December 25, 2003

• TOPIC: EDUCATION

  
  

  “Nothing worthwhile is learned by compulsion.” – John Taylor Gotto, A Different Kind of Teacher (pg. 45)

  
  

  Should this book become even a microscopic amount successful, I want no credit to be given to the institution that awarded my college diploma, Washington University in St. Louis.  I cannot rate the school more or less than any other, but it fills all the requirements of a traditional school that fails to educate many of its students.

  
  

  Just a few days ago, December 22nd, I received an e-mail informing me that Wash U, as my school is called for short, had made its way to the front page of the New York Times.  This is no small matter.  Students, and I would assume professors and administrators alike take great pride in things like the US News and World rankings, at #9, individual students felt as though they were now in some way superior to the schools they had moved past.  The rankings system has come to represent a sort of, “Whose smarter than who” between college students, when in actuality, and as those who actually read the NYT article will take not of , the school’s status, reputation, and ranking has nothing to do with how well it educates, or how educated its students are.  Instead, the article credits the university’s massive endowment and ability to market students with the highest high school marks.  The difficult job market facing graduates of the class of 2003 is a perfect environment to find insight about what is coming out of American colleges.  Just as we remember the failings of the popular high school kids down the road in life, and the success of the quieter hard working types, we may discover something interesting about those attending “smart schools,” such as Wash U.  Ultimately, life continues to reward those who work hard and do what they think is right, versus those following the crowd.  So, to all those looking to fork over $100,000+ for college, take a large step back.  I wonder if ever a college administration will acknowledge its weaknesses, its failure in many situations to educate.  That would be an institution worthy of praise.

  
  

  “Too many people, uneasily convinced that they must know something because of a degree, diploma, or license, remains so convinced until a brutal divorce, alienation from their children, loss of employment, or periodic fits of meaninglessness manage to tip the precarious mental balance of their incomplete humanity.” – John Taylor Gotto pg. 62

  
  

  Topic: Montessori schooling

  
  

  Although there are no systems in life that work for everyone, the Montessori school system works extremely well for some.  In Italy, schools use the system up to the ghighest grades, although it is not referred to as Montessori there, since Italy is the origin of the school.  Montessori produces students who know what they want to learn, making them super-motivated students, versus students similar to myself.  In South Africa, there is a similar problem to the one I encountered in college in the USA.  Jobs require degrees, so we study but lack the practical experience that jobs are actually seeking.  Like myself, there are students in South Africa who graduate from a university and don’t necessarily want to work in the field they studied.  A friend of mine from university, Marla, recently said college is helpful for students to learn what they don’t like as well as what they do.  The problem is, college gives you different options about what you can study, not what you can do.  After 2 years I decided I hated studying business, but I really don’t know if I would or would not enjoy a business job.

  
  

  Which brings me to another topic: What are graduate qualified to do?

  
  

  Qualifications come from real life experience.  Until you’ve done something, you’re not qualified to do anything.  Woul you accept someone who has read countless books for countless hours about surgery, the stock market, or engineering, to open up your chest, invest your money, or build you house, without having any prior hand on experience?

  
  

  After 4 years of attending an American university, I received a diploma which is my gateway into most jobs despite the fact the only experience necessary for receiving that diploma was passing enough classes.  I could have received a D or a C in 40 classes totallying 120 credits, and I would have myself a degree from Wash U, the #9 ranked college in America.  Therefor, my diploma does not represent any sort of qualification to do anything besides be a student, and a mediocre, passive student at that.  On the flip side, a 3-year old Montessori student is increaing the qualifications daily through the completion of activities that the student chooses themselves.

  
  

  Just a few pages in John Taylor Gotto’s book, I’m already inspired by my generalities about educatoinal ills being substantiated by Gatoo, winner of New York State’s Teacher of the Year Award in ’91 and ’92.  This book I’m writing, though inspired mostly by horrid experiences inside college classrooms, is mostly a result of being free from the educational system that for my life of 22 years, never dared to challenge me to attempt to write a book, or to pursue an independant project that has landed me for half-a-year in South Africa, with an infinite number of topics to explore each day.  The one area where I still lack a great deal of confidence comes from my lack of knowledge of school related topics.  My understanding of history is appalling, my comprehension of the most commonly read school books is low, mostly because I completed very few, and my common sense towards the real work of jobs, homes, insurance, medicine, and economics is comedic.  However, post-college, I’ve learned tons, reflecting Gatto’s argument that schools are not inherently the best forms of education.

  
  

  I have a family friend, Stephen S., who once asked me how my first semester of college was going  I responded with my gpa, 3.4, which I was quite proud of because so many people I knew struggled at the start of college.  This was not the response he was looking for.  What had I learned he wanted to know.  I didn’t have an intelligent response for him.  His suggestion to read a book for class fully before discussion, then again for comprehension was probably good advise, but in the college culture around me, anything for school came second to anything else I could find.

  
  

  One very interesting thing has occured for me since graduating May of 2003 (actually, my diploma says August 2003, since I failed the only 2 classes I took my last semester, and was forced to do summer school for the first time in my life, a story for another entry).  My normal loathing for research has been replaced with a fanatic view that everything in life I encounter can serve my thoughts and writing in some way.  I have a building stack of photocopied articles, and take notes on everything.  None of this is fueld by school, simply my own curiousities.

  
  

  Topic: S. Africa update

  
  

  Just got back from my friend Avra’s temple, where we celebrated Channukah with tons of food, a fish briie (bbq) and potato latkes.  We then had a performance by the Cape Minstrals, a singing troupe of “colored” not blacks, of Muslim decent.  The group of 9, all part of the same family, came out in white track suite pants, white sneakers, and hot pink and green sparkling coats.  There are groups as big as 500, and tons of groups, that will perform on New Year’s.  This group sounded like Ricky Ricardo cuban music from I Love Lucy, and they sang, “When the saint’s go marching in” “Glory glory halleluja” “Blueberry Hill,” “Fools Rush in,” the SA national anthem, some songs i didn’t understand in Afrikans.  Quite a good time, and Avra’s grandmother, in front of several hundred people, was brought up to dance w/ the group as well.

  
  

  Today I went to Cape Point, southern most point of Cape Town and where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.  Unfortunately, didn’t see any babboons there, usually there’s tons.  On the drive back we passed vineyards, ostrich farms, and on the side of the road a soap stone shop with about 50,000 carvings, from small faces, to massive elephants and giraffes.  The road winded down mountains, past Simon’s Town Harbor where houses are plopped along the water and up to the rocky top.

  
  

  Tom. i visit Robbin Island if the weather stops raining, get some views of the famous Table Mountain, and wander the waterfront, w/ its many many shops.

  
  

  Happy Channukah and X-Mas to all, New Year’s is up next… can’t wait.

  
  

  -Dan

  • 3:53 pm
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