A revolution of ideology

[Sunbourn]

I'm noticing a shift in America over the last few years. People are steadily becoming fed up with the anti-freedom policies that our government has been gleefully implementing over the course of the past century. Since we now live in an age where everybody has access to the internet, information is available that isn't cherry picked by the state-run media for anyone to see what is really going on in the world and in their own country. Whistle blower Edward Snowden revealed to the world that the US was spying on innocent citizens, and people are outraged that the government would intrude in people's private lives as they have. Kentucky senator Rand Paul is gaining more political traction than his dad was ever able to, while being almost as far away on the political spectrum from the establishment as his father is. It is now becoming almost common for people to doubt the competence of our current government officials and the policies that they have in place. An ideological revolution is upon us. Establishment republicans and democrats are falling out of favor, and a larger portion of the population are adopting pro-liberty stances.

We are presented with a great opportunity to spread our views on education reform, since people are every bit as dissatisfied with our education system right now as they are with everything else. It is our duty to show people that there are alternatives to the system in place right now and to inject it in to the vein of mainstream politics so deep that it'll be impossible for somebody to get elected if they support the education system in its current abominable form.

Everybody already agrees that our education system is broken. Half of the debate is won for us. Now we need to convince America that we need to increase competition in education and reform the public education system so that it is designed to educate students rather than force obedience. We can get our message out by creating a Youtube channel for our cause, an alternate website to this one strictly focused on the reform of America's public education system, passing out flyers, creating a Facebook group and by word of mouth. We'll come up with an easily recognizable name and slogan to rally behind. Once traction is gained we will hold interviews with media. They'll take us very seriously after a successful rally. We will be our own political organization. When the time is right, we will hold rallies in person at major cities around America. As long as the supports of our cause are not wobbly, getting the word out will not be a difficult task. That's what this thread is for. It's up to us to come to a general agreement on the exact reforms we want to see take place in schools and how they should be carried out.

There are two general goals that I have in mind. The first is that we need to expand competition to the public education system in order to break the near monopoly that they have. The second is that the public education system should not be abolished but undergo major reforms. School should focus on educating students instead of forcing obedience. Public schools need to be molded to become more libertarian. Students shall be given more power over their own education and trivial matters will not result in punishment for the student. There is no excuse for a student to serve an in school suspension, out of school suspension or detention because (s)he chews gum, is late to class by five minutes, texts in class or defends himself when attacked. Making issues out of these acts only serves to distract from education.

Is there any disagreement here with these two goals? Is there an additional goal that you believe we should work towards as well? Do you have an idea to help catalyze our education revolution? Sound off! I'm quite excited to hear what you guys have to say.

[Ky]

Congratulations, you're caught up to my plan, or at the very least devised one similar to mine. Unfortunately, it is really hard to get everyone here to actually organize or do something, so I've chosen to use my blog for political ramblings instead. It would probably be a lot more effective if I only showed my best work...and even more effective if I could collaborate with everyone willing to do the same.

[Sunbourn]

(11-27-2013 02:06 PM)DoA Wrote:  Congratulations, you're caught up to my plan, or at the very least devised one similar to mine. Unfortunately, it is really hard to get everyone here to actually organize or do something, so I've chosen to use my blog for political ramblings instead. It would probably be a lot more effective if I only showed my best work...and even more effective if I could collaborate with everyone willing to do the same.

I'm not familiar with your plan, but it only makes sense that someone else on here would come up with something similar in our current political climate.

[Ky]

(11-27-2013 02:09 PM)|55555| Wrote:  

(11-27-2013 02:06 PM)DoA Wrote:  Congratulations, you're caught up to my plan, or at the very least devised one similar to mine. Unfortunately, it is really hard to get everyone here to actually organize or do something, so I've chosen to use my blog for political ramblings instead. It would probably be a lot more effective if I only showed my best work...and even more effective if I could collaborate with everyone willing to do the same.

