“OHHHHH SHIT!”
Do you guys remember first grade? Squeaky teacher who wore vests with apples appliqued on them, an alphabet frieze stapled on the walls, nap time? Yeah, that’s the one. On the surface, first grade seems like a pretty good time. It’s definitely the shallow end of the educational swimming pool. Sometimes, there’s even a fun slide. However, the RCS has determined that it’s JUST POSSIBLE the first grade made us the pack of underachievers and general assholes that we are today.
The biggest problem with first grade (aside from all the pee and boogers) is the grading system. There are three levels of achievement in first grade: “N,” “S,” and “E.” “N” stands for “Needs Improvement,” “S” for “Satisfactory,” and “E” for “Excellent.” It doesn’t take very many little kid brains to figure out that the goal here is to get a “Satisfactory.” If you get an “N,” your Mom has to come and talk to the teacher, and that could be bad — especially considering that you might have told said teacher that you went with your parents on their Costa Rican honeymoon, that you have a tank of live electric eels in your living room, and that your actual middle name on your birth certificate is “Lady Hawk.” Moms get really pissed off when their kid intimates that they’re some kind of 70′s style child propagating, pre-marital sex having, jungle whore. She thought the eels were funny, though.
So, that’s what you do. You rock the hell out of the middle ground, bringing home “Satisfactories” and spinning a web of lies that probably STILL has that apple polisher confused. Sometimes you might score an “E” — but only if the category is something you’re naturally good at. I always got accidental “E’s” in reading because the Rev taught me how before I went to school. I was so good at reading, in fact, that I read the entire SRS Reading Challenge box on the first day of classes. My teacher got so frustrated with me that she handed me her Harlequin romance novel, and told me to read it and shut up. I asked my Mom some rather interesting questions that night — probably about manhoods and bosoms — and a nasty phone call ensued. After that, I got Nancy Drew.
The question is, though: “ is ‘Satisfactory’ a good enough goal?” Honestly, I have enough problems in my current life avoiding “Needs Improvements” (I pretty much need improvement in every area except for tv watching — I get an “E” in that). At this point, if I manage a “Satisfactory,”(even in something basic like parking) I do a fist pump and say something along the lines of “WHOO HOO!” Maybe if it hadn’t been for first grade screwing up my expectations, I’d be some kind of awesome person right now — like a super hero or a space ranger — rather than a writer whose go-to punctuation modus could best be described as “pung shui.” Let’s face it, I’m lucky if I can manage to get a fork all the way into my mouth without half of its contents landing on my shirt.
Psychologist Barry Schwartz claims that, “The secret to happiness is low expectations.” Maybe that’s what first grade was trying to give us — crap goals that us dunces could probably eventually achieve. I mean, when the apex of cool jobs in your society is “eraser clapper,” it’s not really all that difficult to get some satisfaction. And perhaps that’s how we should all be thinking: “I may not be a space ranger, but at least I’m not cleaning up the inevitable results of having a bank of coin operated 1982 Sanyo televisions in the porn store arcade.” That’s probably what they meant by “Satisfactory” all along. “Excellent.”
Actually, the Rev read to you. Your father taught you to read.
Which is probably yet another reason why I have no taste in literature.
WOW how true is this, being a mother of two boys I can vouch for the school’s low expectations and how that’s turning out for our future generations! Let’s start with my oldest little darling. He entered the school system when red ink was out law’d because it was too stressful for children. (Give me a break!)
Anyway, there is no longer discipline in schools, there’s a reward system only. Bribery, “Hey if you’re good this week I’ll buy you any lunch you want.” Never mind consulting the parents to see if this is alright, but I had to ask, what was their definition of good? Well, less calling out, less roaming the halls and less fidgeting… “WHAT!?” What about getting class work done, bringing home work home, or participating in class sessions? Why was none of that put in with the general definition of behave, you know that thing your buying (well I’m buying) lunch for?
My son has done very little to achieve his promotion onto the 7th grade and yet he goes on! WHY!? Because we are not allowed to leave them back a year any more, so our kids goof off all year and have no fear of repeating the previous grade, they learn nothing, and to top that all off my child expects me to buy him something every time he gets off his lazy arse to do anything, like his chores! (which according to NYS CPS is considered abuse to make your child clean their own room at the age of 11, more on that later! lol) Fuck, I was cleaning the house at that age lmao! So ya we are screwed!
Sorry didn’t mean to make a blog post out of a comment lmfao
Ha HA HA! That’s okay. I feel your pain. I’m not a Mom, but I have multple brother-produced rug rats that I’m watching as they navigate their way through the pussy public education seas. And we wonder why other countries think we’re total wussies!
They no longer think it, it’s become a known fact!
Not to change the subject (well, actually, EXACTLY to change the subject), do you get bunches and gobs of really weird spam comments? Someone told me the other day that I was their inhalation — which, if true, is really too bad for them.
Ha ha yes I do! It’s quiet annoying lol
(Sorry boss was coming lol) As you get to see the comments, you’ll see that they are very generalized lol Sometimes they try to sound as if they are actually reading your blog, but they always get busted lmao.
Yeah, they’re terrible. Do you find that they seem to kind of attach more to some posts than to others? I got almost 200 on that post I wrote bitching at Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood. I thought there might be some sort of plot or something. Some, very, very, odd, very, very, ineffective plot.
They could just attack a search engine with certain key words, in efforts to try to make their spam sound like it was an actual comment!? Just a possibility…
Maybe…and here I thought I pissed off someone important.
Ha ha ha, I can send you links if you want to do that!
I’m always up for pissing people off!
Hahaha wed make a good team!
Hahaha we’d make a good team!
Totally!
I want you to know that I keep telling this fucking thing to follow you, and it NEVER makes you STAY followed. So…if you’re getting tons of messages that make it seem like I’m disco-following you, I’m not — it’s just wordpress being a jerk.
LMAO, it’s quiet alright!! I should have an email follow as well if your having issues! But thank you! I’ll enjoy the disco lights for a while!
Okay, I think I’ve got it sorted. Thank you for your patience. Please proceed with your day!