Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech by Erica Goldson

Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech
 by Erica Goldson

Here I stand
There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, “If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, “Ten years.” The student then said, “But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast – How long then?” Replied the Master, “Well, twenty years.” “But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?” asked the student. “Thirty years,” replied the Master. “But, I do not understand,” said the disappointed student. “At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?” Replied the Master, “When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path.”

This is the dilemma I’ve faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.
Some of you may be thinking, “Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn’t you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.
I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contend that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared.

John Taylor Gatto, a retired school teacher and activist critical of compulsory schooling, asserts, “We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness – curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time, texts, and tests, by introducing kids into truly competent adults, and by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then. But we don’t do that.” Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt.

H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not “to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. … Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim … is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States.”
To illustrate this idea, doesn’t it perturb you to learn about the idea of “critical thinking?” Is there really such a thing as “uncritically thinking?” To think is to process information in order to form an opinion. But if we are not critical when processing this information, are we really thinking? Or are we mindlessly accepting other opinions as truth?

This was happening to me, and if it wasn’t for the rare occurrence of an avant-garde tenth grade English teacher, Donna Bryan, who allowed me to open my mind and ask questions before accepting textbook doctrine, I would have been doomed. I am now enlightened, but my mind still feels disabled. I must retrain myself and constantly remember how insane this ostensibly sane place really is.

And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.
We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren’t we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.

The saddest part is that the majority of students don’t have the opportunity to reflect as I did. The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can’t run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be – but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.

For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, “You have to learn this for the test” is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades.

For those of you that work within the system that I am condemning, I do not mean to insult; I intend to motivate. You have the power to change the incompetencies of this system. I know that you did not become a teacher or administrator to see your students bored. You cannot accept the authority of the governing bodies that tell you what to teach, how to teach it, and that you will be punished if you do not comply. Our potential is at stake.

For those of you that are now leaving this establishment, I say, do not forget what went on in these classrooms. Do not abandon those that come after you. We are the new future and we are not going to let tradition stand. We will break down the walls of corruption to let a garden of knowledge grow throughout America. Once educated properly, we will have the power to do anything, and best of all, we will only use that power for good, for we will be cultivated and wise. We will not accept anything at face value. We will ask questions, and we will demand truth.

So, here I stand. I am not standing here as valedictorian by myself. I was molded by my environment, by all of my peers who are sitting here watching me. I couldn’t have accomplished this without all of you. It was all of you who truly made me the person I am today. It was all of you who were my competition, yet my backbone. In that way, we are all valedictorians.

I am now supposed to say farewell to this institution, those who maintain it, and those who stand with me and behind me, but I hope this farewell is more of a “see you later” when we are all working together to rear a pedagogic movement. But first, let’s go get those pieces of paper that tell us that we’re smart enough to do so!

Ideal Conditions dont exist by Paulo Coelho

Relax. When we start our spiritual journey, we want so very hard to speak to God – and we end up not hearing what He has to tell us.
That is why it is always advisable to relax a little.
It is not easy: we have the natural tendency always to do the right thing, and we feel that we are going to improve our spirit is we work at it non-stop.
“Are you saying that I ought to be passive and not try to improve myself?”
That depends on how you see your work. We may feel that all that life can offer us tomorrow is to repeat what we did yesterday and today.
But if we pay attention we can see that no day is like another. Each and every morning brings a hidden blessing, a blessing that is only good for that particular day, for it cannot be kept or re-used.
If we don’t take advantage of this miracle today, it will be lost.

“But isn’t there some sure way of establishing this dialogue with the Divine, like meditation, for instance? Or endeavoring to make myself better every day?”
If that question can always be kept present, everything will fit together.
The ideal conditions that you are looking for don’t exist. We shall never be able to get rid of certain defects.
The trick lies in knowing that despite all your flaws you have a reason for being here, and you have to honor that reason.

http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2013/11/04/ideal-conditions-dont-exist/

Clocing cycles

"One always has to know when a stage comes to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through.
Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters – whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished.
Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents’ house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship ended all of a sudden?
You can spend a long time wondering why this has happened.
You can tell yourself you won’t take another step until you find out why certain things that were so important and so solid in your life have turned into dust, just like that.
But such an attitude will be awfully stressing for everyone involved: your parents, your husband or wife, your friends, your children, your sister.
Everyone is finishing chapters, turning over new leaves, getting on with life, and they will all feel bad seeing you at a standstill.
Things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away.
That is why it is so important (however painful it may be!) to destroy souvenirs, move, give lots of things away to orphanages, sell or donate the books you have at home.
Everything in this visible world is a manifestation of the invisible world, of what is going on in our hearts – and getting rid of certain memories also means making some room for other memories to take their place.
Let things go. Release them. Detach yourself from them.
Nobody plays this life with marked cards, so sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.
Do not expect anything in return, do not expect your efforts to be appreciated, your genius to be discovered, your love to be understood.
Stop turning on your emotional television to watch the same program over and over again, the one that shows how much you suffered from a certain loss: that is only poisoning you, nothing else.
Nothing is more dangerous than not accepting love relationships that are broken off, work that is promised but there is no starting date, decisions that are always put off waiting for the “ideal moment.”
Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished: tell yourself that what has passed will never come back.
Remember that there was a time when you could live without that thing or that person – nothing is irreplaceable, a habit is not a need.
This may sound so obvious, it may even be difficult, but it is very important.
Closing cycles. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because that no longer fits your life.
Shut the door, change the record, clean the house, shake off the dust.
Stop being who you were, and change into who you are."

