Apparently I missed the Big Conversation here, but that's never stopped me before.
If there's one thing I've learned about Education in general, it's that the real value in it is rarely in the actual information you are ostensibly there to learn. I went to a private Christian school K-12, for example. While some of what I was taught is still important, these are what I look back on as the most important lessons I learned there:
- You don't "teach them a lesson" by refusing to do the work if you disagree. You confirm whatever they want to think about you.
- It's possible to completely hide an ideological disagreement and make someone think you agree.
- The best insults are the ones that are not perceived by their target.
- Sometimes what you have to do just sucks, but you come out on top if you excel in spite of that.
- Administrators are out to protect their own jobs first.
- The appearance of propriety is usually all you need.
- Sometimes people in authority do not know everything, but you should not challenge their authority if you have to point this out.
I don't expect to use Calculus ever again in my life, but the experience of surviving that AP class on sheer willpower is something I'll draw on forever. I'm also a non-traditional thinker; I learned study methods and project management in high school that worked for me, and this was important in college.
I went to a big state school right out of high school -- I was going to be an architect! I actually found the work there pretty easy, as most of what was in the general courses was a repeat for me. I went from a tiny school where the teachers and administration knew me, my siblings, and my parents to a huge school where I was lucky if the teacher recognized my face by the end of the quarter (for the big courses, anyway). I took my first architecture course and realized the work itself was not at all what I thought it was, and really wasn't enjoyable in the least. I ended up concentrating on core classes and as electives I took any 101 class that fit my schedule, and eventually one caught my passion and I ended up majoring in it. I have a degree in Geography that's done nothing for me professionally, but I wouldn't trade how I see the world for an MBA and a job I hate. What I learned in college:
- When the people in charge don't know who you are, you're the only one responsible for how well you do.
- If you're not being challenged, invent your own challenge.
- Mom isn't going to wake you up or write an excuse note if you oversleep.
- Once the police are involved, it doesn't matter what you think happened.
- Eating fast food every day really sucks after a while.
- Make sure what you do matches your superior's standards, because they do not always mesh with yours.
- If you can't "have fun" without involving alcohol or drugs, you need to reevaluate your activities.
- Double-check dates and times, because there is no do-over.
- Never give anyone a reason to suspect you of anything you do not want to be suspected of.
- Everything is a tradeoff. Make sure you know the consequences of every decision.
- It is vitally important that you recognize if you are unhappy, and figure out why. Then, fix it.
What I was taught in college hasn't served me as well as what I learned in college, and I imagine it's possible to learn most of these lessons at any college. And just as advice regarding your first relationship doesn't make sense until you're out of it, I understand that a lot of what's in this thread doesn't look applicable. So I guess I'll end with the most important thing I learned through my education:
Things never seem as bad as they felt when you were embroiled in them. All you can do is all you can do -- worrying does not make you do any better, and it makes you feel worse.
That works in a lot of situations.
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Topic: Pokemon Kid (Read 17024 times)