The Iron Fist of Oppression

Good old junior high. The days when we finally begin to taste the first bits of adulthood. For almost all of us, the fun begins with our first electronic gadgets: Cell phones and iPods. And what better way to help us appreciate the fact that we have these new capabilities than the administration to confiscate them as soon as even guess that we have them.

How I hated junior high.

All any of us wanted was to be more free. And in return for our desires we got even tighter restrictions. It got so bad that if they even saw the outline of the gadget in your pocket they would demand you hand it over. Then it would be whisked away and locked up in the office until your parents could be bothered to come and get it for you.

I do not miss those days.

High school brought on a new era. Finally, the administrations acknowledged the fact that we were (somewhat) responsible adults. Gadgets were to be found in abundance. They figured that if you wanted to learn, you would put your toys away and learn. If you didn't want to learn, there was no way they were going to make you.

All was well. There was lenience for the occasional text exchange during class. iPods could be listened too during work time. We all felt so much more free and grown up. It felt good.

One day, before school, I was listening to some rockin' tunes out in the hall before class. The bell rang, and I stopped my music, put my headphones in my pocket, but forgot to put my iPod away. It simply remained in my hand. Off, mind you, but there. Upon sitting down, and with little though, I placed the device on my leg, where it sat, unused and ignored, while I wroted a bell prompt.

The horror of junior high returned faster than I could blink.

My teacher demanded that I hand over my gadget. At first, I didn't even know what she was talking about. The fact that my iPod was sitting in my lap had removed itself from my mind. After a second, I realized what she was talking about. I was so bewildered, I was rendered speechless for a moment.

I tried to debate, to defend my innocence, but she persisted. Unbelievable. Left with no choice, I gave her the gadget. Normally, if I had been using the thing and been caught, I would have been a little irritated, but would have known that it was my own fault. Not this time.

I was furious. Such meaningless oppression belonged back at that horrid middle school. Better yet, I was completely faultless. A simple human error, in this case distraction, had prevented me from puttting the device in my pocket. It was meaningless and pointless. It was completely juniorhighish.

Interestingly enough, I began to think back upon those days. Loathing. Pure loathing. In the midst of all this liberty, the last thing I wanted was a harsh and unfair reminder of the last three years of my life. It felt like being arrested for having a gun simply because people were afraid that I had the ability, intentions aside, to cause some real harm.

After class, I was able to retrieve the iPod so that I could get my photography class files from it, on the condition that I return it at lunch. However, being so infuriated, I completely blew that obligation off and continued about my daily life.


The whole "if I see it I take it" way of life is not welcome in high school. Like I said before, if we want to learn, we'll put it away and learn. If we don't want to learn, there is no way you can make us. Let it be. It makes everyone happier when left to themselves and their own intentions at this age. Give us some credit. Treat us like adults.

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