On Coming to America...

When first stepping foot in America, there were so many types of emotions running through my mind. I was very happy to be reunited with our father after four years of living apart, but at the same time, my mind couldn't stop thinking about what life was going to be like.

The surreal aspects of the American lifestyle started to dawn on me when I attended my first day of school in this the Unites States. I never thought the school system would be all that different from the way things were run back in Ethiopia. See, what most people don't know is that when you're a student in Ethiopia, in any school below the college level, the teachers/instructors have every right to put their hands on you when and as they wish. A student would never even think about talking back to a teacher because they know the consequences of doing so. Because it is society's norm to have a teacher put their hands on a student as a form of punishment, there is not much a kid can do to avoid those situations.

Let me paint a picture for ya. Imagine a kid getting beaten in front of the entire classroom for getting an answer wrong or making a noise while the teacher is in the middle of a lecture. Imagine getting ass whooped, again in front of the entire class, simply because the student forgot to wear his/her full uniform, or neglected to answer all the questions of the homework from the night before. It's the most silly things that students get punished for and there is nothing one can do to change that norm as a student.

Now back to the year 2008 in America, where things are so different and a kid has more rights than the teacher when it comes to the school system. I was so surprised at how disrespectful students were to their teachers and how they were able to get away with it. I remember shockingly staring at the way the kids would respond to the teachers, at how disruptive they would be in classrooms and how less of an option the teachers had when it comes to taming the kids. It made me think how much more freedom these kids might have in their homes if that was the case when it comes to school.

The worst part was that once my younger brother, who was then six years old, found out about this; he took this opportunity as a way to act up and be the troublesome little boy he was when he was back home. I remember our parents literally not knowing what to do with him at some point. See, this type of behavior is not tolerated where we're from. This sort of behavior is basically like asking your parents for some hardcore ass whooping a few times a a week/day. It's like voluntarily asking to be grounded for about a month.

Long story short, it took me a while to let it all sink in. The one thing I never found myself doing or becoming is disrespectful to teachers or our parents. I guess it was just never in me to be that kind of a kid. It might have a bit to do with the fact that I have never gotten in trouble with school or gotten called to the principal's office for doing anything back then. While my younger brother was fighting with anybody and everybody that was in his way and getting our parents called to the office every other day, I was that one child parents even forget they have in the house simply because of how I was such a rule follower.

Fast forward to present day, 2018, I have yet to understand how much freedom the school system, or even the country gives students to act up as they please in classrooms. (Mind you, I am a now a year away from being a college graduate.) Although I am all for physical punishments being illegal, I do still believe that the American school system should be a bit more strict on the way it handles kids when it comes to classroom disruptions and not taking school seriously. Now, college and/or any type of higher education past the high school level is a completely different story and that is absolutely up to the student itself to decide how to live their lives. However, in elementary through high school years of education, I believe the school system should be modified to a way that will teach the youth the difference between practicing their rights with the freedom they have living in America and abusing those rights.