Before you read any further, teachers ARE the most valuable asset on the planet (they really are).

Sadly, the original school system and institution was designed to help businesses and industry thrive (not the likes of you and me “working for the man”).

It was a system designed to produce “workers” out of the “working class” (not free thinkers or artists or philosophers or entrepreneurs or laughter coaches) and taught children “to know their place.”

Times have moved on, they have improved, and the possibilities are endless. But, the old-fashioned, antiquated, and stuffy system lingers in the hallways of most schools to this day.

Why do you think the bell rings at the end of each lesson? It’s not just because the average teenager is smoking a cigarette behind the bikesheds or playing hooky, and needs a shrill reminder to return to class.

It originates from the time when “policymakers” travelled to Prussia to study and later model the Prussian school system.

They found a curriculum designed to tell children to “sit down, listen, and keep quiet.” Sound familiar? It’s also why most of us have been subjected to the “talk & chalk” method of learning (heaven forbid!).

On a side note, it reminds me of Pavlov’s Dog and the way sharks were summoned to prevent prisoners from escaping Devil’s Island! In both cases, a bell was used as a form of control! To make the subjects conform and condition a favourable response in the interest of the scientist or jailer’s wishes (this is favourable to the teachers in schools, and prevents them from losing their hair when kids want to wander the halls aimlessly!).

Education is a WONDERFUL thing, and the school system is doing its best. However, it needs to shake off the outdated Prussian method and reinvent itself before the Self Education Industry explodes.

In the meantime, though, teachers have a golden opportunity to do it better and serve those who want to explore their passions.

So the next time you feel stuck and indecisive, remember that you have been encouraged to follow the rules (someone else’s rules) quietly and diligently ALL your life.

It’s scary to think outside the illusion that society, school, and the workplace have been conditioning you to believe for decades. It’s also why your family and friends are horrified at the mere thought of you “doing anything for yourself, especially anything different.”

It’s not their fault, they’re stuck in the old way of thinking from an obsolete system.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to life anymore. You’re free to make your own choices. You’re free to set your own rules for this thing called life. So let your intuition be your guide and follow your dreams…