Friday, January 16, 2004
I’ve been thinking about schooling versus education, and my own experience as a student, for most of the day, and I find that I am of several minds about the subject(s?). I do keep coming back to one idea, though, which is something that my mother used to say to me when I was being a pest over long vacations: “Bored people are boring.” What she meant was that if I was bored, it was partially (or even completely) my own fault. When you’re not entertained, it’s always in part because you aren’t entertaining yourself. As a kid, I thought that was one of the stupidest and most annoying things my mother could say to me, and it allowed her to totally dodge the issue and continue in her failure to buy me video games or take me to a movie, which was infuriating. Imagine my shock and mild horror when I found myself repeating her maxim (more than once!) just this past month.
I was using the old “bored people are boring” formula in a different context, though. I don’t know what did it for me (growing up a bit, I would guess), but I finally do understand what she always meant by that, and also that it’s a more universal statement than it seems on the surface. Another way of putting it is “you reap what you sow” or “you take out what you put in.” So how does this apply to my experiences as a student, and to educational institutions in general? In my own experiences, at least, it is very much an important factor.
I tested into the GATE program (Gifted And Talented Education, for those who collect acronyms) as a kindergartener, and switched from Roskruge Elementary to Lineweaver for the first through the fourth grades. Lineweaver was an all-day GATE school, whereas Roskruge had pull-out GATE programs. As a fourth grader looking towards fifth grade, my parents gave me the option of staying on a Lineweaver or returning to Roskruge. I decided that I’d like to give Roskruge another try, for a variety of reasons. I stayed there throughout middle school, and then was given another, and perhaps more important choice. I had tested into University High School, and had to choose between attending the college prep high school or my neighborhood school, which was Tucson High Magnet School. Ultimately, I decided to go to THMS. My parents were supportive of my choice, as were my older brother and my friends who also attended THMS, but I was regarded with total perplexity by my friends who went on to UHS, and by their parents. Many people asked me if I wasn’t concerned that I was ruining a great opportunity. They seemed convinced that because THMS wasn’t a college prep school, and because it didn’t have the same illustrious test scores as UHS, that I would get a sub-standard education. First of all, I think that the teachers at Tucson High are, for the most part, excellent and very dedicated to their jobs, just as those at UHS undoubtedly are. More important at the time, however, was that I believed (without recognizing the tie to the “boring people” formula) that because I was firm in my desire to learn, I would be able to get a good education out of any school I chose to attend. I still believe that, and I am sure that I made what was the right choice for me. Many of the teachers that I met at Tucson High made deep impressions on me, and taught me lessons beyond what I learned in their classrooms. The other students, likewise, helped me to become the person that I am today. And, if I had not attended THMS, it is unlikely that I would have participated in the Southern Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fairs and won the scholarship that is even now paying my way at the University of Arizona, or any of the other honors and awards that I picked up at science fairs, through my practice of photography, or as an English student. Of course, it was these honors and awards that attracted the attention of the Harvard recruiter when he came to visit our school. So, for the third time in my life, I had an important decision to make about my future as a student. After my experiences at Tucson High, it was easy. I love Tucson, and I didn’t want to leave. I knew that there was a fair chance that I would get into Harvard if I applied, or any of the other schools that sent me pamphlets and brochures. But I also knew that I would be able to get the education that I want almost anywhere, because of the energy that I would put into it.
I spoke today about a girl I knew who attended Kino and managed to remain essentially illiterate until she switched schools. I’d like to add to that, for anyone who was taken aback, that I –do- know several people who got excellent educations at that school. I think the only concrete thing that I can say about education and schooling is that the role of the individual really is important. Educated people are educating, learned people are learning, and… bored people are boring.
I was using the old “bored people are boring” formula in a different context, though. I don’t know what did it for me (growing up a bit, I would guess), but I finally do understand what she always meant by that, and also that it’s a more universal statement than it seems on the surface. Another way of putting it is “you reap what you sow” or “you take out what you put in.” So how does this apply to my experiences as a student, and to educational institutions in general? In my own experiences, at least, it is very much an important factor.
I tested into the GATE program (Gifted And Talented Education, for those who collect acronyms) as a kindergartener, and switched from Roskruge Elementary to Lineweaver for the first through the fourth grades. Lineweaver was an all-day GATE school, whereas Roskruge had pull-out GATE programs. As a fourth grader looking towards fifth grade, my parents gave me the option of staying on a Lineweaver or returning to Roskruge. I decided that I’d like to give Roskruge another try, for a variety of reasons. I stayed there throughout middle school, and then was given another, and perhaps more important choice. I had tested into University High School, and had to choose between attending the college prep high school or my neighborhood school, which was Tucson High Magnet School. Ultimately, I decided to go to THMS. My parents were supportive of my choice, as were my older brother and my friends who also attended THMS, but I was regarded with total perplexity by my friends who went on to UHS, and by their parents. Many people asked me if I wasn’t concerned that I was ruining a great opportunity. They seemed convinced that because THMS wasn’t a college prep school, and because it didn’t have the same illustrious test scores as UHS, that I would get a sub-standard education. First of all, I think that the teachers at Tucson High are, for the most part, excellent and very dedicated to their jobs, just as those at UHS undoubtedly are. More important at the time, however, was that I believed (without recognizing the tie to the “boring people” formula) that because I was firm in my desire to learn, I would be able to get a good education out of any school I chose to attend. I still believe that, and I am sure that I made what was the right choice for me. Many of the teachers that I met at Tucson High made deep impressions on me, and taught me lessons beyond what I learned in their classrooms. The other students, likewise, helped me to become the person that I am today. And, if I had not attended THMS, it is unlikely that I would have participated in the Southern Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fairs and won the scholarship that is even now paying my way at the University of Arizona, or any of the other honors and awards that I picked up at science fairs, through my practice of photography, or as an English student. Of course, it was these honors and awards that attracted the attention of the Harvard recruiter when he came to visit our school. So, for the third time in my life, I had an important decision to make about my future as a student. After my experiences at Tucson High, it was easy. I love Tucson, and I didn’t want to leave. I knew that there was a fair chance that I would get into Harvard if I applied, or any of the other schools that sent me pamphlets and brochures. But I also knew that I would be able to get the education that I want almost anywhere, because of the energy that I would put into it.
I spoke today about a girl I knew who attended Kino and managed to remain essentially illiterate until she switched schools. I’d like to add to that, for anyone who was taken aback, that I –do- know several people who got excellent educations at that school. I think the only concrete thing that I can say about education and schooling is that the role of the individual really is important. Educated people are educating, learned people are learning, and… bored people are boring.