Paulo Coelho

Regret, move on and continue the adventures

Menyesal adalah rasa yang paling tidak bisa ku hindari untuk menghantui diri ini..

Rasa penyesalan itu begitu merambat menjalar bagai parasit yang tak ada obatnya..

ya, menyesal adalah ketika kau melihat sesuatu atau seseorang tapi kau merasa bahwa..

'Seandainya dulu aku melakukannya hal itu terhadapnya..'

'Seandainya aku berkata demikian...'

'Seandainya aku tidak terlalu begitu...'

Ya seandainya...

Begitu menyesakan jika harus hidup dengan penyesalan, ya? 

Menakutkan kah?

Namun, menurut saya penyesalan dan move on itu adalah satu paket.

Dan menurut saya lagi ya, penyesalan itu adalah bentuk dari ketidak matangan diri kita..

Dimana jika telah berhasil belajar dan menerapkan hasil belajar kita, maka penyesalan itu akan menjadi tolak ukur kita dalam melakukan hal yang sama, serupa, atau hanya mendekati sama.

Dan setelah menyesal, maka kita akan bisa move on. Dimana kita sadar bahwa, 'Ya, sekarang aku telah belajar, dan tak akan ada kata "seandainya" lagi di kesempatan kali ini...'

Kita telah sangat faham harus bagaimana dan seperti apa, kita sadar bahwa kegagalan di masa lalu adalah pelajaran berharga yang membuat kita bisa menjadi sekarang ini..

Bahwa 'Aku tak kan sematang ini jika aku tak pernah mengalami hal dulu itu'

Kita lebih siap, lebih matang, lebih waras dan lebih mempertimbangkan segala sesuatunya..

Kita mengerti apa yang bisa membuat kira bahagia, dan kita menghargai setiap moment yang diberikan kepada kita oleh Tuhan sebagai suatu kesempatan untuk menghargai hidup ini.

Dimana ketika kita berhasil move on kita bisa benar-benar hidup dan mengerti bagaimana hidup itu harus kita jalani agar merasa senyaman mungkin..



Tanpa harus hidup dalam bayang-bayang penyesalan dan apalah yang membuat kita tak nyaman di masa lalu, kita terus melangkah, kita tau bahwa itu tak pasti, bahwa apa yang kita ambisikan mungkin akan tak terealisasi. Mungkin ada hal lain yang akan terjadi, dan bisa jadi badai yang lebih dahsyat menunggu kita di depan sana, siap untuk menghantam kita dengan kekuatan penghancur yang jauh lebih berlipat dibanding dulu..

Namun, kita telah lebih matang bukan?

Dan kita selalu butuh ujian untuk bisa naik ke level berikutnya..

Maka penyesalan itu akan selalu ada, kita akan selalu berusaha untuk move on..

Itu lah yang membuat kita terus berkembang, membuat kita terus berhasil memaknai kehidupan...




Hidup sejatinya adalah suatu petualangan, dimana akan ada ujian yang harus kita lewati, dimana kita akan naik level setelah berhasil melewati kesulitan dan rintangan-rintangan yang menghadang..

Klise ya? Namun saya menyetujui yang klise satu itu..

Kita akan berada di tahap bahwa kita tidak akan sanggup menampung semua cobaan dan rintangan,

Kita akan berada di tahap dimana kita kehilangan keyakinan untuk melanjutkan petualangan itu, dan ingin berpikir ulang dan menata orientasi kedepan dari akhir petualagan ini..

Entahlah, bagi saya hidup ini sungguh petualangan..

Dan sungguh seru sekali untuk dijalani :)



 

“I used to think knowing God was like going on a business trip with Him, but now I know He is inviting me on an adventure instead.” Bob Goff

Kemudian, untuk kali ini, hidup saya telah ditemani oleh orang-orang luar biasa yang setia menemani petualangan ini..
Orang-orang luar biasa disana yang apabila anda mengenal saya dengan baik, pasti anda bisa menebak siapa saja orang-orang luar biasa tersebut :)


Saya tulis ini di : Yogyakarta, di kamar yang sejuk di malam minggu sehabis melepas rindu dengan seseorang dan sehabis membaca (another) blog yang luar biasa..
Menginspirasi saya untuk menulis blog malam ini :)