Education [ej-oo-key-shun]- the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgement, and generally preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. Thank you dictionary.com. I’d like to quickly point out that nowhere in this definition does it state that this act is bound to a classroom and that it does include the words “preparing…for mature life.”
There are literally thousands of articles discussing modern education, but one in particular piqued my interest. It is titled “Is the Drive for Success Making Our Children Sick?” and is packed with stats and research to back up the claim that our current educational expectations are leaving children riddled with anxiety and depression.
My challenge here is not that I feel the claims being made in the article about the modern education system are untrue, rather with the use of the term “Drive for Success”. I won’t down play the importance of school, shit, I have an education in education, but I flat out disagree with modern education equaling success and with the words education and school being used interchangeably. Sure, someone can be successful in school, but 1) that doesn’t equal success in life and 2) education isn’t over when the bell rings. Is the drive for success really what’s wrong with schools today?
School was a very important part of my childhood. I was an excellent student and I loved just about every moment. One of my life goals is to get my PhD. But my love of learning extends far beyond the reach of a classroom. I wanted to find success in school from kindergarten through college, it made me feel accomplished and curious about the world and how I could find this feeling of accomplishment in other areas of my life.
It is my “drive for success” that fuels my need for knowledge. A common misconception in society is that once you find success in school you are guaranteed the job of your dreams. You have worked your ass off to be “successful” and you deserve it. I had that misconception when I graduated college, both times. I am sure that having a degree has aided in obtaining a job, but it sure as hell didn’t get me the job of my dreams. At this point in my career, I have found more success and interest in areas that weren’t my field of study in school.
One of the greatest lessons I have ever learned (there is education outside of school!) is that if you want to find success in something, anything, you have to put in the time and effort. If you want a job in a particular field you must prove you’re value, passion and commitment in addition to that piece of paper with the institutions name across the top.
The only thing that piece of paper proves is you were willing to put the time and effort in to find success in school (or at least passing, you know the saying, D=degree), but it says nothing about why you’re better suited than candidate B, C or Z, who will more than likely have the same piece of paper. But even if you score that job, you will have to continue to learn and grow in an ever changing world, without the structure of school, in order to find success in it. Are we helping students understand this with modern schooling?
Claiming that the drive for success is what is making our children sick is preposterous. We should all be driven by success and I believe it should start at a young age. School and extracurricular activities are the primary vehicles for teaching a child about success, hard work, passion and commitment. How the hell else will they learn these lessons?
Hard work is rewarded in all avenues of life, but it takes time and commitment. What message are we sending when we make school 5 hour days instead of 7 or have homework bans on the weekends because it’s “too stressful”?
To me the message is loud and clear… when you have a job in the real world you won’t ever have to put in extra hours to complete a project or work weekends and your boss will hug you and say, “oh you’re feeling stressed? You better start working half days.” I doubt it.
We are creating weak individuals who will believe that the world will cater to their every whim. I don’t know about the world you live in, but where I live you must have a strong will, dedication and a willingness to “get the job done” if you have hope of even surviving in a job much less being successful in it.
Society (and school) does a terrible job ensuring that students understand that success is measured differently by every individual. A successful career doesn’t necessarily equal a successful life, as it is often assumed.
It all depends on your definition of success. Some see being married for 30 years and raising children as the ultimate success while others find success in making $10 million. Humans find victory in success, but the idea of success is as different as each of our personalities.
This has been a struggle of mine for most of my adult life. Being successful in school gave me the false hope that finding a job that I loved and had a great deal of passion for would be easy to secure and in that job I would find great financial success and ultimately live a happy life. I am 33 and still looking for this perfect world of success.
The lesson I’ve had to learn (outside of the classroom) is that there is happiness beyond your chosen career path and that there will be many failures along the way. While we all need to be contributors in society, it is acceptable to be a business man or woman and equally acceptable to be the bartender that serves them drinks.
I am not in support of the current direction the US school system is headed in. Educating our youth to ensure they pass tests which will hopefully rank them at the top among other leading countries to try and prove that we, the USA, have our shit together is doing our children a huge disservice. It’s ridiculous and frustrating to watch.
This along with the poor wages our teachers get paid are the two main reasons I chose not to enter the education field after graduate school. But I am definitely not in favor of shorter school days and homework bans. We need to be preparing our future generations for working in the real world where there is more than one way to accomplish a task and that sometimes you have to work late and on the weekends.
School isn’t the end in education and seeking success. Success is a continuous journey accompanied by hard work, patience and commitment and we need to foster the drive to seek success in our youth, not make it out to be the villain.
Here is the article I read that spurred my rant: Is the Drive for Success Making Our Children Sick?
A Pinch of Opinion 