School...or Life?

[Nellerin]

My mind always wanders back to questioning why people follow the same path that everyone else does. Not only in the short term when dealing with school, but later in life, as in having a job that is not interesting for decades and then barely relaxing before death.

Before getting into the full post, please watch this short Alan Watts video (it's only a few minutes.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_sbcSRMsOc

Imagine this, think of what it would be like if you went to sleep and never woke up.... Are you happy with how you spent your time?

That "path", which has been promoted by society as a whole, is horrible and and can be seen in high school as well.

The immediate issue with high school is that it causes conformity, the killer of all creativity and the reason that many people simply hate high school.

Whether or not some of the information is useful, unless it is pertinent to life (something that we only hold on to for a limited amount of time) why waste time?

If you break school down to why it is "important", you realize that you are only trying to do well in order to get into college. And then, college is only important so that you can get a job which pays well but in many cases, you hate that job and will continue to hate a large portion of your life until you retire and die shortly thereafter.

What sort of "life" is that?

That "life" is an animalistic life of treachery in which you are going about things in the least creative way simply to keep your body alive while not taking anytime to do what you want and build up your true self.

Now, back to school.

Tell me, truly, why is it important to learn Calculus, the Periodic Table, the Elements, or American History (particularly when it is dominated by incorrect facts.)

All of these things are important but only to the people that have an interest in them.

If you have no interest in them, DROP OUT.

Leave!

What is the point in sticking around just to waste away another day in your life studying and trying to get a good grade when the only light at the end of that tunnel is the entrance to an even longer tunnel until finally, you reach the final tunnel that ends with your death.

Get out of that tunnel, think for yourself, do what you want.

Because the alternative is doing what you do not want to do for 80 years and then passing away having never built up your true self.

For me, I've gotten to the point that I only stick around in school to keep my parents "happy." Luckily, I have a full time job at 16 years old, and that job is doing what I love to do and I get paid enough to live off as a result.

While very few people are in my position, I have a feeling that more people could be if they did what I did, which is to stop worrying about grades and schoolwork, and simply start doing what you want to do (it worked for me.)

[tundravortex]

My mind always wanders back to questioning why people follow the same path that everyone else does. Not only in the short term when dealing with school, but later in life, as in having a job that is not interesting for decades and then barely relaxing before death.

Before getting into the full post, please watch this short Alan Watts video (it's only a few minutes.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_sbcSRMsOc

Imagine this, think of what it would be like if you went to sleep and never woke up.... Are you happy with how you spent your time?

That "path", which has been promoted by society as a whole, is horrible and and can be seen in high school as well.

The immediate issue with high school is that it causes conformity, the killer of all creativity and the reason that many people simply hate high school.

Whether or not some of the information is useful, unless it is pertinent to life (something that we only hold on to for a limited amount of time) why waste time?

If you break school down to why it is "important", you realize that you are only trying to do well in order to get into college. And then, college is only important so that you can get a job which pays well but in many cases, you hate that job and will continue to hate a large portion of your life until you retire and die shortly thereafter.

What sort of "life" is that?

That "life" is an animalistic life of treachery in which you are going about things in the least creative way simply to keep your body alive while not taking anytime to do what you want and build up your true self.

Now, back to school.

Tell me, truly, why is it important to learn Calculus, the Periodic Table, the Elements, or American History (particularly when it is dominated by incorrect facts.)

All of these things are important but only to the people that have an interest in them.

If you have no interest in them, DROP OUT.

Leave!

What is the point in sticking around just to waste away another day in your life studying and trying to get a good grade when the only light at the end of that tunnel is the entrance to an even longer tunnel until finally, you reach the final tunnel that ends with your death.

Get out of that tunnel, think for yourself, do what you want.

Because the alternative is doing what you do not want to do for 80 years and then passing away having never built up your true self.

For me, I've gotten to the point that I only stick around in school to keep my parents "happy." Luckily, I have a full time job at 16 years old, and that job is doing what I love to do and I get paid enough to live off as a result.

