Every one of us has thought this at some point in our education; it usually corresponds to learning geometry. Sometimes history. Or diagramming a sentence. At the heart of this question is an ignorance that really asks "What good will this knowledge do me in a life without imagination?" and the same ignorance that fails to ask "How can I make use of this knowledge?" "When will I use this in the real world" is, at its heart, a statement of one's own limitations rather than a question about the value of a set of information. The applications for information are limited only by one's willingness to discover them.
But "When will I use this in the real world" also raises another issue about education: how well are students being prepared for the real world? If a person drops out of school, if a person goes on (for whatever reason) to not hold a job or apply any information learned in school, that person remains to do at least one thing: be a citizen. At the very least, persons who leave school will forever remain citizens (of at least some country). How well are we training them for that?
What does it mean to be a citizen? What does it mean to live around other people? What does it mean to be an adult? What does it mean to be a human? What does it mean to be successful?
A descriptive (versus prescriptive) account of such questions being wrestled by some of the great thinkers of history could do much good (and wouldn't really be that difficult to do). Teenage years are beset with curiosity and frustration about the human condition. Why not, then, provide these starving minds with--at the very least--the labels necessary to identify these troubles? How well can we expect our youth to solve their problems if they haven't even a word to describe the issue? At the very least, issues such as social contract and personal responsibility could serve as the foundation of a solid curriculum.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Power of Words
How can anyone hope to overcome something for which there isn't even a word to describe?
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The Sixth Nightmare
Despite what you might have heard to the contrary, greatness and happiness are mutually exclusive.
It is simple to be happy (do not misread "simple" as "easy"). To be happy is to have the faith to say "yes." To be happy is to live in the moment, in the now; to be happy is to drink in life as it happens and appreciate it at face value. The happy man says "the food I eat is good food and I am thankful for it" or "I am fortunate to have such people in my life." The happy mind thinks "I always have enough, no matter what I have." The happy man is never alone, even when he is by himself. The happy family is solid in communication and even more so in interactivity. The happy soul understands everything that is, is; that which is cannot be otherwise, regardless of whether it could have been otherwise. The Happy glisten in the light.
To be great is both complex and complicated. To be great is to have the courage to say "no." To be great is to live for the future, for the potential; to be great is to see the world as how it could be and determine to make it so. The great man says "I can think of a way to make that better" or "there are yet more challenges to be overcome." The great mind thinks "there is always a way to improve upon the world." The great man is always alone, even when in the company of other great men. The great family is--should it exist--disconnected and independently ambitious. The great soul is compelled to transform the unreal into the real, the imagined into the created. The Great do not permit themselves to be afraid of the dark.
Sleep comes well to the happy man, while the great man is kept awake by his demons. The great man is dismissed and disliked by those who do not understand; the happy man is envied and emulated by them. While is is no small feat to achieve either happiness or greatness, there are--arguably--more Happy than Great. Yet how many fewer Happy would there be if it weren't for the deeds of the Great? And how many fewer Great would there be if not for the determination that their ambitions might bring about an increase in the number of the Happy?
I am determined to become great, knowing full well what horrors I would overcome, what horrors I must also commit.
It is simple to be happy (do not misread "simple" as "easy"). To be happy is to have the faith to say "yes." To be happy is to live in the moment, in the now; to be happy is to drink in life as it happens and appreciate it at face value. The happy man says "the food I eat is good food and I am thankful for it" or "I am fortunate to have such people in my life." The happy mind thinks "I always have enough, no matter what I have." The happy man is never alone, even when he is by himself. The happy family is solid in communication and even more so in interactivity. The happy soul understands everything that is, is; that which is cannot be otherwise, regardless of whether it could have been otherwise. The Happy glisten in the light.
To be great is both complex and complicated. To be great is to have the courage to say "no." To be great is to live for the future, for the potential; to be great is to see the world as how it could be and determine to make it so. The great man says "I can think of a way to make that better" or "there are yet more challenges to be overcome." The great mind thinks "there is always a way to improve upon the world." The great man is always alone, even when in the company of other great men. The great family is--should it exist--disconnected and independently ambitious. The great soul is compelled to transform the unreal into the real, the imagined into the created. The Great do not permit themselves to be afraid of the dark.
Sleep comes well to the happy man, while the great man is kept awake by his demons. The great man is dismissed and disliked by those who do not understand; the happy man is envied and emulated by them. While is is no small feat to achieve either happiness or greatness, there are--arguably--more Happy than Great. Yet how many fewer Happy would there be if it weren't for the deeds of the Great? And how many fewer Great would there be if not for the determination that their ambitions might bring about an increase in the number of the Happy?
I am determined to become great, knowing full well what horrors I would overcome, what horrors I must also commit.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
