"Finish exercises 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 from chapter 1 for homework and show all your work."
"Follow the instructions: wear lab glasses and put it up no matter how harmless the experiment is. Listen carefully as I go over each step of the lab."
"Each group get one ramp, one cart, one string, 10 cm of tape, and wait for further instructions."
"Get a library pass and make sure to sign in otherwise you're not allowed in the library."
"To retake the test, you must go through the retake process with me - 7 steps each of which you must complete."
"But I only got deducted points due to silly mistakes. I understand all the concepts. Can we skip this entire process."
"That's not how it works."

...and from today:

"MICHAEL, COME OVER HERE. You failed to follow instructions despite me giving you two warnings, you're now excluded from the class. Sit at the side until the lab is over."

...are some of the daily conversations I encounter, drilled into every high schooler at this school. I pity an institution that attaches to itself a mission of letting students have the courage to chase their own dreams, be inspired of a lifelong passion of learning, and be able to act with integrity, when in reality it should be forcing students to conform to the expectations of the teacher, be disgusted of grades and tests and their corresponding academic subjects, and act only according to the rules and not be allowed to think for themselves.

As I finished the last of my worksheets last night, I turned and stared blank-eyed at an olympiad problem. There was no instruction or methodology for these kinds of problems. As I got stuck, I asked aloud, "what am I supposed to do next?"