I believe my generation is losing touch with many important things. When I hold discussions with my peers about education, ethics, capitalism, socialism, communism, social reforms and so on, the conversation only goes so far. We learn about world politics and world economy through our professors and through websites and television stations. We can form opinions of these facts and refute certain standpoints for, or against, our own. We are informed to a certain point but this is not enough. Why are we being informed of these issues? Why is there media, hyper-media, the internet? To simply put these events and concepts in our heads and to discuss it over some lunch? We need to look beyond this simple line of action the majority of us seem to be leisurely taking and utilize these tools for the advancement of cultures and societies as a whole.
I feel as if so many of us young kids today express this longing to "break away from society" and "lead an unconventional life". I have even expressed this feeling because it seems like our world now is so controlled and organized into going to school, getting a degree, making money and then retiring. But life is so much more than that and it is also so much more than the alternative that most of us choose which is to party our asses off. These are two extremes that will get us nowhere. Our generation is at a turning point in history. We are experiencing a technological revolution where every aspect of everyone's lives are changing due to perpetually advancing technology. Every single day our access to new information, art and the rest of humanity becomes more readily accesible and we seem to be evolving this non chalant attitude towards all of it, leaving it up to the small majority of those who only care about school deal with all of it.
We need to discover the importance of self-education and discipline while effectively utilizing technology to change the way we live. I believe I have brought up a number of different issues that do not seem coherent but there is a video that inspired this post and I believe a lot of what I am expressing is brought together nicely in this lecture.
I urge everyone to watch it because IT WILL change your life.
The lack of comments suggests that your peers want to lead a nice conformist lifestyle and shop at wal-mart.
ReplyDeleteThis video is very interesting, and very true. In a way school is boring, it is repetitive and based on grades, you sit through the same basic education system for all most 14 years of your life from kindergarten to graduation from college, and for many others 2-5plus more years for doctorates and masters degrees. It is a bit ridiculous. I believe the best learning experience are outside the class room, I can truly say that I have learned more from watching the ducks in the park for an hour than I have in my english class in the past two weeks. but just watching the ducks doesn't cut it, you have to ask yourself questions; ‘ what could it mean when they do this?’ or ‘What do you think they are thinking or are they even capable of thought?’ When you ask these questions there are multitudes of possible answers. (Gosh I don’t know if I am making any sense right now) And it is multitude of answers that that makes you learn something. For example the education system teaches people that there is one right answer “often found in the back of the book......but don’t look”, but there doesn’t have to be, yes, i know that 2+2 in math will always be 4, but education is more than adding and subtracting. In high school I took the required moral theology class and the teacher kept trying to say that things were black and white and there was a good way and a bad way to do things. I often found myself asking about the grey area. The teacher would say, yes there might be a small gray area but basically some acts are good and some are bad. This grey area is huge! or at least in my opinion, and its not just in the matter of moral theology. It is this grey area that the education system seems to miss. As kid going through the younger years of school, i would always ask my teachers why we were learning something, especially my math teachers. The most common answer was some where along the lines of “you will need/use it in the future” and I would respond “but why?” At this point most teachers who end the conversation with my question unanswered. The question today is still “why do we teach kids the things we teach them, and what is it exactly are we teaching them to do?” According to the current system of education we are teaching children how to function in the greater system of society in which the education system is a part. I don’t necessarily think this is right.
ReplyDeleteAs for wal-mart, as much as I don’t like it, it is hard not to shop there when one is a poor college student. Saying this I try not to shop there when possible.
I hadn't really considered before how standardized tests give way to limited, dualistic thinking.
ReplyDeleteI was with some Australian friends a couple weeks ago and they mentioned how no other countries rely so heavily on multiple choice tests and extra credit than America. While I think MC standardized exams are a failure of our system, I do like the concept of extra-credit. Other countries tend to think of it as ridiculous that we have the opportunity to gain more surplus credit, but I think it rewards individuality and motivation.
How does, "Attend a lecture and you'll get extra credit" reward individuality or motivation? It motivates you because you get points to go. Extra credit is like closing the door after the horse got out. The idea that you can pull out a good grade while procrastinating the whole semester is a lie fed to us by Hollywood and reinforced by extra credit.
ReplyDeleteThat video depresses me. I find myself constantly switching between feelings of wanting to break away from the bull of schooling and getting a degree and getting married, having children, continuing work, enjoying my rare vacations, retiring, and then dying. But then, school, and society in general reinforces the entire concept, and it makes it look appealing--if not appealing, then it makes you feel terrible about yourself if you want to be one of those "losers" that breaks away. And once you've broken away, have you really done anything wise? We need that piece of paper in order to survive, to buy food and shelter and clothing. Maybe in some ways it's wise to humor the system. Then, on the other hand, if you humor the system then it will never be stopped. If you don't go to the best or at least a "respected" University then you aren't adequate in the eyes of many (or most). If you don't get a career in the sciences then you are still inadequate. If you don't buy the cunning edge technology then you are looked at as poor, and thus, inadequate. It's that super structure, always making sure that people won't stray from the system by conditioning people to think one way, and then ridicule or judge anyone who doesn't conform. And we can say that we don't care what the closed minds think, but at the end of the day, it's those same closed minds that hold nearly all opportunities. As much as I want to say that I don't want to conform, that I want to actually live in an honestly, purely free way--I probably won't. I know I won't. I'm going to finish college and get a degree. Then I'm going to find myself a respectable career. I'll probably shop at big box companies and hate myself. And that is why the whole thing depresses the shit out of me.
ReplyDeleteOn a second look, I agree with you, Brian. I was drawn to the idea of extra-credit because it is responsible for students going outside the classroom to explore a topic, but it isn't motivated by the opportunity to learn, it's for the opportunity to earn a better marks in a sub-par education system. It does some good, though, since the Australians noted that they, too, are told of lectures or other educational opportunities pertaining to the subject in their classes, but often never attend them because they deem it worthless. We're having to trick our students into learning. Something's deeply wrong, and it isn't just Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteSomeone could, however, easily argue that extra credit offers those with the initiative to work harder the opportunity rise over those who do not. Thus, allowing those who have the capacity and will to expand their mind an outlet to utilize that intellectual strength for the greater good of the whole. (Seeing as knowledge equals power) But this seemingly trivial debate of extra credit touches upon a broader, more important issue.
ReplyDeleteThe ever growing movement of globalization and instant connectivity has exposed us to an abundance of cultures, morals and political philosophies from all over the world; more than ever before. Even within the our own country we can observe two drastically different views on how to run our government. What I am trying to explain is that there seems to be a constraint on the evolution of our political structures because of this incredibly wide variety of perspectives on life in general.
As we become more unified as a species, we need to begin developing a system of governing societies and educating the youth that can forward the human race as a whole. The more technology and the internet evolve the less we can escape the issues and perspectives of other cultures and nations. Perhaps the key to a system that fits our generation and those to come is one that will be flexible enough to encompass the ethical and political standpoint of each individual human.
This seems like a massive stretch but with the ever advancing leaps in science and technology how could we not expect such a time to exist? These complex online social networks and access to information is giving more voice to individual people and therefore opening more levels of power over those willing to listen. We need to keep these approaching concerns in mind when developing the perfect system for our independent countries because the way our world is being run right now seems to be leading us into aggressive and costly acts towards each other.
I believe overtime the need for world leaders to meet will not be for war but for creating a universal system of cohabitation between our world's unique civilizations.