You cannot will yourself into finding a passion. It doesn’t matter how
many times you go to pitch sessions at incubators, social innovation
conferences, or just stay up all night smoking weed and debating
philosophy with your friends. It doesn’t matter how many meetings you
schedule with life mentors at Starbucks. Your passion will not come in a
flash of inspiration. If it’s there, it will float to the top when you
experience real challenges.
I think this finally has helped clear up one troublesome issue for me. I do my best to challenge, push, and teach my seniors so they'll be ready to handle what college throws at them. Yet when they are several months in to college I start to see them struggle and lament, "I wish I would have worked harder or read more or been better prepared."
Thus, I share their Tweets and Facebook posts and texts with my current crop of students. And I always ask them, "so you know that all these former high school students, all of whom were at the top of their class, wish they would have worked harder and read more and been better prepared. So - given that knowledge ' why don't you work harder, read more, and better prepare yourselves now for college?"
And there really hasn't been a definitive answer.
But I think this part of the article speaks truth to why many high schoolers struggle with college (other than the most obvious reason: It's college!!!! They're supposed to struggle).
Besides, trying to find your calling in life in college is a quixotic
quest. Most college students are still dealing with the basics, like
getting over their childhood insecurities and worrying about their last
fight with their girlfriend. Sheltered campuses also make it difficult
to experience the struggle that forges deep conviction.
It's supposed to be a struggle. Get ready for it, but, ultimately, the struggle is what it's all supposed to be about.
*****
Judging from the alarming news that ACT is designing a test of college and career readiness for students in kindergarten (yes, you read that right), I seriously have to start wondering about the future of American education.
Here is Diane Ravitch's artful take on this madness.
I think this is insane. I'm all for holding teachers and students accountable. I'm all for having standards and ensuring our students meet those standards. But I'm not for testing the kids into the damn ground.
If I were ACT or Pearson, I'd be happy. I mean this a billion dollar gold mind for them. Guess who designs the curriculum to ensure that the teachers get the kids to meet the standards? Guess who then designs the tests and measure whether or not the kids have met the standards? Guess who will design the remediation? Guess who will then design the re-take tests?
Guess who will make billions off of this? Yep, the test companies. Just like drug manufacturers made billions off duping us into thinking most of us suffer from ADHD and thus we must be medicated for it.
****
So I found this from the Smithsonian on the importance of play. Yet, I wonder how pre-schools will deal with those degenerate toddlers who want to play and pretend to be Batman or firemen or - gasp - waste their time on gym equipment on the playground rather than getting college and career ready!
Maybe Pearson and ACT will branch out into the territory of Little Tikes and start manufacturing playground equipment and costumes and then children actually having a childhood will become profitable and 'in' again.
If only we all could buy into this statement -
Play is under pressure right now, as parents and policymakers try to
make preschools more like schools. But pretend play is not only
important for kids; it’s a crucial part of what makes all humans so
smart.
****
I love this. And I wonder if Frank Epperson was "college and career ready" when he was 11?
But, again, who cares! At the age of 11 he invented popsicles.
Now that is the type of creativity and innovation we need more of.
*****
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