I'm not familiar with your plan, but it only makes sense that someone else on here would come up with something similar in our current political climate.

Indeed. With the populace growing ever distrustful of the government, it should be easier than ever to grasp the public's attention by claiming we have been anti-establishment before it was cool (but not in those words, because people hate hipsters).

My initial plan was to distance myself from this site and focus on the blog...but I incorrectly assumed that people here were either too radical or too incompetent; they were neither. I think we have a good chance of being taken seriously, but it will take all of us to put together a series of arguments, slogans, and campaign pitches that will turn the tide of United States politics, and later the world...

[James Comey]

I've created my own blog as well.

I think we've had threads about this before about creating a mirror website to this that is more focused on changing the education system. But before we go on about what we could do later in the future, the first shots must be fired. We have to organize our "first protest". I've been thinking that we could organize a nationwide day of not going to school (a strike) on May 1, 2014, the same day that many around the world celebrate labor.

All movements start small. I think that a massive reform of education is not necessarily immediate, but some thins can be done. For example, we may be able to call for an abolishing of zero tolerance policies. Another thing to fight for would be banning schools from monitoring their students social networks and stop them from trying to intrude their students' lives.

[Ky]

(11-27-2013 02:21 PM)Hansgrohe Wrote:  All movements start small. I think that a massive reform of education is not necessarily immediate, but some thins can be done. For example, we may be able to call for an abolishing of zero tolerance policies. Another thing to fight for would be banning schools from monitoring their students social networks and stop them from trying to intrude their students' lives.

I like this part. We could run with this.

[Sunbourn]

(11-27-2013 02:13 PM)DoA Wrote:  

(11-27-2013 02:09 PM)|55555| Wrote:  

(11-27-2013 02:06 PM)DoA Wrote:  Congratulations, you're caught up to my plan, or at the very least devised one similar to mine. Unfortunately, it is really hard to get everyone here to actually organize or do something, so I've chosen to use my blog for political ramblings instead. It would probably be a lot more effective if I only showed my best work...and even more effective if I could collaborate with everyone willing to do the same.

I'm not familiar with your plan, but it only makes sense that someone else on here would come up with something similar in our current political climate.

Indeed. With the populace growing ever distrustful of the government, it should be easier than ever to grasp the public's attention by claiming we have been anti-establishment before it was cool (but not in those words, because people hate hipsters).

My initial plan was to distance myself from this site and focus on the blog...but I incorrectly assumed that people here were either too radical or too incompetent; they were neither. I think we have a good chance of being taken seriously, but it will take all of us to put together a series of arguments, slogans, and campaign pitches that will turn the tide of United States politics, and later the world...

We have many competent members. Some of them have moved on to greener pastures, but let's not kid ourselves. SS is an excellent place for anti-schoolers to network together for a cause. It can't be the only place, but it will do for now.

Quote:I've created my own blog as well.

I think we've had threads about this before about creating a mirror website to this that is more focused on changing the education system. But before we go on about what we could do later in the future, the first shots must be fired. We have to organize our "first protest". I've been thinking that we could organize a nationwide day of not going to school (a strike) on May 1, 2014, the same day that many around the world celebrate labor.

All movements start small. I think that a massive reform of education is not necessarily immediate, but some thins can be done. For example, we may be able to call for an abolishing of zero tolerance policies. Another thing to fight for would be banning schools from monitoring their students social networks and stop them from trying to intrude their students' lives.

Ah yes, how could I possibly forget? Maybe it is because I never had to deal with that during my time in the public school system, but the students of today must suffer through their school trying to become increasingly involved in their personal lives. That is intolerable and we must fight it every bit as much as we must fight for the first two goals I mentioned.

Perhaps I'll start my own blog. It won't be just for school reform though. My sights are set on the big picture. My posts would probably be all across the board.

