I realized this a while back when I decided at 17 to move to Canada and attend university there. Even though I grew up in an affluent community the public school I went to sucked. Wait, let me rephrase that. It's not that the school sucked because of its teachers, quite the contrary, the bureaucratic tools they used to organize the school system in Marin County, California, sucked.
The whole education system in the United States has been built that if you are clever (and not necessarily smart) you can get away with murder and basically get straight A's. I'm not proud of this but I worked damn hard to manipulate my teachers and cut corners in order to get good grades. The reason I'm admitting this is besides the fact that I was quite confident I wasn't actually learning anything, I still had the drive to go to college and that is when I got a big fat reality check.
Coming from the U.S. I immediately noticed that the average Canadian had better schooling than I. And the more I met students from other countries, I realized that pretty much everyone who didn't attend a U.S. public school had a better education. Once again, I must stress that it was not the teachers, it was the system.
The educational system in the U.S. is atrocious. If you are familiar with Brown v. Board of Education, you know that segregation in schools lead to minorities receiving less than equal education due to lack of funding and a horrible allocation or resources to its students. Unfortunately, schools are still segregated and this time its economically; students who grow up in poorer areas do not receive the same education as those who grow up in richer areas.
This was more then apparent at my high school and the school system did nothing to remedy this. Instead of adding more education programs to the elementary schools they just accepted that these students would be behind the others once they reached high school and put them in lower level classes than the rest. This lead many of these students (who were also mainly minorities) to believe they were stupider and we all no that if one does not have the confidence to succeed, then there is little hope that they will.
These students were also at a disadvantage because you had to have a certain grade point average to play team sports. So, not only were these kids shunned to the lower level classes where teachers were less than enthused to teach what they have been told were "problem children," but they were also not allowed to play team sports.
Basically this rant is pointing out that the U.S. school system has got it all backwards. They administer tests to schools and the top schools receive more money. THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! The lowest ranked school should receive the most money so they can improve their programs and schools should be rewarded on the most improved students. Instead of punishing the kids who, by no choice of their own, are put in lower level classes by not allowing them to partake in fun things like sports, why don't you encourage them to join the team and organize team study times and reward the kids who improve their skills in their studies and on their game. Sounds like a win-win to me!
What I'm saying is we can not let our kids, the next generation, fall by the way side. We need to look at education as a precious gift that should be granted to all, but not thought of as a burden to our society. We need to celebrate education and encourage all to be intelligent rather then letting them try and get on reality TV if the whole education thing doesn't work out. Yuck!
We need to start by examining what role models our children are looking at today and then look at how we can change the system to make school cool.
My best friend and I were extremely lucky. We not only had great teachers but we had enough confidence in our own abilities to take our education into our own hands. My friend and I took the GED and she went to graduate from the University of California, Berkeley. I decided to stay in school and graduate early with independent study. We were lucky because we were able to recognize the flaws of our education system and use them to our advantage. We read up on how to make education work for us, and it did, considering we are both college graduates now.
However, this is not the case for many.
Here are some very important tips resources for students who want to take education into their own hands.
Tips from experience:
1) If you want to do something and someone says you "shouldn't," don't always believe them. This is a big one! If I had a dime for every time a teacher, college career counselor, or family friend told me not to do something because it would look bad to college admissions, etc. I wouldn't have done anything with my life.
Instead, make a list of why you want to do that thing in particular and research how it could use it to your advantage.
2) College Career counselors do not know as much as they think they do.
I have met way too many university students that said they had horrible counselors in high school and if they actually listened to them they probably would still be stuck doing nothing. My counselor told me that if I went to school in Canada I would be an attractive candidate for employment in the U.S. because employers are unfamiliar with Canada and their schools. Not only did I graduate from one of the best universities in the world (also, located in Canada) but I got an amazing job straight out of school. Boo ya!
3) If you are passionate about something, make sure you have taken all the necessary precautions to make sure you can actually do what you want.
No one likes math, or science, or a particular subject they are not good at but unfortunately if you skip it all together it could impede on what you actually want to do with your life. I know so many people that have told me they do not need pass math in order to be a musician. But, what you must realize is that since you are young you need to become a renaissance man or a jack-of-all trades in order to really master your craft. If you cut out the things that you don't enjoy doing, it could severely impact what you do enjoy doing in the long run.
4) Just to follow up on that previous statement...you are young and stupid, so don't disregard everyone's advice just because you think you know better.
This is hard to tell other people because I was way to self-righteous as a teen. I didn't want to listen to anyone and I usually didn't. However, my mother always taught me to take any opportunity that comes my way, so I tried to take all the advice I could while still trying to pursue my own goals. This is good advice to take. It's great that you have passions but please please please try and realize that you are young and have a lot to learn so just because you don't like doing something, does not mean you can kick it to the curb just yet. It's best to try a little bit of everything and then narrow your interests until you find your expertise....but then again, I'm still in the "try everything" stage and I'm 23. This applies to me to then, whoa!
5) Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
My friend once said, "it's better to regret something you did, than something you didn't do," and although that statement doesn't make sense in every aspect of life, it does when it comes to your education. How will you know what you are really good at if you don't try a little bit of everything? If you have found something you are good at get connected within that specialty and see if you can specialize even more.
So, you wanna beat the system and make the most out of your crappy education? Here are some great resources to start you out:
- AERO (Alternative Education Resource Org.): This organization was set up to give information to students and families about all the possibilities and opportunities people have to receive an education. If you have a moment, read up on how they can help you suceed!
- Summer Search: I have nothing but praise for this organization because I am an alum. This organization goes to schools and recruits students who are smart, ambitious, etc. but have something impeding their success. The organization then takes you under their wing and gives you a mentor to speak to throughout the year. The mentor talks to you about your school and personal life and tries to direct you in a positive way. If you succeed they give you money to go on a backpacking wilderness trip and /or an international community service trip. This program reinstates the confidence that so many students lose when put into schools. They have expanded their organization all over the U.S. so look up if there is one in your area and even if it isn't don't hesitate to contact them to see how you can be a part of Summer Search. Being a Summer Searcher completely changed my life and I am eternally grateful for their time and effort in the program.
- Here is a useful list compiled by Paths of Learning, about education alternatives. Now, please be patient (something I lack but am trying hard to work on). You are not going to necessarily find what you are looking for in the next 5 min. but this list might help you map out your educational future.
Oh, and don't believe me about the U.S. educational system sucking a lot? Well, the guys who directed an Inconvenient Truth, made this movie to prove you wrong, check out the film and then say I'm crazy...I dare you.
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