In many ways I envy kids today.
Cell phones, the Internet, XBox, rollerblades, hybrid engines, Bluray, digital cameras, 3D movies, and iPads are just some of the things that are commonplace in today’s world.
Sounds like paradise…but things aren’t always what they seem.
Today the competition is stiffer, lifelong employment is all but a pipe dream and the pressure to achieve has never been higher.
Having been an educator in one form or another for over 20 years now I must say that I am saddened by what I see taking place.
Back in the day, when I was in high school, information was at a premium. We didn’t have access to the knowledge that most 4-year olds have today.
So what I and most of my classmates did was the standard protocol: go to school, get good grades, go to university, get a job, live happily ever after.
Or at least so we thought.
I graduated from college back in 1997, 14 short years ago, but during that time everything’s changed; from how we interact with one another (can you say Facebook?) to how we shop (hello Amazon) to how get our news (Yahoo).
I thought I had everything I needed to make it in the world, but recently I am constantly reminded of how little I know and how much I need to study if I want to make it in this world.
But what shocks me the most is that despite all the changes that the world is undergoing, I find that kids today have very much the same ideas I had about life 20 years ago.
Each year I have the opportunity to work with high school and college students and I find that out of 100 only 3 really get it.
They listen to me when I tell them that the old paradigms of the world are dead and buried, and that they can no longer rely on schools to give us all the education we need.
Today, more so than ever before, we must take control of our own education.
Now I’m not saying quit school and follow your heart, what I am saying is that school is just the start. School gives us a foundation upon which we are to build our dreams.
School gives us a place to express our ideas and learn from others, but when the competition is no longer the student sitting next to you in class, but rather people all over the globe we must be willing to go the extra mile.
That means devoting a small amount of time out of our free time to studying what we deem valuable to our future.
Say you want to become a doctor. What does that entail? A lot of hard work as far as I know, but let’s break it down.
Here are some things a doctor might need to know about:
- Medicine
- Procedures
- Technology
- Allergies
- Psychology
- Grief Counseling
So where might you find information about these topics? To me, I would say your best bets are the library and the Internet.
Why wait to learn these subjects in school? Why not start learning today? Give yourself a head start.
Back as a child before I learned the multiplication tables at school, I had a book with numbers 1 t0 12 all written out. I didn’t know much about multiplication when I picked up that book but I always remembered that 12 x 12 = 144. A few months later I clearly remember being the only student in my class who knew that off the top of his head.
This simple example indicates why self-study, is so valuable – you separate yourself from the pack.
Another point to remember is that any doctor will have to do a lot of reading and must remember numerous words. So my advice would be to take a speed reading course along with a memory course. Both of which would be of use to anybody serious about success.
A small investment of time and money upfront that will pay off big down the line.
But here’s something that hasn’t changed from one generation to the next – we’re lazy.
Most of us aren’t willing to pay the price upfront and end up paying dearly later.
I just don’t get it. With information at our fingertips I don’t understand why more teenagers can’t put two and two together.
I knew something was amiss in high school when I had to study the classics instead of more practical material, but I didn’t have enough information to see the big picture.
Today information isn’t the problem, it’s knowing how to use it that is.
It is my sincere wish that in my lifetime education will change to help prepare our children better for the rigors of what await them in the real world.
Till then I will do my part by sharing ideas with my clients, my wife and son and you, the readers.
I don’t care how people get the information, whether it’s from me or from some other source, just as long as they get it.
So if you come across an article on this site or elsewhere that you think could help someone live a better life – do me a favor – pass it on.
Good ideas can be so hard to come by.
Let’s do our part to share good ideas with one another.
Adrian Shepherd