While very few people are in my position, I have a feeling that more people could be if they did what I did, which is to stop worrying about grades and schoolwork, and simply start doing what you want to do (it worked for me.)

well the whole point of school is to get a better job and maybe you'll get a better job like game designing or becoming a cop or go into the military,i rather stay in school and do that than having a low budget job like rite aid or dollar tree...if you drop out than you wont get a good job and besides you need a high school diploma to even get into a low budget job(at least where i live) and if you want an even better job than go to collage.....its there for you,not just takes away 9 hours of your life but gives you something in the mean time.....u get my point

[Nellerin]

well the whole point of school is to get a better job and maybe you'll get a better job like game designing or becoming a cop or go into the military,i rather stay in school and do that than having a low budget job like rite aid or dollar tree...if you drop out than you wont get a good job and besides you need a high school diploma to even get into a low budget job(at least where i live) and if you want an even better job than go to collage.....its there for you,not just takes away 9 hours of your life but gives you something in the mean time.....u get my point

That's interesting that I make $70,000 a year and am 16 with no diploma of any sort. It is untrue that you cannot live without a diploma and if your life revolves around money, then what is the real point in living?

You will simply end up with an unfulfilled life having only followed the rest.

College, unless you are becoming a doctor, engineer, etc (if you actually want those jobs), is not helpful.

[tundravortex]

That's interesting that I make $70,000 a year and am 16 with no diploma of any sort. It is untrue that you cannot live without a diploma and if your life revolves around money, then what is the real point in living?

You will simply end up with an unfulfilled life having only followed the rest.

College, unless you are becoming a doctor, engineer, etc (if you actually want those jobs), is not helpful.

$70,000 my ass,tell me what job do you have that makes that kind of money.....and i hope it legal

[Nellerin]

$70,000 my ass,tell me what job do you have that makes that kind of money.....and i hope it legal

I'm a professional journalist working for various websites. Numerous articles a day at between $20-50 each.

[tundravortex]

I'm a professional journalist working for various websites. Numerous articles a day at between $20-50 each.



well u couldve just wrote that down,well your plain lucky its hard enough to get a job wegmans than it is with a deploma

[Nellerin]

well u couldve just wrote that down,well your plain lucky its hard enough to get a job wegmans than it is with a deploma

Lucky, hah, no. It's more like five years of realizing that doing what I like is better than doing what I don't like.

I've simply never actually done nightly homework for the past five years and instead, I've built up my writing career and have now landed these jobs which have allowed me to have an income. An income that at the end of the day, means little to me and not in a selfish sense, just in a practical and realistic sense.

I've been hired instead of other people that have college degrees in journalism simply because of my experience and my understanding of what matters.

Granted, I'm not naturally unintelligent, I still take honors/college classes in high school but I consistently allow my grades to fall to D or worse and pick them up just enough to get on by.

Does this work for everyone? No. But, does caring about school and getting a well paying yet horrible job for 50 years make sense? Definitely not.

[tundravortex]

Lucky, hah, no. It's more like five years of realizing that doing what I like is better than doing what I don't like.

I've simply never actually done nightly homework for the past five years and instead, I've built up my writing career and have now landed these jobs which have allowed me to have an income. An income that at the end of the day, means little to me and not in a selfish sense, just in a practical and realistic sense.

I've been hired instead of other people that have college degrees in journalism simply because of my experience and my understanding of what matters.

Granted, I'm not naturally unintelligent, I still take honors/college classes in high school but I consistently allow my grades to fall to D or worse and pick them up just enough to get on by.

Does this work for everyone? No. But, does caring about school and getting a well paying yet horrible job for 50 years make sense? Definitely not.

well where i live thats all you have in order to make in life

[Nellerin]

well where i live thats all you have in order to make in life

Oh, I guess you are void of the internet. Wait! Never mind, you are on it right now.

I could live in Nigeria and do what I do.

Location doesn't matter, the internet has leveled the playing field in so many ways.

[conniption]

I like learning and I like school, so yes, I am happy with my life.

School is a HUGE part of society. Your statement that school serves to only give you a job that you'll hate for the rest of your life is completely false. Without schools society would fall apart. Just because you don't like the way our education system is set up doesn't mean it's bad. You don't necessisarily have to go to school to learn, there are other alternatives, like home schooling or unschooling.

[tundravortex]

Oh, I guess you are void of the internet. Wait! Never mind, you are on it right now.

I could live in Nigeria and do what I do.

Location doesn't matter, the internet has leveled the playing field in so many ways.

what the hell does void even mean

[Saint]

The education system may be bad,but education itself is not. "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."

