On education.

tigerfist:

“Youths are passed through schools that don’t teach, then forced to search for jobs that don’t exist and finally left stranded in the street to stare at the glamorous lives advertised around them.”

— Huey P Newton (via thisbeautifulwound)

I especially hope my tween and teen followers read below:

Dear human beings of the first world, you face endless daily pressures to be and do and have things that you probably do not truly want to be, do, or have; but after enough bullying from advertisements and society, you forget that and give in. However, there are wonderful things to be done with your time and / or your money on planet earth aside from what seems most obvious based on the heavily-marketed “norms.”

If and when you discover what those things are for you, you’ll gain some personal currency and can make some calls on what is truly valuable and what is utterly worthless to you, and why (hint: start early and unsubscribe from the oppressive reward system of working to buy things to feel good about working to buy things to feel good about working).

Today Marcie and I hopped about town, and the entire day was seasoned with observations of a society conditioned to consume and to sell and to “upgrade” junky and impractical things that are decent enough to not really need to be replaced as soon as you’re being told it needs to be replaced.

Additionally, that spending is often on things we don’t know the first thing about in regards to maintenance and repair. 

I’ve talked about this at some point before — in 1966 my dad was recruited straight from high school to be an engineer with Colgate-Palmolive. He was 17 years old and he and his classmates were workforce-ready. Specialized workforce-ready. That is not how the public / higher education system works these days.

In the 90s, high school taught me to be a good test-taker. “Higher education” was heavily marketed. Trade schools, I was told, are for losers and dropouts.

However, the threats of the eternal loserdom of a skilled trade are as empty as the promises of success via “higher education.” Having a skilled trade, even if it’s not your full-time job, is one ticket to freedom and to owning more of your life and work. 

For two years I was a dance teacher (and I assisted for four) in and after high school. I was / sometimes still am a hairstylist. Right now I’m a full-time writer and have an interest in learning cobblering and welding. I used to think about being a yoga instructor or a massage therapist.

All of those things are really cool, creative and stable career paths in their own rights. None of those things require(d) a college degree. Some can be self-learned / self-taught. Every one of those provide the potential to be your own boss and business.

Most trades can be learned for free while you are still in high school, because high schools often team up with local trade / vocational schools. If you are in or close to being in high school, pick a specialization from a local trade school and attend, regardless of what your teachers or guidance counselor may have to say about it. It is a free and useful education.

I know a lot of very intelligent people and have also crossed paths with a fair amount of dolts. Not once have I seen a college degree make a genius of a dolt, and I have yet to see a lack of a degree make a dolt of a genius. 

Yours,

Marisa

“In general, we’re surprised that high unemployment can exist at the same time as a skilled labor shortage. We shouldn’t be. We’ve pretty much guaranteed it. In high schools, the vocational arts have all but vanished. We’ve elevated the importance of “higher education” to such a lofty perch that all other forms of knowledge are now labeled “alternative.” Millions of parents and kids see apprenticeships and on-the-job-training opportunities as “vocational consolation prizes,” best suited for those not cut out for a four-year degree.” - Mike Rowe, testifying before the U.S. senate with an initiative to close the skills gap.