I'm in a culture slump. No, that's not a good term. Let's see if one appears. I am sitting with a tightly clenched jaw listening to people talk about education. Heck ya its important! someone just said. Stimulate it! Tough argument to combat. But then, the more I seem to listen, the less anyone ever talks about anything besides job training and guiding students towards where the jobs will be. That is fair. True. I don't have much of an argument here except the fact that no one should look at their life as a job. I hate that message. Hate is not the right word- disagree- denounce- dial-down maybe. Perhaps, in the light of attempting enlightenment, educators should allow other ideas to emerge. It is frustrating to have a whole country's worth of policy makers feel so strongly about something and have that something be shallow but also have everyone's best intentions at heart. Maybe it has always been this way and I just ignored it. I like to think that at some point people embraced learning because they wanted to figure things out. Not specific things like how to format the processor to upload the database to the server, but things. Just things. Those people that maybe want to make connections and learn new things that they can connect other things to so more connections are made and eventually they possess a broad world view and utilize that view to make wise decisions, including maybe some decisions about jobs and money, but other decisions too- ones that have nothing to do with jobs. Why aren't those people important? Why can't we encourage eighteen year old kids to do that? For every vocational school that tells them they can be making this much money by this date if they study this degree at this school, maybe there should be a person letting them know that if they buy a fuel efficient reliable car they can probably see a good deal of the country inexpensively by following these steps and maybe trying to talk to these sorts of people and avoid these sorts of people, but still spend less than what one semester of career training costs. That choice is a valid educational choice. Anyone that claims otherwise has seen a different country than me. And maybe if we encouraged this sort of education, one where money is just a tool utilized to reach your goals instead of a goal in itself, people will be more willing to share. I don't know, that is somewhat drastic, but I've seen it, I like it, and I want to teach it.
I'd like to fill out a fafsa and fly to Finland with the funds. Maybe there is value in that. I feel like for every beer bong drank in college, there should be ten American teenagers talking to Finnish citizens about life, and making connections. If we can't trust them, they're only kids, they might get taken, then we teach them, train them, and educate them that the world is a beautiful place and filled with beautiful people. Does this sound like an asshole writing jibberish about bullshit? When I reread it I come close to almost hitting delete, but it's 4:30 am, and I have nothing to do until 6 am, so I am going to keep it up.
I know, I get it- people need jobs to survive... but moreso I think people need to quit being so predetermined... I am all for people making an educated decision to follow a career path- heck I am enrolled in a path like that as we speak- BUT can everyone settle down a bit about the necessity to teach these youngsters job skills. If they are taught critical thinking skills, I feel like a logical next step would be the youngster realizing that s/he needs to get a job... or no, a life. Get a life in which a job is a part. But it is just a part if you want it to just be a part. Or if you are really passionate about this job- heck go for it. I don't want people to sit there thinking I am being anarchistic and plain silly with this because I am being serious. I don't think your job should rule you (unless you come to that decision on your own accord).
