It’s a horror show on replay like two chipmunks rage-chasing a bipolar capuchin 🐒 and you know it’s on its way because it plays out about six times a day (thank you God for that one planning period reprieve). That exact moment when a student bounds into your classroom uttering those five irritating words— “What are we doing today?”

Nevermind that you remind them daily where all assignments can be found.

Nevermind that you remind them daily that their classwork and homework are their responsibility and that includes knowing where to find the assignments.

Nevermind that you tell them not to ask you again because they already know where to find their assignments and you always review what they’re doing at the beginning of class.

Nevermind that you tell them daily that you will wait to address today’s assignment when all students get in the room so you don’t have to repeat yourself 493,523 times.

Yet, they still ask you the same stupid, mindless question, “What are we doing today?”

And it’s not just one student, it’s the whole platoon. Every.  Single. Agonizing. Day.

Your teaching career is a flaccid, impotent character in the movie, Groundhog Day. Not even a brilliant character like Ned Ryerson, either. You’re one of those beanie-wearing, nerdy extras clapping to the imaginary sound of Polka music aerating in the background because they don’t actually play music when there’s supposed to be music while shooting a movie; they add it later in post-production (Did I just slaughter another one of your preconceived notions? Hold on, Teach… it gets worse).

You’ve become the unwitting accomplice. The unimportant extra in your student’s ritual and habitual life loop.

Know why?

Because students aren’t taught to imagine or create or solve problems. They’re taught to follow instructions. To comply. To be good little pupils and follow authority without asking too many questions.

They are being trained to be mindless, numb-inducing employees. Automatons for major factories and corporations to convince them that they need to slam down sweat equity for the next 50 years working for someone else in order to have a stable and rewarding life while failing to mention they’re also donating a good portion of the pittance they make back to those same corporations once the government filters out their unfair share.

To put it delicately– today’s students are tomorrow’s chumps.