[life] Rewind, ERASE, Review

I've posted a few times about how education is perceived in society. I've complained about the stress that is put upon young people to achieve and expressed that I felt it unreasonable. But that is only one side of the story.

On the side of adults, specifically the Baby-Boomer generation, I do, in fact, feel they put an unnatural load on us with the existence of mega-exclusive Ivy Leagues and the promise that a rigorous education will lead to "success". But from a younger perspective, I also know that we need to participate actively in this. Meaning we still need to do what is expected of us. Maybe I was wrong to complain so early on this journey and decrease the enjoyment I could have along the way. Now that I've reached a happy medium, I want to completely explain my sentiments and my plan of action.

Formal education is too important in this society. That is my truth. I believe that the best teacher I will ever be fortunate enough to have is life. There are times in life when you learn things that you never would have found in your science textbook. I do not like the fact that if you blindly trust everything you find in your school books, you will be ejected out into the world with no street-smarts and no common sense. But that's the world I live in. HOWEVER (EVER...ever*), because this is the way the world is right now, it is the duty of any student to accept that they have to learn more in school than their parents, suck it up, and do it. Now is not the time to become weary and complain. The time to complain is after it's all said and done, that way, one can reflect on the quest for formal knowledge as a whole, and not in pieces (like I do). It is IMPERATIVE, though, that while doing the things expected of you, to not willingly agree to everything written in a book. A good student (contrary to popular belief), is not one who gets good grades, but who gets the grades they deserve because they question what is widely accepted, argue the opposing viewpoints to discover the flaws in an original idea, and explore the truths beyond what is on the next assessment. While I am not at this level yet, I aspire to be.

In conclusion, my pledge for this upcoming year is to change the way I approach school with the hopes that I will form less of a mind-block against things I don't like. In the words of Whitney Houston, "It's not right, but it's OKAY..."

*an echo. Since I figured a few of you wouldn't catch that. :)

Haha. That's about it for now. Toodles!