Some Thoughts on Traffic School

So yesterday I went to traffic school. It was one of the most mind-numbing, grueling experiences I've ever faced. There was nothing wrong with the instructor--he was a kindly old man who tried to tell as many jokes and make the class as interesting as possible, but it was to no avail. His curriculum was too much governed by the state, and to ensure that he obeyed the prescribed lesson plan, the Department of Motor Vehicles had sent an agent mid-way through the course to verify his license and make sure we were on track. Despite the school feeding us (pizza), and the breaks (the breaks were really nice: traffic school was at a Best Western in Del Mar ["The Stratford Inn"], so we were right on the beach!), there were 400 minutes of (Miss) misery. But it is over, and all I must do now is send the certificate of completion to the court, and I will be free.

Of course, a silly event like traffic school would get someone like me to think about education, the state, and--not so much brain-washing, but--punishment. Traffic school is a punishment, anyone that has been there before can attest to that. It questions a person's intelligence, it discusses things that are not applicable (we spent an hour and a half discussing drinking and driving [not to mention the video on it], and you cannot get traffic school with a DUI), and it is longer than any class is, state-run or otherwise. But why would the state use school as a punishment? Of course, traffic school is a "reminder" for the Motor Vehicle Code--something that a driver should already know. But it seems more like the state is, in a way, making you follow their rules so you can avoid the inconvenience of traffic school. Traffic school is a form of mild torture, so the entire experience is a form of mild brain-washing. Behaviorism at its best (western). The irony is that if school is a punishment, why do they force children to go to twelve years of it when (usually) the children have not broken any laws? It's a question worth thinking about. Children don't need a reminder for anything: they don't know anything in the first place, and it's obvious that trying to teach someone against their will is a waste of time. The only thing that I can see is that the state must get something out of subjecting millions of children to mild torture. And, even though high school is not as grueling as traffic school (though it may feel like it after years and years), it still is a very annoying and time-wasting experience. It is a milder torture, but more enduring, and its effects are also longer lasting. Students actually leave high school believing that they need government, as much government as possible. It takes quite a bit of convincing to get people to see otherwise after twelve years of public school.

That's my spiel on traffic school and public school-- they're pretty much the same, if you come to think of it.