Unimaginative Title for Thoughts on the Educational Effects of Societal Expectations and Metersticks
Yes, mom and dad. Really, if you want, be my guest, write this college application yourself.

Outside of being a "problem child"... getting trashed up in all manner of crimes and drugs and pregnancies, I think the only thing that parents are really desperate about is college. Anyone ever get the sense that, yeah, if it was at all possible and acceptable to societal standards, they certainly would grab the opportunity to write your college application for you? That they would willingly take your SATs and ACTs for you? Raising a kid is like playing an RPG for parents. They really don't care about the process - they just want to see that end result. If a hack presents itself, to, dupe an item, implement some sort of cheat... heck yes, they'll take it!

Which, is, in a sense, the problem with both communism and capitalism. Communism, in real world instances, has never actually cared about people. There's always a cold, briskness involved. Here is 20 bushels of grain. You are content for year. Everyone satisfies their supposed material need, and society will become utopian. What a load of bull. It's the exact same with parents. Here is college education. You now have happy life. Surely, material needs, college education, is needed, is appreciated, and contributes to success, and happiness. But one can't expect to simply get or give someone that, and expect life to be perfect as it is. Have a person earn $50,000, rather than win $50,000 in the lottery yet be unemployed, and he, as well as society, will be much, much better off.

Like RPGs, if I suddenly presented you with.. "Hey, here's a level 99 Barb. Maxed out stats and everything." What does that mean to you? Or hey, here's a master's degree from Stanford. Really, it's completely legitimate, here you go. What does that mean to you? Nothing really, but it means everything to everyone else but you, doesn't it? Why do my parents want me so badly to apply to all of these universities? MIT, CalTech, Stanford - will I really be 'learning more' there, than I would at a simple UC, or City College? Heck, why do I want to get into MIT so badly?

It is, what's been beautiful about high school, and so sad, yet realistically required, by the rest of the world. Everyone has opportunity here. Didn't make it into the AP US History class junior year? No problem, go ahead and apply for Honors Government, and you'll get in based on your real skill. Or The Man won't let you in to the existing power structure (which, yeah, happens a lot at Westmoor, and is amplified by the clickiness and malleability of teenagers)? Go ahead and do your own thing, start your own counter projective, make your own kind of music. But in the real world... we base things on numbers, and titles, because it's too big to know anyone's true set of skills and persona.

And so, what does a degree at MIT mean? It means I took and passed their coursework, one of the most advanced and rigorous around. But does that really place me above someone else, who didn't get a degree from MIT, not because they didn't have that skill, but because they didn't have the chance? Look from the other end of it. Maybe I won't make it. Because parents and counselors didn't write my essay for me. Or because I didn't buy an SAT score. Or maybe I'll make it, but can't afford to go. And I'll toil through community college. End with a two year's Associate. But it's me, ME!. The same me. The same me, who, just as easily, could have went through that same MIT coursework.

And it's the same for us in high school, sort of. Sure, we're all in the AP classes. But then again, there're a lot more in say... Honors English. A lot that simply chose not to take on AP, or those that didn't pass the assessment test. But, yeah, there are tons of people in there, for whatever reason, that sure as heck could come into our AP class today, and a few people that would floor the guys and girls already in here.

But why? Why are the people over there, not here with us, even though, clearly, clearly, their skills are much more than adequate. It's the evaluation system that plagues us even in high school. Surely, for some of the people in Honors, why wouldn't they want to be here with us in AP? With people that are much more up to their level in pace, and comprehension. Contrary to the popular notion, even purported by those Honor kids themselves, no, it's not because they're afraid of that extra load. It's because they're afraid of how that extra load might affect their grade scores, and how that might reflect for their parents, prospective colleges, society. Honestly, why would anyone NOT want to take this AP class? The same situation with chemistry. In all honesty, a lot of it is way over my head. I could just as easily have been taking the regular class, and work on simply balancing equations. But, by simply being here, in this AP-paced class, surrounded by AP-level students, I've learned more than I ever could have in some regular class, even though I haven't learned all that the class offers.

And yet, society's pressure on titles and statistics scare us all. People are reluctant because they're afraid they'll drop from an A in a regular class to a C in an AP class. People are afraid that they might not pass the AP test, and so are content with the false security of not knowing whether or not they might have passed it. But you look at that regular government class, you look at that honors english class. You get the grade, don't have to take the test, and yeah, even completely ace and comprehend all the material. Rather than AP, where you'll drop a grade or two, fail a test, and fail to comprehend even half the material that's given. Despite all of that, you look at what you're actually learning. Everything takes a blow, yeah, but in the end, you've learnt more from comprehending half the material in an AP class, than you have comprehending all of the material in the regular class. Don't take my word for it. Consider it, really. We base it too much on "Oh, it's an AP class, of course they teach more." It's not all that. Education comes from self-initiative, where there's more of an opportunity because faster paces provide more chances and venues, and from competent peers, who give you a pillar to lean on, and a wall to bounce things off of.
Posted by Nathan Yan on 4:07 PM

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