Iran Election Stories From Friends and Family

My son exploring Iran's natural glory. This is learning.

Today my friend writes about the struggle in an Iranian school to get children to behave, sit still, memorize and stop “rebelling.”  In the context of a repressive society like Iran’s, it’s easy to ridicule this behavior as forced captivity.   But, before readers get self-righteous, look around your own world, and how the children near you are treated.  Are they allowed to be children, or are they being forced into subjugation in the name of learning and test taking?

I post this with respect for my friend for being an amazing mom who is willing to stick up for her children given incredible pressures.  These issues would cripple me if I were dealing with them, but not only does she deal with them, she has the presence of mind to reflect and write about them.

Wednesday Oct 21, 2009.  School Sucks!  For kids and moms!

I went to my 4th grader’s school meeting today. It is the big meeting of the year where the school officials introduce all the key people, go over last years highlights and discuss their goals for the new year.

The meeting started off with lots of Koran reading and religious singing of course. After that some kids came up and read poems about being kind to children, listening to them, not forcing them to do things inappropriate for their ages. Then the president of the school spoke. He heads the elementary, middle and high school. And during his discussion with us he frankly admitted that the youth of Iran are rebelling and acting out and not listening to their parents and are uncontrollable. And furthermore, he admitted that the department of education, and the country as a whole, has no clue as to what to do about it. He mentioned that 60 years ago Iran did not have runaway children – whereas they do now, in significant numbers. We have a major drug problem too. He could not understand how in such an educated society we could have so many problems with our youth. His biggest complaint (and I just about fell off my chair in hysterics) was that young kids go off to college – and choose their own marriage partners without their parents consent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess we know what is going on in his home, don’t we? My spouse and I just shook our heads and laughed (a sarcastic, low, unbelieving – with a shake of the head – laugh).

Here’s a typical synopsis of one day in the life of my 4th grader at school here (yesterday). Can you figure out where the roots of rebellion stems from in this society? My 9 year-old woke up at 6:30 am, ate his breakfast and got ready for school. The cab (there are no school busses here because they can’t afford them) picked him up at 7:40 am and he was in an assembly line at school by 7:50 am. There he stood in line until 8:15 am when they all marched into class. During those 25 minutes in line the kids went through 5 minutes of warm-up exercises. Then they had to repeat verses from the Koran and sing the Islamic Republic anthem and say their prayers. All the while school personnel were walking up and down the lines of 1st – 5th graders yelling at them for not reciting these things loud enough, for not reciting in unison, for fussing and fidgeting. So, with this uplifting start to their day, the kids then marched up to class.

I went to school during the third hour (of a 5-hour day) to teach him English (the English classes here are so basic that I have special permission to teach him English at his level). When I got there I was informed that the 4th graders were taking an 80 minute “Andishmand” exam and that he would not be available that day. I reminded the school official that I did not want my child sitting for exams geared at getting him into the Magnet school (teezhooshan) system here; that I just wanted him learning what a 4th grader should know (we have had many discussions about this with these same school officials over the years). He assured me that this wasn’t such an exam and that this would help teach him how to take tests. So, having had to give up my English time I returned home. (When my son returned home with the exam booklet, printed prominently on the cover was, “Andishmand – Teezhooshan Exam” – what a lying son-of-a-#$%#^!)

Later that morning, my son’s teacher gave them a pop science quiz. It seems sometimes that that is all they do here – administer quizzes, tests and exams. The actually teaching seems to take place at home in the stressful environment between mothers and children. (As an aside, my son has done his school work here with a lot of difficulty until this year. This year he actually does his work without any prodding from me and even does extra – I couldn’t be more pleased.) Anyway, my son got a 13 out of 20 on his quiz. Well, it seems she lit into him and yelled at him and told him he’d better get a better grade next time because she is used to hitting kids if they don’t do well. (Hitting kids has been illegal in this country since the late Shah’s time – but this teacher has been teaching for over 20 years now!) Needless to say, my son came home crying and refusing to go to school anymore. And frankly, after knowing that he was yelled at all morning, had to sit an 80 minute teezhooshan exam, then take a pop quiz, and then get threatened over it (and not be allowed to run in the yard at recess on top of it all) I was only too glad to let him stay home today.

The ironic part of all this is that today’s lesson in 4th grade was all about Children’s Rights. In their book it says that the Prophet Mohammad told people to love children and to treat them with kindness and to keep the promises they made to children. Their lesson also stated that children have the following rights: to learn about other cultures and to live in peace and friendship with the other children of the world; and, to express their thoughts to others freely through speech or writing and to listen to other peoples’ opinions as long as they respected other people’s rights. No one has the right to force children to do anything not appropriate for their age; and, conditions must be provided so that children can learn about and understand the world around them and help to protect it (environmentally). These come from the U.N. Charter for Children’s Rights. Well, the first thing my son commented on (rightly) was that his teacher did not show him kindness when she threatened him and that she was forcing him to do way more than is appropriate for his age (she gave GOBS of homework that night – even I got tired). In school they learn NOTHING about other cultures or beliefs or countries!

I left a message for the principal that I want to speak with him. This is what I have had to deal with since we came here 5 years ago – and this is one of the good, progressive schools in the city! On top of all this, the kids are FORCED to namaz (pray) from the 1stgrade. They also have to attend ALL religious ceremonies usually during their recess times or during art or P.E. class. Now, I am not one of the mom’s who thinks yelling at kids is good or that having an abusive teacher is good. I also don’t believe that religion should be forced. I also don’t make my kids over study to the point where I have to drug them to sit still in order to study. But I am not most moms here. When a teacher tells the moms that she yells or that she gives an unbearable amount of homework (or when my son’s teacher told the moms that 4th grade is the worst grade in school) – a lot of moms nod approvingly and support the teacher.

So with all this pressure from the families (that starts from birth) and from the schools throughout the kids lives, and then the society with it forced religious veneer – is it any wonder that some kids run away; that some kids turn to drugs; that some kids outright rebel? I actually give kids here a lot of credit for finding some way to escape the repression that constantly drowns them. (And I am not even talking about this summer’s events).