What We Were Never Taught in School
By the time I post this there will be a new headline and more questionable decisions made from the leaders in our country.
Today though we are three days into the national guard being stationed in Los Angeles. I have spent a couple days doom scrolling and now I feel depleted, hopeless, overwhelmed, and frozen.
I’ve deleted and reloaded IG on my phone more times then I’m okay admitting.
I don’t want to miss anything and yet I know being plugged into the constant noise isn’t helping anyone.
So I got off and instead went to PBS to watch a video I’ve heard of but have never had the chance to watch. This is Jane Elliott teaching her class about discrimination and oppression, the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed.
Have you seen this video?
All I could think of while watching it was how different everyone in my high school would be if we were shown this simple exercise and talked about it.
There were 4,000 kids in my high school.
Over 800 kids in my graduating class.
When I say you could sleep your way through high school, I mean it.
I slept my way through, math, psychology, world history, and talked my way through history, social studies, and English.
In the classes where I was awake, I doodled on papers, wrote notes to my friends, and observed classmates.
Classes were boring.
Most teachers were unengaged, uninterested, unable to grab the attention of 34 students.
They taught to the smart kids and let the rest of us sleep or talk our way through.
I know that teaching the truth, using books that are entertaining and informative, having real discussions about Americas history, racism, discrimination, and systems of oppression leads to people becoming life long learners.
I know this because when I went to college I found a love for education and learning.
When I graduated high school, I knew three people who were going to college. Two of those people were in the smart classes. I just happened to have a creative writing teacher take me under her wing and guide me toward a school I found interesting, because I could study yoga and meditation there.
For many though high school was a means to an end.
They would go on to work in the service industry. That’s what parents did in Vegas and it’s what they would do too.
They’d didn’t seek higher education. They weren’t taught to value education, they were taught to get through it.
To have no ambition, no drive, no interests, no passion. Just keep your head down, get through each class, and graduate even if your GPA is shit, just show up, butt in seat and graduate.
Now I get it. If you keep people uneducated they can’t decipher the truth. Their critical thinking is shit. They believe the lies and brainwashing that’s told to them. They follow along and believe what is easiest and what demands the least amount of energy.
But everyone has a choice and can learn at any point. I myself am learning more about hate crimes in America and the Alt right white supremist in America.
It is terrifying.
It is unbelievable that this kind of hate is still happening today and just because it is unbelievable and scary and disheartening doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
It is happening.
Everyone will open their eyes at some point and if you’re someone who isn’t sure what’s what, go back to these videos. Look at the Charlottesville riots and see police not stepping in to protect a black man who is nearly beaten to death. Look at the hate and lack of help from police that are supposed to be protecting people.
Then look at the most peaceful protests in LA happening now in June of 2025 and see the national guard and marines sent in for what?
At this point you just need enough critical thought to ask AI. Even it will tell you both sides of an argument and the tell you what it thinks?
Here is ChatbotGPT's Assessment:
Given the risks and the lack of state approval, the deployment appears excessive and politically charged. Civil unrest, while serious, is a local law enforcement matter unless the state formally requests federal assistance.
The decision to bypass this process makes the action deeply controversial and arguably unnecessary in a constitutional democracy.
Would you like a breakdown of how this compares to past military deployments in U.S. cities (e.g., 1992 LA riots or 2020 protests)?
The amount of information out there can feel over whelming, but if there is something you are interested in learning, it's all there at your finger tips.
Love always,
Danielle Mallett
