Creativity involves a great deal of
understanding of the things that already exist. It needs to be understood that
we live in an always expanding universe. We can say that we know that. But, do
we truly conceive of what that actually means?
If human beings allow themselves to stop
understanding new things, then mankind will wither away into degeneration. The
greatest thing to address in our society is teaching our children the meanings
of creativity and genius. We need to teach kids that every human being can be
creative in his or her own way. Genius is not a relative concept; it is
universal. We just need to broaden our understanding of these concepts.
People in education seem to think they are so
enlightened these days. Sure, letting kids “learn in their own way” as an idea
seems like a great idea. But helpful, conscious guidance is still very
important. Otherwise, you’re essentially putting a kid out on the city streets
with a few bucks and a rather useless pamphlet of “popular attractions.” In
many ways, I feel like that’s all our school systems do for kids these days.
There is this obsession in schools essentially
existing only for “college-preparatory” purposes. But, college should not, I
repeat, should not be something that is for everyone. There are some people
that are simply not academics. That is a fact. What I am getting at is it seems
that public schools only hold kids over with only the most barebones skills to
get by. Schools seem less interested in actually equipping our youth to succeed
in real life, only in boosting test scores and college admissions.
It is incredibly frustrating for true
professional educators and academics to see this happen. But the system seems
to have passed them by. Many students today seem to have little real interest
in anything important. It has come down to the point even the textbook
companies have watered everything down to make even going to college an
absolute joke.
Try putting textbooks from even twenty years
ago to College Seniors today! They would be befuddled beyond belief. “I don’t
get it,” too many of them will say. This is not an inherent fault in the
students themselves. The education which they were required to receive has
failed them horribly. Only those that have truly worked very, very hard for
their education seem to truly understand what there is to understand. It’s hard
to say what they have gotten out of their “higher” education, either.
I have many issues with the American
educational system. But perhaps the greatest I have is the more general
sentiment I have that schools are far underperforming what politicians would
like us to believe from their bogus test results. You can teach a monkey to
take a test and pass relatively well. Essentially, we treat our kids like
chimps. So, magically, they become chimps! Now, how did that happen? (Sorry, if
I offended any chimps out there.)
As someone who wasted too much time and money
on a “higher” education that was supposed to benefit me, I warn those who are
looking to drop tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars on a “valuable”
college education. If you’re not planning on being a doctor or some other field
that absolutely requires a degree, I’d stick to taking community college or
technical courses that offer practical knowledge you can apply directly to a
vocation. Anything else at this point, honestly, is pretty much just a money
grab.
If you really want to understand something,
read as many books as you can on the subject and related subjects. Then, sit
down and work through any difficulties or inconsistencies you find in your
reading. You learn far more that way that researching any old term paper.
It’s too long it took me nearly a hundred
thousand dollars and over four years to understand that truth. Hopefully I save
you and/or someone among your friends and family from making that same mistake.
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