If we were to make our own off-shoot site specifically for the cause of our revolution, I would gladly help out with that. In regards to a protest, we must crawl before we can walk. We need to be able to get enough people to walk out of school to make at least a small impact. A site and/or FB page must be set up first, and a certain popularity threshold needs to be attained.

[Ky]

My blog's pretty across the board too - in fact, it's so much so that I'm not even sure I write about anti-school anymore

I also don't think we can stage a walkout - it would be extremely difficult.

[Chanku]

(11-27-2013 02:21 PM)Hansgrohe Wrote:  Another thing to fight for would be banning schools from monitoring their students social networks and stop them from trying to intrude their students' lives.

I think the ACLU is trying to do this, as I remember reading an article about it on their site.

[James Comey]

Yep. We could be able to try to "coordinate" a walk-out across the nation, but how are we supposed to know everyone did it? Plus, walk-outs are pretty much banned.

We could be able to construct a Facebook page about "Not go to school day". This can easily spread. Not only that, it gives students an excuse not to give a school. It can be easily done and much more practical. Voices in Tunisia and Egypt were made through Facebook, our voices aren't impossible.

[Sunbourn]

(11-27-2013 02:35 PM)Hansgrohe Wrote:  Yep. We could be able to try to "coordinate" a walk-out across the nation, but how are we supposed to know everyone did it? Plus, walk-outs are pretty much banned.

We could be able to construct a Facebook page about "Not go to school day". This can easily spread. Not only that, it gives students an excuse not to give a school. It can be easily done and much more practical. Voices in Tunisia and Egypt were made through Facebook, our voices aren't impossible.

I feel that a walk out sends a stronger message, but at the same time subjects students to a higher level of risk. It's something that ultimately will need to be voted on by those involved in the movement, if we come to the crossroads where we must pick one. With a walk out, it can be proved through student videos. Very simple. As for people just not showing up, it's more difficult to prove that people actually did anything. Yeah, walk-outs are pretty much banned, but so is truancy. Either way something needs to be done that rallies people in the movement together while raising awareness towards the movement. I'm more inclined to believe that across the nation walkouts would be more effective as students can document the events and other students in the school would see it happening and may even decide to participate and get involved, whereas just not showing up is a much more silent tactic.

[James Comey]

I agree with you that walking out sends a stronger message.

We need to find a way to promote it, though. Facebook and Twitter are strong tools, but I feel that is not enough. I think many of us need to go into our schools and tell other people about it. The only thing I fear is "chickening out", and this is more stronger among the student populace because the idea of not challenging authority is hardwired in their brains.

A demonstration could be strong as well, but that needs much more unification and effort.

[Night]

I like this plan a lot.

but....

There's a big issue. That issue is called Money. Yes, all this can be done without money. But, at least in the short term, nothing will happen unless we have millions to "donate" (cough)bribe(cough) a politician. Especially up there politicians in congress and those fuckers. They don't represent the people, they represent the fuckers giving them millions of dollars to support their cause. What I'm saying is that if we want to do this, it's in our best interest to also support this group trying to get money out of politics. http://www.wolf-pac.com/

Be patient. This could take years to achieve. Look at the legalization of marijuana legalization. The majority of the country now believes it should be legalized. After decades. But it's still going slowly.

[Ky]

We might not need money.

No, hear me out.

You know what the Congressional approval rating is right now? Really freaking low. No one is going to listen to the politicians we have right now, especially if they're in either of the two dominating parties. People are tired of that. If we could appeal to the growing group of moderates, convince them that we're not after money or seats in Congress (and we're really not), and cleanly spell out our cause, we might have a better shot of persuading the public than even Boehner or Reid have. Obama might be competition, though, and I think he's pretty pro-schooling.

[James Comey]

I think we need a massive demonstration. I mean a massive demonstration. Something like Tahrir Square. A clear message needs to be sent to the government: we're tired of the ridiculous oppression going on in schools. They can't do shit to us because it's legal to protest in this country, isn't it? Alongside with the protests should come strikes. This should really hit them hard in the guts, because schools make money based on attendance. That should send a message to the fuckers.

