#mentally ill people learning how to navigate each other of course. that's mandatory for a Queenie fic.

[liesonthefloordramatically]

I tried to make myself perfect. I tried to make myself strong. And I walked in straight lines, hands by my sides.

[bishiglomper]

So since I'm just laying here in bed making myself ill with anxiety I thought I'd record my thoughts on some of the crap that is crossing my mind. Bear in mind I'm really not very eloquent. Also I don't consider myself smart enough to really carry on this sort of debate so this is just my stupid rambling.

I was just thinking about what was wrong with the world and how maybe we could make it better.

Like school.

Wtf does school do for us past, what, 5th grade? After we learn our basic readin', writin' and 'rithmatic, wtf good does it do us? Because it ain't life skills.

We're still stuck in a program designed for child labor and we put up with the stress of school only to leave it totally unprepared for the actual world. Even college where you study for certain fields. The studying is brutal and there's no promises you'll even be putting those hard earned degrees to use..

The generations are just putting out more stressed and depressed kids who can hardly function.

I mean, of course it would help if the rich white bastards running this country would quit being so greedy and actually give a shit about us, but I digress.

I think our education system needs to be rebooted from scratch.

We've got preschool and kindergarten right? That should be for making friends and learning about colors and shit. Playing games. Lots of recess. Learning to tie shoes. Work on those developing motor skills. Manners.

It should also be teaching kids to ask questions, to pique their little minds and get them interested in the world. Have mandatory water/sand tables. Puzzles. Kiddie science and art and crafts that start them on the path of "How's this work?" which in turn could teach them life lessons like what happens if you're mean or rude vs being polite and friendly because results would differ.

also the structure would change. Like time spent at a desk would only be for crafts or something because kids should be up and moving around. Say you had story time. You'd do that for 20 minutes on the floor and then 10 minutes to get wiggles out and then you could sit them down and have their focus again. where you could demonstrate and then send them on their way to a certain activity.

And all that would spill into elementary but maybe a little more refined. They would be at desks but up to 5th grade they should have 2 recesses with a couple of 15 minute breaks between classes/lessons. Maybe a "get up and exercise" break in the morning and a "quiet/reading" time in the afternoon. And I just mean if they still fill up 7 hours of school. Which they could cut down by a couple of hours I'm sure.

And middle school is where kids should start on more complicated life skills. Starting more sophisticated book reports and proper grammar, more math and the like.

Science around then covers things like photosynthesis and such right? That's all good still, but if they're going to be teaching the different types of rock, at least teach us why we would need to know this shit. Even if it's as simple as "this is weak, this is stronger, this is where THAT comes from and these are the uses for it". I mean all this shit is for is to test our memory and wtf else.

I think humans are prewired to WANT to learn, but the never-ending droning system sucks all the joy out of it while we're forced to sit still and absorb all that boring stuff, not even bothering to question why at this point.

And history. I think by the time you reach high school you could fit in all the basics between the wars and general stories of the more prominent figures in history.

But high school is what needs to change the most. Because the second we leave high school we're expected to have the skills we need to survive in the world.

Do they teach is how to get a job? No. Do they teach us how to care for ourselves? No. But we leave knowing that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

First of all they need to bring back home economics. Where kids could learn how to cook a simple meal. Learn why you need to suck it up and eat a vegetable and how to boil an egg. Learn how and when to plant things. Learn how to fix a button or a ripped seam. Learn how to store and use household chemicals because there's a shitton of things that if mix with bleach, you're dead.

We had a health class but aside from learning how to label our organs in detail and how arteries work, there was no teaching us how to care for our health.

ALSO MENTAL👏 FUCKING👏 HEALTH👏 SHOULD👏 BE👏 IN👏 THE👏 CURRICULUM👏

We should be taught healthy coping skills! If mental health were mandatory, people would be made aware of things like depression and maybe be able to recognise and get help. At the very least it could be brought up amongst peers without so much stigma and maybe even cut down bullying in the process.

Because the second a mental health lesson becomes an open forum, you know bullying red flags would be brought to light and picked apart. It would bring peers together so that the next time they see someone spiraling or getting attacked, they'll recognize it and have an idea of how to deal with it.

Because we have to take care of eachother. You know the phrase "it takes a village to raise a child?" same goes for a society. We have to be conscientious of each other and build each other up. Work together. Right now it feels like we're struggling alone in every sort of way but a functioning society relies on eachother.

We need more classes following the home-ec line. Maybe a semester of Carpeting. Learn how to fix a stair or a door. Maybe have a group make a large piece of furniture like a cabinet or a dresser.

TEACH US HOW TO KEEP A CAR IN SHAPE. JFC we need to put A.C. shit in the car but I don't know where to hook up the spray nozzle!

We need to know how to change a battery, tire, windshield wipers, change oil, and be taught what to do when certain things go wrong LIKE THE CAR CATCHING ON FIRE.

And we need to be taught basic house maintenance too. How to turn off the water or how to change a breaker. Learn what things need to be kept maintained and what can be ignored for a bit.

Our last freezer almost died because the fridge didn't have a good seal. Moisture got in and frosted over the mechanism in the freezer.

We spent a lot of money just for a guy to hold a hair dryer to it.

Seriously. Also a hot glue gun sealed the door whereas a new seal would have been hundreds of dollars.

In math we need to be taught how to write checks, do bills and make a budget. What are stocks? How does commerce work? I don't fuckin' know.

ALSO. COMPUTERS. I don't just mean typing, we should keep that yeah, but things like installing software and hardware and learning to navigate several types of operating systems. Learn how to replace a fan or something. Learn all those googling and research tricks.

OH AND LANGUAGES. I think everyone should take at least an introductory program on Spanish (or whatever secondary language is in the area) Like in D.C there were lots of Koreans and Arabic people.

Also freaking AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE. AT LEAST AN INTRODUCTION. jfc it's got American in the name and it's hardly offered. There may not be a whole lot of deaf people but it would be hella fuckin' useful in other settings as well. The military? Factories and other loud places? Places where you have to be QUIET. The possibilies are endless why the fuck aren't we utilizing this?

High school needs to teach us life skills. Ones that we need the second we're on our own.

College should be specifically for the careers we go into. Even if that means a few extra classes to get caught up in math, science or history.

And in High school you know what would be cool? Extra credit for shit like after-school jobs or activities. Actually acknowledging kids getting out and starting to put those skills to use.

Just imagine a student working a part time job at a theatre or something. Where they could take a form to their employer and they could review them after a period of time and show their teachers. Note anything special that they may have brought to the table.

Because maybe this would help employers see what each individual is capable of and where they excel. Maybe the student finds out "hey I'm good at this thing" or "I learned how to do a helpful thing because it was related to a thing I already learned" and it would in turn inspire the students to explore and learn even more.

Because everything else is changing in the world and if we don't change our structures with it, it's all going to come crashing down around us.