I’m done defending the system that was supposed to protect the very children that are in my charge every day.

I’m done. I’ve been a teacher for almost 13 years. The system is broken. It was built this way. The system is supposed to create a certain subset of individuals that will continue to perpetuate the machine as it is.<br><br>High schools were created to cull out the general labor force from the workers that were good enough to work in factories. That was the point. It’s the same reason why we have grade levels and age segregation. Small children need to be babysat, kind of like you would do on a farm. You need to keep them separate, train them to behave, and get them to harvest age. Ultimately, that’s all humans are – we’re either workers, harvestable, or recyclable. <br><br>I’m done with the system, but it’s not going to die. It’s not. It’s the operating system. It’s the language you and I speak. The words we use. <br><br>I’m done because I can’t continue to defend it. I’m done because I can’t continue to perpetuate it. I’m done because I can’t train for the inevitable outcome that is an unmitigated disaster. <br><br>Kids are so stressed…but why? Well, the reason is that kids are so good at sensing the world around them. They know that the system is broken. They know that the system isn’t going to protect them. They know that schools don’t keep them safe. Yes, I’m talking about gun violence, but that’s not what I’m talking about at all. I’m talking about the sickness that is greed. I’m talking about the sickness that is selfishness, gluttony, or pride. <br><br>I’m done because we know how to fix the system. We know how terrible the system is. We know that we’re slowly cooking the Earth. We know that we’re slowly cooking the next generation. We know that technology addiction is ruining us. But we won’t do anything about it.<br><br>No, I’m not going to arm myself to protect my students. I’m not going to cower in a corner. I’m going to do what I’ve always done. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure the children I serve are equipped for the future in front of them.<br><br>I’m done because I’m tired of watching children suffer because they’re seen as products and not human beings. We all know the system is sick. I’m done talking about it. I’m done pretending I don’t know.<br><br>I know. I know the system is sick. I know what’s happening. I know that the very system I work for was built to create the same kind of humans that perpetuate the machine. I’m done being a part of it. I’m done being a part of a system that can’t get out of its own way.<br><br>I’m done because kids are dying. Kids are suffering because they're seen as products and not the human beings they are. We all know this. We just can’t stop ourselves. It’s time for us to break the system. It’s time for us to change. The machine is going to have to be dismantled. We can’t do that with guns and it certainly can’t be done with the current crop of idiots in charge. <br><br>At this point, I think that if I had to choose between two evils, I’d rather choose the one that seems to be working towards progress and not the one that’s forcing us back into the dark ages. Neither evil gets it. Neither evil truly understands the problem. But you know what? Kids do. They get it. They understand that we’re killing the planet and that they’re going to have to suffer the consequences. <br><br>But I’m a teacher. I don’t get to choose anything. I have to work within this broken system. I have to watch as the children I serve are cycled through the machine. I have to watch as they fail. I have to watch as the system tells them they’re not good enough. As they fail, they’ll have to suffer the consequences of not being good enough. They’ll suffer as the machine creates more and more people that have been deemed disposable. They’ll suffer as the system tells them that they’re not good enough, that they’re too far behind, that they’re nothing more than a product that can be recycled.<br><br>I’m done with this system, but I know that it will continue to function. Kids will be cycled through for generations. As they pass through the machine, the very machine that was supposed to protect them will create more and more disposable people. <br><br>I’m done with the system. I’m done watching. I’m done trying to drown out the screams of the children that fail. I’m done trying to defend the system that perpetuates this. I’m done because I know that I can’t fix the system. I know that I can’t stop it. I know that it’s too powerful, too strong, too entrenched. I’m done because there’s nothing I can do. <br><br>I know the truth. You do too.