Now onto why it'd be a bad idea if everyone were to drop out of school.
Everywhere you go,you require money. Public transport? You've got to have money. You require money to pay for your bills. You require money to have food on the table. Want that nice car you always admired? You've got to have money. I could go on,you require money to do almost anything.

We're raised into this socioeconomical place where the standard way of earning said money is by going to school,graduating,getting a job,meeting people,and making enough money to do all of the things that I've previously mentioned before. That's a simple enough way to put it at. The path that you mentioned is just that,something that everyone is familiar with. Something that's easy to put your mind into and follow.

On the other hand,if you're thinking of playing the game of earning money differently and tried dropping out of school,what could you do that's beneficial to you and society? What could you do that helps you put food on the table?

Again,it all comes down to money.A matrix. If you've got no other ways of playing the game of earning money differently,it's just best to stick with what you're already in,which is school.

[Syvelocin]

I've watched my father uproot us time after time because he hates his job and wants to do a different project within his company yet each time he starts hating the new project. That's why I knew from childhood that I had to figure out what I would wake up and love doing. Then I got thrown in a psych hospital, joined VT, and figured out that nothing made me happier than making a difference, however small, in a teenager's life. I figured out I wanted to be the person no one cared to be to me in my thirteen years of therapy.

Educational system is shit, I'll give you that. But it's worth it because I've got something to look forward to. All the differences I'm going to make in my lifetime. You can't just accept things but at this point in society, you gotta play by the rules at least sometimes otherwise nothing is secure. Some people don't need security, but I do. That's just my nature. I DID leave school because it was a waste of my time when I didn't have the emotional capacity to deal with it, and here I am in college doing just as well as any other kid my age.

And I truly enjoy the classes I take, although I do wish I didn't have to take them. College has a good deal of flaws but it isn't as bad as public school.

[CabbageMedul]

I'd say everyone lives their lives the way they want.

You're either a part of the common rabble, all on one leash like cattle
Or you're not.

Personally, I'm in college now, but I try not to think "What I'll do" in the future. I let it come as it happens. I'll scrape by by putting all my skills to use. Skills which school hasn't contributed to... :hmm:

[Typhlosion]

Nononononononono. No. You got it wrong.

My mind always wanders back to questioning why people follow the same path that everyone else does. Not only in the short term when dealing with school, but later in life, as in having a job that is not interesting for decades and then barely relaxing before death.

Before getting into the full post, please watch this short Alan Watts video (it's only a few minutes.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_sbcSRMsOc

Imagine this, think of what it would be like if you went to sleep and never woke up.... Are you happy with how you spent your time?

You mean imagine if I died. No, but very few reach true satisfaction. You could always do more. Seek spiritual plenitude with Buddha? I don't... where is this going?

That "path", which has been promoted by society as a whole, is horrible and and can be seen in high school as well.

The immediate issue with high school is that it causes conformity, the killer of all creativity and the reason that many people simply hate high school.

Yeah, a lot of people skip class to play the new "GTA" or level up their characters in RPG's as well. I'll get into this.

Whether or not some of the information is useful, unless it is pertinent to life (something that we only hold on to for a limited amount of time) why waste time?

If you break school down to why it is "important", you realize that you are only trying to do well in order to get into college. And then, college is only important so that you can get a job which pays well but in many cases, you hate that job and will continue to hate a large portion of your life until you retire and die shortly thereafter.

What sort of "life" is that?

I'd rather be a worker in a cubicle than a basic factory worker?

That "life" is an animalistic life of treachery in which you are going about things in the least creative way simply to keep your body alive while not taking anytime to do what you want and build up your true self.

We're animals. Everything else is luxury, mi amigo.

Now, back to school.

Tell me, truly, why is it important to learn Calculus, the Periodic Table, the Elements, or American History (particularly when it is dominated by incorrect facts.)

All of these things are important but only to the people that have an interest in them.

If you have no interest in them, DROP OUT.

Leave!

Don't listen to him kids.

What is the point in sticking around just to waste away another day in your life studying and trying to get a good grade when the only light at the end of that tunnel is the entrance to an even longer tunnel until finally, you reach the final tunnel that ends with your death.

Get out of that tunnel, think for yourself, do what you want.

Because the alternative is doing what you do not want to do for 80 years and then passing away having never built up your true self.

For me, I've gotten to the point that I only stick around in school to keep my parents "happy." Luckily, I have a full time job at 16 years old, and that job is doing what I love to do and I get paid enough to live off as a result.

While very few people are in my position, I have a feeling that more people could be if they did what I did, which is to stop worrying about grades and schoolwork, and simply start doing what you want to do (it worked for me.)

Worked for you? Good job.

---------------------------------------

On a serious note though, this is at least a misguided and selfish post. here's why.

Firstly, Alan Watt's video is aimed to be sentimental and whatnot. That's... kinda unfair for someone who thinks that a system deceives people. That video is also deceiving, one can make a living out of sea exploration or painting. And many do.
If everyone followed that video, who would really want to operate farm machines everyday if they could stay home or go for "inspirational" walks? Who would want to lay brick day in and out in the scorching sun for other people to live in? Who would want to work? Really, you could have more fun drinking at a bar than being a librarian. Nothing against any of these jobs, but who wouldn't abandon them for pure leisure.
Pure leisure is unsustainable for the whole human race.

Secondly, why is school a killer of creativity? It introduces so many new concepts to fantasize upon. It leads people to thinking paths they wouldn't go through otherwise. Imagine the vastness of space and how beautifully it works. If conformity is the killer of creativity, then so is discipline. Save unfortunate biased teachers, you don't need to "conform" to the idea of evolution, e.g.. Rather, they explain it, tell you why and how the model works and later quiz you about it.

School discipline takes a few forms: attendance, grades, new subjects. (The list is much longer but I want to expand on these concepts.) Attendance and grades are much more obvious, do what you're told even if you don't want to. Grades push school and learning further as you need to spend additional time and willpower to attain them. New subjects, such as Calculus, the Periodic Table, the Elements, or American History as you named earlier, might be both easy or hard for the student. You hate learning Chemistry? Well, you'll have to learn it, like it or not. Like it or not, you can't simply do only what you like and skip class to play some FPS with your buds. Like real life. I myself would be even less disciplined if I weren't at school.

Furthermore, aren't school colleagues catalysts to creativity? School "forces" people to be in a sociable state - the same can't be said by opting whether you're going to meet anybody or not. I've made many good friends at school that, even in number, I wouldn't meet due to my sheer shyness. And having great times with them, I definitely saw that our teenage creativity pushed ourselves forward on that topic.
New class subjects and friends promote creativity, and the school system itself promotes discipline.

Third...ly(?), college is much more about getting payed better. If you think everyone gets into college just to get a better job, you are so utterly wrong. Taking the examples from Watt's speech, there are colleges for literature and language, colleges for artistry (and many!) or colleges on philosophy and people do take them! Continuing on that logic, people can write articles or translate or review texts or write books to and for others; people can illustrate someone's design or their own into a visual novel; philosopher do not necessarily need to be teachers, they can have their own school of thought, they can shine new ideas on concepts to the future or give lectures and have their thoughts on inspirational YouTube videos!

But... Why do they need college for that, can't they figure it out on their own? The answer is a solid no for many people, here's why. I trust that many people who advocate against schooling are self-taught. The problem is, many people, if not the majority, do not know how or simply cannot teach themselves. I know many colleagues that can't learn simply by reading a book, they need someone to show them how something's done. People legitimately get poor grades by simply not knowing how to study for a test, a maybe familiar case of "when you explained it I understood, but when I opened my books to study my mind was blank!".

Not only that, but even if someone knows how to teach themselves, they might not know which direction should they take, or know how many if any directions there are. Someone aspiring to, for an example, be an illustrator might learn a technique in college that they wouldn't find out themselves. If you can get close to your teachers, they might have experience and advice so you can adjust your route. I had a technical course in I.T. alongside high school and learned many new things that I wouldn't bother to look for, such as some UML diagrams, that even helped in the future despite initial beliefs. Many people go there to learn.

But wait, there's more! A college degree can help out in more things. Even if you later pointed out that you, someone who hasn't done journalism, beat the competition that sometimes had their own degrees, a college degree is generally a good option for filtering candidates and works as a certificate that you learned what you're supposed to do when you got great grades. In this case, you're the exception, not the rule.

This post was really disrespectful for anyone who thinks in the academic life. You don't need to work in a cubicle, you can research various topics on oceanography, meteorology, physics, computation, archaeology, politics, health, pedagogy... (the list is endless!) College is usually a gateway to higher levels of graduation as the Master's and Doctor's degree. That can go to post-doctorate research. That your thesis usually will present something new to mankind.

Also, a single sentence: if college were all about the money, why isn't everyone doing medicine and other high-paying careers?

Fourthly, if you aren't doing what your true self wants, why aren't you doing it? Spending time with family? Check. (Unless you work extra time) Vacations? Not too large in some cases, but unless you plan on staying a year in the Himalayas... Check. A lot of rich people get much more leisure time than just a couple of weeks, but they got there starting somewhere. Thankfully, the economy allows us to escalate to higher positions. And even if you haven't finished escalating, you raise your kin to get to the summit and live their life to the fullest. My parents have progress a lot in relation to their parents, and I also aim to progress in social/economic state. If you think you have the right to stay a year in the Himalayas, remember my first point on sustainability. By the way, you don't need to be employed by someone else, you can work from home in your own business and cut all those other dependencies. It's up, literally, to you. Manage well.

Also, remember that in the older times work was much more lengthy and if a kid wasn't in school, he was probably working in sub-par conditions. Thank society for demanding education as a basic necessity.

Finally, kids, unless you are 100% certain that school is much too slow for you, don't drop out. Not everyone's a-ok without their basic education.

Stay in school.

[Jazzii]

That's interesting that I make $70,000 a year and am 16 with no diploma of any sort. It is untrue that you cannot live without a diploma and if your life revolves around money, then what is the real point in living?

You will simply end up with an unfulfilled life having only followed the rest.

College, unless you are becoming a doctor, engineer, etc (if you actually want those jobs), is not helpful.



Considering you are not in college I can see why you would think that it‘s pointless, however that's not the case. Being in college i can say that I have learned about myself and things that I would have not have learned if it were not for school. Your situation is not the norm, everyone cannot drop out of high school and have a job. I hope you are fully aware of the fact that you are an exception.

Think about it this way.

You are 16
You are a minor which means you probably live with your parents who:
Give you a place to sleep
Give you Working WiFi
Provide Financial support (chances are you aren't paying rent, or car insurance, or grocery or utility bills)
Provide emotional support

What about people who drop out, can't find a job, get an ultimatum from mom and dad,work at McDonalds,make 7.25$ an hour, live in their own apartment with no cable or electricity bc they can't afford it and so on and so fourth.

You are a special circumstance.

[Xandle]

I can certainly see the point being made here. That's not to say everyone should just drop out of school and do what they want, but those that feel like the chance to do what they love outweighs the idea of a steady, reliable future should be encouraged to do so. If you want to take your life on an adventure that could end up anywhere, in failure or success, then break out of the system and give it a go. To me, that's what life is about - throwing everything at what matters to you. For some people, though, it means getting a good education and earning a good, reliable income. That's perfectly fine. It takes all sorts.

[Something Creative]

Sure, I'm pretty happy with how I've spent my life. Granted, most of it has been spent in school, but I'm OK with it. And I'm definitely going to university. I have to, if I want to make something of myself. I'll study whatever I like, so I can get a job I like after I get my diploma. So yeah, I'm content with my life so far, and I'm glad I've got the next step planned out. I'm not in school just for the sake of society, because I'm a conformist. I'm in school because that's the only way to secure your future in this day and age.

Dropping out is not a good idea. The chances of succeeding at anything without going to uni are pretty slim, which is why drop-outs who actually make something of themselves are headline-worthy. You're an online journalist, good for you. Not everyone has the skills necessary to be one.

Bottom line: stay in school. An career such as an online journalist should just be your safety net.

[Willweston]

School because you can go places

[Kameraden]

Ignore his $70,000 per year remark, guys. His job won't last much longer, I am certain.

He's simply a hardheaded bigot who's making severe mistakes in the way he's shoving his salary down others' throats.

I'm going to go do some research right now, and if he indeed is an editor of what he claims to be, I will be getting in contact with his superiors to inform them of his behavior.

[Kameraden]

Seems he is a journalist, reading some of his entries: they're some of the worst I've read. His lack of basic journalism skills is amusing. I highly doubt he is paid what he says he's paid.