke Mother’s spirit
Nobody can ever be good enough when perfection is the standard
For some of us, loss of trust is a deep existential threat to heart
Throwaway culture can leave us looking for something that lasts
We’re neither friends nor enemies, just strangers who share the past
Society needs storytellers to help make sense of a changing world
My bad teen poetry suggests I’ve always hungered for missing love