This New TV Show.

There's this new show that's premiering tonight on TV called World's Strictest Parents - where unruly Australian teenagers - most of them smoking, drinking, teenage high-school dropouts - are sent abroad to live with the world's strictest families.

There was a lot of publicity of it - on current affair shows, for example, like the one I just watched before dinner. But the thing is, they always blame the kids for their behaviour - when the true blame lies with the parents.

Murderers are not born murderers, criminals are not born criminals, and fugitives are not born fugitives. You are whatever your parents allow you to be - either opinionated and rebellious, like me, or good and obedient and piously religious, like some of my friends, or mad and wild and completely mucked up - like these kids. It's so easy for parents to do the worst possible job with their kids and say it's all their fault.

Because, let's face it. Kids are kids. Kids need parents and friends and teachers to help them. Maybe once in a while a kid can brave the world on his own, but the ugly truth is, we're kids. You've been on this sad world a hell of a lot longer than us, and when we come in we generally assume that you know better than we do. Obviously we got that wrong, and the least you could do is set that straight.

That's why I have such a huge problem with bad teachers. I am not one of those psycho-genius peoples that can get straight A+++ in three grades above their standard year with a drunk cow for a teacher. I am a terrible student. I admit that I get bored easily, and that drives teachers mad. But what I cannot stand are bad teachers - the kind of teachers that don't teach because they want to, but because they can't do anything else - and they just want a 'nice, easy job'. Here in Australia you don't even need to pass high school to get into teachers college - and these are the people that are teaching the next generation. No-wonder the world is going all kablooey.

Teachers complain that they don't get any rights and their pay is not high enough, but seriously, they can't complain. If they don't like teaching and don't want to teach, for heaven's sake don't teach. Do you think we want people to pay you to give us hell? They don't pay us to endure you but somehow they pay you to act like the devil. Teaching used to be one of the most sacred and revered professions, with only the most elite and finest individuals deemed suitable for the job. Now any old hickey can stand in front of a classroom garbaging on about stuff we know and he doesn't.

My school is an elite school, but some of the teachers are really not elite. Some of them, a vast majority of them, are absolutely brilliant - they're funny, energetic, exciting and inspiring - without overkilling it. But there are a few that cannot stand bright students - which isn't all that good, because every single student from the years 8-10 are selected for their academic ability - so if they like those nice, normal, boring, average students, there aren't that many of them in my school.

The reason why some teachers cannot stand bright students is just that - it's because we are bright. Some teachers are just in it because they like the authority teaching gives them - they get to boss somebody around, even if it's just a handful of students. And we are a handful, really. We constantly need extra work, meaning extra time and extra patience. We're easily bored, easy to fustrate and get fustrated with, and quick to accuse, see flaws that so often come up. And it's not our fault, not really - it's hard not to be bored when some freak is trying to teach us the same thing for the six billionth time, and it's horribly fustrating. Some teachers love the challenge, and we get along well with them - in many ways, we worship the ground some of them walk on. Others simply can't stand it, and they really shouldn't be at our school, because things aren't going to get any easier for them - or for us.

As for teacher rights, well, they can hardly complain. They can do whatever they want, dress however they like, have a nice cosy staff room where they can sip hot drinks and eat hot food whilst we freeze out in the rain - they've kicked us out of the building for some reason or another again - eating soggy sandwiches. Lovely. I can totally see who gets the better deal here.

And pay - pay! Honestly. Last year two teachers (one of which drove a BMW, another a SAAB) flew BUSINESS CLASS to SINGAPORE, VIETNAM, THAILAND AND CAMBODIA, where they stayed in five-class hotels and went designer-brand shopping. Yup. They're so totally desperate for money.

And for all the ridiculous rules teachers set, they don't follow them. Teachers wear elegant lace pantyhose and delicate high heels whilst we wear frumpy opaque stockings and bulky shoes from hell. Teachers answer their phones and TALK ON THEM in class, and go completely outta their tree if our phone so much buzzes in class.

Anyway, to other news:

School is going fine - we're doing...well, more understandable stuff in science, although my teacher's behaviour is far from understandable. Maths is fine, as usual.

A shout out to Lucy, Celeste and Eleanor, my friends who are supposedly reading my blog - love ya, guys. If you love me back, you'll get a google account and follow officially...