not expected, but appreciated

we are checked boxes and designated numbers. we are pigeonholed. society constantly nails deliciously round individuals into unapologetic square spaces. we take our lives and force them into schedules, educations, jobs, obligations, and blurbs of 140 characters or less that do not accommodate individual talents, needs, or preferences. we are taught to fear the roundness. we're afraid, so we throw out our potential for insurance.

i buy the safety insurance. i tuck my sleepy 5 year-old into a crowded classroom before 7:30 every morning, even though i know in my heart she should be sleeping in the security of her warm bed. a non-square mileyfied education would require a later start, a smaller class, less repetition, and more flexibility. but it would not require a different teacher. no, no, it would not.

public education is nearly impossible to personalize. teachers are given deplorable working conditions and unrealistic expectations. the cards are so stacked against them that i'm afraid to join their ranks. their success always surprises me. i do not expect them to accommodate and embrace all the individuals in their classroom, but i sure as hell appreciate it.

thank you mrs. c.

(a miafied education would involve a lot less boys, but that's a post for another day...)