This Is Nuts!
Wednesday, October 26th, 2005
I just read a News.com article where the author shares his experience in selecting an elementary school for his child and he also opines about the state of education as he sees it.
He talks about children being interviewed and being asked to solve problems. About children being observed during these evaluations. All in the name of getting into the “right” school… AT AGE 4! Don’t get me wrong, I believe in getting a great education, in achievement, in excellence, but when do kids get to be kids.
I don’t know where the author lives, but I’ll make a guess that it is in Silicon Valley. I might further guess that it’s Cupertino because of the reference to the Japanese-language immersion school. But the Silicon Valley generalization is close enough. In the Valley, everyone has first hand knowledge that a great education is on the general path to success. We have two of the best schools in the country in Berkeley (fine it’s in the East Bay, but close enough) and Stanford. We also attract people from the other fine institutions in the country. And we have one of the higher standards of living in the country (and cost of living). Most people would agree that there is some correlation between the two.
Living in this environment puts a certain lense on education, namely that you can’t be successful without one and that the better the education the more successful you will be. So, if you want your children to be successful than they must have a good education and if you want them to be the most successful they must have the best education. Who doesn’t want their child to be super successful? Thus the competition to get into the best schools and the tightening of admissions requirements as the demand increases for those schools.
My brother experienced this and I think it’s part of the reason that he is no longer teaching. I experience this on a regular basis with co-workers and others talking about the outside language and study classes and comparisons of schools and school districts. Is the world really that different? Have the laws of success changed? Has the meaning of success changed?
Hey, I’m a product of Lowell High School one of the top high schools in California if not the nation. I also went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute one of the top schools in engineering. I do place a high value on a quality education, but do I believe I would be less successful if I had gone to Lincoln or San Jose State? Heck no. My parents instilled in me the values of a good education and hard work. These are what have made me successful. I hardly remember anything from either high school or college except for the people and I use almost none of what I learned in my career. But by continuing to learn and working hard, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. Am I successful? By my definition, yes! Can I be more successful? Yes! Is it going to take getting additional education from Stanford? Heck no! It’s going to take hard work, desire, self exploration, and learning that no school, other than the school of life/hard knocks can teach.
Surpriiiise - 
Maaaaad - 
Sad - 
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