society & stuff
March 08, 2010
we read this article in english class today about how kids no longer actually think for themselves anymore. all one has to do to get into college is to jump through certain hoops, so that is what they do. according to the author, we as a generation have, quite literally "forgotten how to think". after thinking about it for awhile, i came to the conclusion that this might in fact be the case, but who is to blame for it? students for simply doing what they have to do in order to succeed in the kind of society that we have? or past generations for creating a society that depends largely on tasks that are carried out by rote memorization?
i go to a school that is insanely competitive and i am surrounded by the kind of people who are the top students in our country. in order to get into the colleges that they want to get into and have the kind of opportunities that they want, they have to take the most difficult classes offered at our school. even if they are interested in art, because it is "not a weighted class", they don't take it, because it will hurt their GPA. one of my friends waited until his senior year to take his required gym classes so that it didn't affect his GPA when he was applying to college. in this way, people are not only not encouraged to pursue what they are actually interested in, they are encouraged to take classes that they might not even be interested in, just because they are "challenging" and weighted classes.
my opinion was that, although kids may have lost the ability to think creatively (or at least, this ability may be stunted quite a bit), it is a societal problem and one that cannot change unless everyone changes.
thoughts?
i go to a school that is insanely competitive and i am surrounded by the kind of people who are the top students in our country. in order to get into the colleges that they want to get into and have the kind of opportunities that they want, they have to take the most difficult classes offered at our school. even if they are interested in art, because it is "not a weighted class", they don't take it, because it will hurt their GPA. one of my friends waited until his senior year to take his required gym classes so that it didn't affect his GPA when he was applying to college. in this way, people are not only not encouraged to pursue what they are actually interested in, they are encouraged to take classes that they might not even be interested in, just because they are "challenging" and weighted classes.
my opinion was that, although kids may have lost the ability to think creatively (or at least, this ability may be stunted quite a bit), it is a societal problem and one that cannot change unless everyone changes.
thoughts?
Comments:
AmistadBaby: I would so love the opportunity to discuss this in an essay for school (:
LivingxForxChristx:
My high school was like that. As a freshman in college, I am glad that I learned how to do some of the things, but as a whole, I hated my high school experience. I was graded a lot harder than most other kids at other schools and I am certain, had I gone to a different high school, I would have had better grades, less focus on "weighted grades" and other crap. I did not get to persue what I wanted to persue a lot of the times because my school's focus was getting you into a good college.
xx_ohbaby_xx: I think that its true that people dont know how to think for themselves anymore. GPA is a MADE up thing. lol. no body freakin gets that. Why does a college get you make u have a 4.0 GPA plus u have to do this and that AND still pay them over 60,000 for 4 years. thats bullshit lol.
no one can see the lies because they have tried so hard to make sure the kids are fully brainwashed and will never think for themselves.
Most people dont think. They dont even just think to ask questions anymore. Kids use to ask why alot.
now they just accept an answer as truth. its really sad.
ALl they teach you in school from kindergarten til 12th grade is a bunch of freakin lies.
They dont tell u that christpoher columbus actually killed the natives in america and made them slaves.
They dont tell you about the 1942 imprisionment of over 100,000 Japenese americans.
They put them in slave camps like in germay for 2 years.
That is truth.
I just get tired of the bullshit school teaches you.
They make u think you are worthy of anything unless u have straight a''s (which are made up too), and u have to judge other people by the way they dress. THey teach you that groups and clicks are good for you. THat you HAVE to have teams and a opposing side.
We need peace and love. We need to all stop being mean to eachother.
but school makes you dumb and blind.
And then when u do get into that college you worked all your life for, it last only 4 years and you don't really learn abour anything really really important. They want you to party but also get 4.0 GPA again. You have to graduate with highest honors or you will never find a job.
Most employyers arnt looking for a degree.
The ones that are, want you to have 3 degrees but be really really world dumb.
man i can go on for hours. lol.
but all in all, school is frued.
and they FORCE you to take in toxic vaccines before you can go, but you have to go becuase its against the law if you dont! like wtf. we have no choice anymore. we have more brains.
its sad
uaremyfavorite:
@LivingxForxChristx -
*sigh* at least we won't repeat the same mistake in college, huh? :P@xx_ohbaby_xx -
it is pretty sad :\ it's kind of weird that we are required to take classes like biology and physics which will not apply to many student's future professions...