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Friday
Jun122015

Dangerous advice for young people

A friend shared this on Facebook a few days ago:

My comment was "harsh" and I found myself in the minority for thinking so...

A number of years ago, there was a popular graduation address that had a whole string of these "grow up" realities and I carefully took the time to respond to each one. I'll be damned if I can find that, what I am sure was brilliant, bit of prose. But while looking for the exchange, I did run across this response to one of cartoonist Jessica Hagey's articles in Forbes:

From Nine Dangerous Things You Were Taught in School (Forbes) by Jessica Hagey

  1. The people in charge have all the answers
  2. Learning ends when you leave the classroom
  3. The best and brightest follow the rules
  4. What the books say is always true
  5. There is a very clear, single path to success
  6. Behaving yourself is as important as getting good marks
  7. Standardized tests measure your value
  8. Days off are always more fun than sitting in the classroom

Hmmmm. I'd agree with all of these based on my experiences. Go Jessica!

But I'd also add a few...

  1. There is one right answer to every question. At least to every important question. In fact those who can come up with the most right answers will do well in this economy. 
  2. The purpose of your education is make sure you can get a good job. The real value of education is to help make sense of the world, to open your eyes to new points of view, and to help you hone skills that will allow you accomplish tasks you feel are personally important.
  3. The more money you make, the happier you will be. Once you make enough money for the basices, making a difference, not making money, will make you happy.
  4. Heredity is fate. There will always be "the first person in the family to ____________" scenarios. Not enough, but enough to know it's possible. And your school experience does not have to be the same as that of your big brother or sister.
  5. Popularity = success. Listen to Springsteen's "Glory Days". At least three times.
  6. You have to be smart at everything. Good at math and science, but poor at English and social studies. Don't sweat it. Really smart people tend to be smart in the intersection of two fields, say technology and health. Focus on your passions.
  7. Classwork is more valuable than extracurricular activities or a parttime job. There is still too much learning for the sake of doing better at the next high level of education. You'll learn life's best lessons on the basketball court or your first paying job.
  8. You should like every teacher you have. This is impossible. You should learn how to work with every teacher, however, since one day you'll need to learn to work lots of people.
  9. Objectivity trumps passion. It's the Captain Kirks, not the Mr. Spocks, that discover new worlds.

 

What dangerous things were you taught in school?

And why can't I find that list of "realities?"

 

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