Getting all those demonstrators is hard though. It's bad enough our parents won't likely approve, but many teenagers are taught not to disobey authority. That's the point of the herd mentality, to keep protest from happening.

[Sunbourn]

(11-28-2013 02:01 AM)Night Wrote:  I like this plan a lot.

but....

There's a big issue. That issue is called Money. Yes, all this can be done without money. But, at least in the short term, nothing will happen unless we have millions to "donate" (cough)bribe(cough) a politician. Especially up there politicians in congress and those fuckers. They don't represent the people, they represent the fuckers giving them millions of dollars to support their cause. What I'm saying is that if we want to do this, it's in our best interest to also support this group trying to get money out of politics. http://www.wolf-pac.com/

Be patient. This could take years to achieve. Look at the legalization of marijuana legalization. The majority of the country now believes it should be legalized. After decades. But it's still going slowly.

Hmmm, I think the goal is to get to a point where politicians will be unable to get other bribes if they don't support education reform. Convincing the public and bringing attention to this issue is key. They'll squirm and cave if we twist their balls hard enough. However, the goal of removing legal bribery from politics is as admirable as any.

[James Comey]

Okay, I don't want this to die alongside with all the other threads we've had about creating revolutions. There are 3 ways we can start the revolution:
School strikes - Very simple and easy yet not effective
Walkouts - Very effective and quite easy under the right circumstances yet very risky as well.
Demonstrations - Another effective way to do this, needs to be done right, and very risky as well.

If anyone else has any other ideas, please post.

It seems we may have found a way to do this and what our goals are immediately, but another big question is when. A great way for a revolution to die is to wait for one to happen. If we don't take action immediately, we'll just keep suffering. We need to find a date in which it hits the education system in the balls. We need to agree on some sort of date.

[James Comey]

Hmm.... we need ways of spreading the word. There has to be some sort of campaign. We need some catchy slogans. We need to make flyers and stickers and spread it around our area, to inform people of the truth behind public schooling.

[Ky]

Think of ways as you go. What's important is that you start.

[James Comey]

A good way to start is to use http://www.school-survival.net/link_us.php. Naturally, if we use these signatures on other forum boards (especially extremely popular ones), we'll spread curiosity on the anti-schooling movement.

[Ky]

Good idea.

[Sunbourn]

(12-02-2013 05:56 AM)DoA Wrote:  The revolution has begun. Tell your friends that compulsory education's days are numbered. Act as though it is going to happen regardless of what they do. This will yield the best results.

As far as I'm concerned, the revolution started a few years ago.

[James Comey]

I've got some other ideas:
1. Raising awareness of the anti-schooling movement in your town. A good way to spread word of your movement would probably to start printing posters (hmm, maybe we can collaborate) and posting them around public places. We could post them near supermarkets, bus stops, maybe even on schools themselves (that would be very risky, though). It's one thing to advertise through online but the most effective way would be to advertise publicly. More people would see our site and would learn.

2. Is there a School-Survival YouTube page? We already have a Google+ page, and a Twitter account, but that's not enough. We need a YouTube account, to even further spread the word. We could also make a playlist of TED talks as well. Social networking is another key factor here.

[Subb]

Remember the idea of the Kony 2012-like video we were starting to cook up a while back? And the idea of a nationwide strike? Good times, good times.....

[James Comey]

Maybe we can bring back those ideas.

A Kony 2012 video that could easily go viral would be a great idea. This would be an easy way to promote the movement to reform the education system and our revolution. We have to appeal to a mass audience, that is key.

We've already discussed ways in which we can kick the schooling system right in the balls. A nationwide strike is mentioned here alongside with walkouts and also demonstrations. There is no consensus on what the "right way" to show our dissatisfaction with the schooling system.

On the idea of the strike, perhaps we could organize a week long strike. This could really kick schools in the balls. They would lose massive amounts of money.