Acintya Shenoy, Week #5: A is for Antiestablishmentarianism
Today (because like almost everyone else I am writing this on the day it is due), as we began our anti-prejudice unit in class, I let my eyes wander towards the books my classmates held in their hands as they rushed through the door, mumbling about word requirements for the POAS biography or the latest test they just bombed.
As I did, I saw something astonishing; my classmates had actually annotated their books. And no, I’m not talking about little doodles of cats and Labubus, I’m talking about actual Pinterest-worthy collages of multicolored post-its, highlighting, and notes scribbled in juicy black ink. I was bombarded with the realization that these productive people had actually committed the act of analysis—instead of, like me, drawing a silly egg on the first page of an account of violent American xenophobia before giving up and leaving the entire book looking fresh, crisp, and clean out of its plastic wrapping.
At first, I felt a little ashamed, especially as my peers humbly stated that they had read multiple books (multiple. multiple!!!). I questioned my worth of being an AP Lang student; why did I take this class when I couldn’t apply it in real life like other people?
Yet, even as I wallowed in the pitiful bluntness of the supposed academic weapon I keep telling myself I am, I was slowly overcome with the warmth of an unexpected emotion: pride.
Education has become severely devalued in the United States; popular Internet personalities denounce college as “a scam,” so-called “influencers” tout their gargantuan bank account balances while doing absolutely nothing for the benefit of society, classroom standards have digressed to the point where a D- is considered a passing grade, and critical thinking skills have declined so much that half of our population finds the President of the United States posting an AI-generated video of himself dropping feces on his political opponents while wearing a crown funny.
It’s a simple truth: an educated population is an uncontrollable population. And as education comes further under threat from radicalized politicians, we submit more and more to their control; recently, many states have begun erasing American history in the classroom under the guise of “encouraging patriotism,” painting slavery as “skill development” for kidnapped Africans and the genocide of Native Americans as “moving around.” In other news, elementary school children are posting TikToks ranging from Sephora hauls to bigotry lamely disguised as “ragebait.”
Have we lost the plot?
As I looked around my AP Lang classroom, the overwhelming answer was: no. We haven’t. We are still thinking critically, still questioning what’s put in our mouths, still free against suppression. As my heart swelled with pride at pure defiance I saw in my peers’ eyes, defiance that challenged the seductive whispers of AI and SparkNotes and less effort, I saw the future of this country—a future where we use the weapon of education to defeat the beast of tyranny, a future where intelligence triumphs over ignorance.
Acintya, wow, I don't even know where to start or what to say because I feel like I have so much to say. I think I'll start by saying I loved! this read. Like truly. Not only did I agree with a good amount of what you wrote, but I felt like your voice was so well translated through the words. Starting with the text ((in parenthesis) haha did you see what I did there...lol. ) that had the line-striked text, I feel like humor was seen early. Also I feel in general, your blog was extremely relatable. Like extremely. I think that is partially due to how you wrote it—a narrative, first person exploration of your perspective of our English class. I shared the same feeling to seeing the annotated books and also the same in the sense of the "what am I doing in this APLANG class."
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to share that I genuinely laughed out loud reading the "Labubus" line. I think your comparison of the annotations to Pinterest was perfect, and then fact you not only just created that picture, but then actually provided with your image was really smart. And then also, the shift from a relatively lighthearted tone to a more serious one was pretty smooth; the connection had me like, "oh wow." I also want to point out the varied punctuation you used throughout the entire blog. It has now inspired/motivated me to do the same in mine, because in comparison, I feel like I am not utilizing punctuation to its potential; I feel like your multiple semicolons, colons, question marks, and exclamation marks enabled you to present your voice clearly, and I plan on emulating. Overall, (and I hope I didn't write to much) I loved reading this blog, and I cannot wait to read your blog next week!
I really liked how you started with a more negative mindset and then transitioned into a more hopeful and optimistic one! It provides a strong contrast that helped kind of shock me awake and really think about the topics you were bringing up. Also, the inclusion of the article about the post made by Trump was really enlightening on just how much the world has changed. I read through the article and I was astonished by the state of America’s current political system. Besides that, your mentions of the editing of history and the deprivition of important educational subjects that many politicians really spoke to me, especially since my current event article talked about a law that was passed that allowed for the prohibition of any topics that the state disagrees with, which connects to this subject.
ReplyDeleteThe various writing tools that you used also really enhanced your writing! I like the inclusion of the crossed out text and parenthesis to convey your thoughts and the italics that helped emphasize your astonishment. You also use a lot of varied punctuation marks and shorter paragraphs in order to make your message stand out.
The ending message you wrote about how we are still educating ourselves properly adn doing our best to fight against these issues is quite inspiring, and I think it's a really beautiful mindset to have. The last line of your blog is especially powerful, especially with the repeated statement about how we can fight against those who wish to keep us ignorant.
I audibly laughed at your specific call out of doodling Labubus—my brain went on a side tangent about recalling all the outfits I’d seen on “Performative Day” during Spirit Week—but that’s besides the point. Your blog post was really eye opening for me, personally I love annotating my books, but more often than not they end up being personal rants more than useful note taking (and it also ends up distracting me from actually comprehending the book). I really appreciate your reflection on your feelings about our classmates. I feel like I’ve seen similar comments on the internet many times, and oftentimes, it becomes a source of tension and competition. This, I feel, ties into your comments the importance of education and now losing the plot—it’s about critical thinking, educating ourselves, and empowering each other.
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