Proper Education

[DISCLAIMER]

Not one to pretend as though I’m a fan of a band when only vaguely familiar with their music, I don’t claim to be a fan of Pink Floyd. Although I attended a Pink Floyd laser show with my girlfriend in high school, I was otherwise exposed to their music in association with a pool hall.

For instance, when shooting pool at Amarillo Slims Pool Palace in Bomb City on many occasions in high school, someone would inevitably play “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” on the jukebox. From Pink Floyd’s 1979 album The Wall, lyrics of the song include:

We don’t need no education

We don’t need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom

Teacher, leave them kids alone

Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone

All in all, it’s just another brick in the wall

All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall

It’s not that I didn’t care for Pink Floyd when in high school. Rather, I enjoyed classic rock in small doses (i.e., shooting pool, and only then). Describing the track, one source states:

“Another Brick in the Wall” is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd’s 1979 album The Wall, written by the bassist, Roger Waters. “Part 2”, a protest song against corporal punishment and rigid and abusive schooling, features a children’s choir. At the suggestion of the producer, Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd incorporated elements of disco.

I enjoyed disco music, which was heavily influential in the house music subgenre of electronic dance music (EDM), so I liked the overall sound of “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2”. More than that, I appreciated the lyrics. Expanding upon the meaning of these lyrics, one source states:

While some apply the song’s biting lyrics to specific kinds of schooling, others use it as a rallying cry against any government mandated form of education. As a result, some countries, such as South Africa, have banned the song from being played on the radio, a few going so far as to place a national ban on both the album and Pink Floyd.

However, counter to these extremist views of total educational anarchy, the song was written as an attack against a specific type of learning, that which Waters endured as a child. The lyrics are quite specific to this effect, rebuking those teachers first described in “Happiest Days” who use “thought control” and “dark sarcasm” to mold the school children into mindless drones of society.

For Waters, the rote learning and sadistic delivery of his school teachers produced little more than faceless, social clones who knew the definition of an acre yet who could not produce an original, imaginative thought.

That description summarizes my perspective on formal education from adolescence. I despised the learning process, perhaps because my particular shape of metaphorical brick didn’t fit nicely into the slot which it was thrust (think square peg, round hole).

Looking back to that period in life, through the lens of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I disturbed myself quite a bit with unhelpful beliefs about the educational process. In fact, I often used all of the four major irrational beliefs identified in REBT. They are as follows:

·  Global evaluation – Since I can’t understand academic material as well as other students, I’m worthless.

·  Low frustration tolerance – I can’t stand how difficult it is for me to grasp the information presented by my teachers!

·  Awfulizing – Every time I go to school is awful, because each day I spend there is a reminder about how horrible the learning process is.

·  Demandingness – I shouldn’t be required to learn subjects which won’t be needed for adulthood!

If you’ve spent any amount of time reading the content of my blog, then you likely understand the detriment of my unhelpful attitude toward education from my youth. I never learned the proper use of English. (I take personal responsibility and accountability for this matter.)

Still, aside from the beliefs I maintained about academic matters, I loathed the social aspect of education. In particular, sitting motionless in a chair, raising my hand in order to speak, lining up single file to move within the school, and other behavioral requirements weren’t favored by me.

Admittedly, I rebelled quite a bit. On a number of occasions, I was sent to the principal’s office and received corporal punishment (i.e., swats), I attended both in- and after-school detention, and I was also punished with Saturday school. Yet, I wasn’t ever suspended or expelled from school.

Upon graduating high school, I told myself that I’d never again darken the doorstep of an educational institution. No thank you! Instead, I went in a less stringent direction. I joined the United States Marine Corps. (“Please clap.”)

Interestingly, when signing up for the Corps, I requested additional educational benefits. Though I’d convinced myself that a return to education wasn’t in my future, I gave myself the option to receive extra money for school if I ever decided to change my mind.

And change my mind, I did. While on voluntary appellate leave, as my behavioral issues didn’t stop in primary education, I began attending undergraduate courses. Fortunately, a private university allowed me to pay a substantial amount of money for credit associated with the Corps.

Then, in 2009, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Education (BSOE) degree with a focus on justice administration. To the layperson, my BSOE is primarily centered on education. (Oh, the irony!)

Reflecting upon the satisfaction I experienced when graduating college, I’m reminded of Pink Floyd. However, I think of a remixed version of the track – similar to how I was able to remix my approach toward the process of learning from high school to college.

On his 2007 song “Proper Education”, Swedish EDM DJ Eric Prydz remixed “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2”. (Suddenly, the Pink Floyd laser show from high school makes more sense.) I appreciate one’s ability to improve upon what once was while creating a pleasant new outcome.

Oh, do you think I’m referring to Eric Prydz’s remix? (Well, that, too, I suppose.) Herein, I’m expressing appreciation for the manner in which I improved upon a self-disturbed attitude about education so that I could create a new outcome that satisfied my interests and goals.

While I could claim to have completed undergraduate studies and two graduate programs thereafter all on my own, that would be a lie. In order to achieve the standard of proper education, I had a lot of help along the way. Now I try to assist others with success, as well.

Despite the fact that I’m only functionally literate and won’t be able to help improve your use of the English language, I may be able to help you to stop disturbing yourself with unfavorable beliefs. When you gain a proper education in REBT, who knows what you’ll be able to achieve?

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost EDM-influenced REBT psychotherapist—promoting content related to EDM, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters. 

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

Eric Prydz. (2013, November 17). Eric Prydz Vs. Floyd - Proper Education (Club Mix) ‎[PRY006] [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/wj9WvrRKbwM?si=N6Sf9mV3aFjrkiG7

Hollings, D. (2024, August 7). Awfulizing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/awfulizing

Hollings, D. (2023, April 22). Control. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/control

Hollings, D. (2022, October 31). Demandingness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/demandingness

Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer

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Hollings, D. (2025, March 5). Five major characteristics of four major irrational beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/five-major-characteristics-of-four-major-irrational-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better

Hollings, D. (2023, September 13). Global evaluations. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/global-evaluations

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Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching

Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Lived experience. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/lived-experience

Hollings, D. (2022, December 2). Low frustration tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/low-frustration-tolerance

Hollings, D. (2024, July 8). Must you tolerate abuse? Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/must-you-tolerate-abuse

Hollings, D. (2024, September 27). My attitude. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/my-attitude

Hollings, D. (2022, November 7). Personal ownership. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/personal-ownership

Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist

Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt

Hollings, D. (2024, January 4). Rigid vs. rigorous. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rigid-vs-rigorous

Hollings, D. (2025, January 15). Satisfaction. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/satisfaction

Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance

Hollings, D. (2023, March 13). Square peg, meet round hole. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/square-peg-meet-round-hole

Hollings, D. (2025, February 28). To try is my goal. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-try-is-my-goal

Pink Floyd. (2016, January 16). Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/E_lu_V15-Co?si=u0X099msde_VcOE2

Smurfparty. (2016, February 3). Jeb Bush: “Please clap” [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/DdCYMvaUcrA?si=rpUCMLErf94BP1_N

Urick, B. (n.d.). Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2. “Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’: A Complete Analysis”. Retrieved from https://thewallanalysis.com/another-brick-in-the-wall-part-2/

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Another Brick in the Wall. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Brick_in_the_Wall

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Bob Ezrin. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ezrin

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Eric Prydz. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Prydz

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Pink Floyd. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Roger Waters. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Waters

Wikipedia. (n.d.). The Wall. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall