Monday, June 27, 2011

BloggeRhythms 6/27/2011

In answering a woman's question about why he sends his kids to private school, since he's responsible for the public school system in his state, New Jersey's Governor Christie told her it's none of her business. He later explained that he thought subjects like that are a private matter, to be handled as parents themselves see fit. And, I think he's absolutely correct.

Yet, although I certainly agree that offspring's schooling is something parents should decide for themselves, I also have strong feelings about education itself. Because, like just about everyone else, I've gone though educational processes myself. In fact, I've graduated from some of the finest educational facilities in NYC. And, if nothing else, what's been proven to me without doubt is, it makes no difference how or where kids are taught, all that counts is whether or not the kids themselves want to learn. If they want to -they will, if they don't -they won't, regardless.

In my own case, I couldn't have cared less about what the institutions I attended taught. Almost everything I was exposed to went in one ear and out the other, rarely sinking in. There were several reasons for that. First and foremost, I had a very low boredom level, so my mind wandered almost immediately. Aside from that, the thoughts I did have revolved around playing baseball, basketball, shooting pool, and in later years, golf.

Nonetheless, I did extremely well on tests because I taught myself how to cram. And in a day or less, was able to spout back enough to insure passing grades. Sometimes, the highest grades in the class. And although I really didn't even want to waste a day by studying, it was certainly a lot better than ever doing homework or listening to drivel for a whole term.

Another issue I had with formal education was that most of the educators were mindless dolts. That factor proved itself time and again by the fact that these robots were standing there in front of kids spouting pap, likely because they couldn't cut in the real world. That's why until recent years, tenure and union support, these bozos worked for chump change.

And then, further along, I ultimately proved my point to myself. Because, when I had to go out and earn a living, there were indeed things I needed to know. And that's where I learned about education. I went out and found the appropriate texts and materials and learned them through and through. I sought mentors wherever I could, the most successful I could find, then picked their brains incessantly, striving to remember every valuable word. In time, I absorbed huge amounts of information, all of it useful to me because of it's importance to myself, not some brain dead designer of curriculum's.

The funny thing about it is, that although it was job related, I became an educator myself. In fact, I've even been published in my subject. But, when you boil it all down, whatever is on those pages, you could easily get the same information from me over a bar in some gin mill, and we'd both have a much better time.

That's it for today folks.

Adios

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