I quote James Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me, page 293: "Students did the work on time, writing real definitions to the first two and last two terms, but for

I quote James Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me, page 293: "Students did the work on time, writing real definitions to the first two and last two terms, but for the thirty or forty in the middle they free-associated whatever nonsense they wanted. 'Hawley-Smoot Tariff: I have no idea, Mr. De Moulin,' might be one entry. Or 'Blue Eagle: FDR's pet bird who got very sad when he died.' Educational theorists call such acts "day-to-day resistance" -- a phrase that comes from theorizing about slavery... "Of course, fooling the teacher is of little consequence. Quite possibly my sister's teacher even knew of the ruse and joked about it with his colleagues, the way masters chuckled that their slaves were so stupid they had to be told every evening to bring in the hoes or they would leave them out in the night dew." So, no, you're not the only adult who remembers what school was like. And school is worse today -- students have more restrictions, more rote testing, and less academic freedom than ever. No wonder they feel and act like imprisoned, rebellious slaves.