I was a horrible college student when I was younger. For a variety of reasons. I quit school, got lucky, and fell into a good tech career.
Many many years later after age 40 I was laid off, wanted a new career path / job, I took a few classes and eventually a bootcamp and changed careers. I was really nervous as far as how it would all play out knowing how terrible I was previously.
It was completely different. The idea that I would go into a room each day and someone would drop some knowledge on me was thrilling. A few other older students like me felt the same way. We were always up front if possible, active, it was a JOY to go to class each day.
Meanwhile I was surrounded by younger folks who reminded me of me as far as being perfectly capable, but low enthusiasm, effort, attention and interest level.
Education, and youth is sometimes wasted on the young. I only wish I could have gone back to school more.
I go to the local university now and then. Despite all the challenges, those folks don't seem to know how good they have it, but I can't judge, neither did I.
I think the biggest difference is feeling like you're in control of your life: Are you in college because someone told you to go, or did you go voluntarily?
I really wanted a break halfway through college, so I went on co-op. This forced me to go back (to college at the end of the co-op), and I never lost my status as a student (during the co-op). But, for a little more than 6 months, I was an independent adult, working, in charge of my life, at a place where I wanted to be.
A friend of mine dropped out of Caltech due to bad grades. I ran into him a decade later, and he said he'd recently graduated from Caltech, having gone back and gotten A's.
I asked him what changed, did you get smarter?
He laughed, and said no, this time I was willing to work.
Having been young more recently I can help you remember what you may have forgotten. Being young comes with a lot of stressors that take away from your agency, and your ability to see any positive outcome from effort. Whether that is relentless potential demand from a parent, inability to choose what to eat or do, or study, where to go, no car, no money, mate competition, etc. I found education to be very enjoyable in elementary school, then horrible in my teens, but very enjoyable in my early 20s when i had a bank account with even just 10k in it. Teachers treated me like shit in middle school by default, and in high school it was definitely harrassment. The material was often not rich enough to support the duration I was required to sit and stare at it. I was required to ask permission to urinate. The teachers may not have been intelligent enough to understand a persuasive argument in an essay. Math was the only consistently good outlier.
In university the worse a teacher ever was to me was bad or ambivalent, but the educational resources were so deep personal pursuit felt like it had infinite potential.
Im assuming at 40 years old these things have all been forgotten. Im sure the same is happening to me.
Yeah, it's weird how I didn't care about school at all when I was younger, but now I feel like it would be absolutely amazing to be able to learn all of this as it is. I think it's mainly though because I've experienced more of "actual life" and trying to survive on my own so all of that speaks more to me. Otherwise it seems like it's clueless theory I am forced to learn, but now I can relate my own life's experience with it.
The thing about experience and hindsight are clearly stated within their names. You don't accumulate either without being time served.
You may have some times where you actually decided to "carpe diem" and when you look back on those days, you will realise you made the best of things. As you get older, hopefully those positive experiences gradually accumulate, rather than being drowned out by negative experiences, which sadly make themselves up.
Sadly, bits tend to fall off or sag as we get older. It is the way of things. However, with luck your mind stays reasonably sharp for longer than the rest of you!
Part of the reason Western countries are so successful is precisely because we don't treat it as a privilege, but as a given.
So appreciate it as a privilege where it's not a given, like in shithole countries, but please do treat it as something that should be a given, that's what separates shitholes from beacons of light and truth, i.e. the West.
Why are you watering down the word "privilege"? Historically privilege was an exemption from taxes due to the fact that one of your ancestors helped some king in a war.
How exactly is education a privilege? At least in the US, everyone has access to public education. My kids go to public school, and while I can't say their education is perfect, it's not that bad either. You could probably say that private education is a privilege, but education in general? Why?
duxup|2 years ago
Many many years later after age 40 I was laid off, wanted a new career path / job, I took a few classes and eventually a bootcamp and changed careers. I was really nervous as far as how it would all play out knowing how terrible I was previously.
It was completely different. The idea that I would go into a room each day and someone would drop some knowledge on me was thrilling. A few other older students like me felt the same way. We were always up front if possible, active, it was a JOY to go to class each day.
Meanwhile I was surrounded by younger folks who reminded me of me as far as being perfectly capable, but low enthusiasm, effort, attention and interest level.
Education, and youth is sometimes wasted on the young. I only wish I could have gone back to school more.
I go to the local university now and then. Despite all the challenges, those folks don't seem to know how good they have it, but I can't judge, neither did I.
gwbas1c|2 years ago
I really wanted a break halfway through college, so I went on co-op. This forced me to go back (to college at the end of the co-op), and I never lost my status as a student (during the co-op). But, for a little more than 6 months, I was an independent adult, working, in charge of my life, at a place where I wanted to be.
School was so much easier when I went back.
WalterBright|2 years ago
I asked him what changed, did you get smarter?
He laughed, and said no, this time I was willing to work.
wegfawefgawefg|2 years ago
In university the worse a teacher ever was to me was bad or ambivalent, but the educational resources were so deep personal pursuit felt like it had infinite potential.
Im assuming at 40 years old these things have all been forgotten. Im sure the same is happening to me.
mewpmewp2|2 years ago
gerdesj|2 years ago
You may have some times where you actually decided to "carpe diem" and when you look back on those days, you will realise you made the best of things. As you get older, hopefully those positive experiences gradually accumulate, rather than being drowned out by negative experiences, which sadly make themselves up.
Sadly, bits tend to fall off or sag as we get older. It is the way of things. However, with luck your mind stays reasonably sharp for longer than the rest of you!
Aeolun|2 years ago
I guess the lesser incentives mean it’s easier to ignore anything said as well though.
Though to be fair “graduate in 5 years or you have to pay it all back” (imposed by the government) was a fairly powerful motivator.
VoodooJuJu|2 years ago
So appreciate it as a privilege where it's not a given, like in shithole countries, but please do treat it as something that should be a given, that's what separates shitholes from beacons of light and truth, i.e. the West.
credit_guy|2 years ago
Why are you watering down the word "privilege"? Historically privilege was an exemption from taxes due to the fact that one of your ancestors helped some king in a war.
How exactly is education a privilege? At least in the US, everyone has access to public education. My kids go to public school, and while I can't say their education is perfect, it's not that bad either. You could probably say that private education is a privilege, but education in general? Why?
dev_slash_null|2 years ago
The article is literally about life in North Korea...