Consider for a Moment

Consider for a moment what is expected of adults.  They are expected to have jobs, make families, be involved in the community; they are expected to achieve something and to do something meaningful to somebody other than themselves.  Consider the expectations for teenagers: don't do drugs, stay in school, don't mess up.  Yes, teenagers are not adults - they are still growing and learning and experiencing, but aren't we all?  I don't know that an 80 year old man would wake up in the morning and think, "I am equipped with infinite knowledge!"  We never stop learning.  So why should the expectations for people be different if they are going through the same things?

Teenagers need to hold themselves to higher standards.  If adults are expected to make something of themselves (even young adults) with the experience that they have, teenagers should be expected to do something more than just "not mess up."

What are these standards exactly though?  The thing about that is that we cannot pinpoint what everybody should achieve.  Everybody learns at a different pace and experiences things in any given sequence.  This is why we need to have our own, individualized expectations and should be responsible to ourselves for meeting and exceeding them.  This is where standardized testing is flawed.  Yes, I understand the need to test for understanding, but why not raise the standards for everyone?  If one person is able to achieve at a certain lever, why not make that the standard.

What kind of expectations do you have for yourself?
What do you suggest as a substitute for or addition to standardized testing?

For Those of You Who Have Faith

A while ago, I was recommended to read the book "Do Hard Things," by Alex and Brett Harris.  I very much respected the person that suggested I read it, so I bought the book.  Several times I started to read and never made it past the second chapter, but not because the book was bad or that I was not intrigued, but because my own fading will power and diminishing spare time took control of my daily routine - one which no longer included reading.  However, tonight I picked up the book again, feeling more motivated and with the determination to hold myself accountable to finishing the book and sharing it with those who want some insight.

Chapter one is essentially a "get pumped" spiel.  The boys talk about who they are, how they were raised, what they have accomplished, and what the point of the book is.  If you're really interested - read the book, but long story made short: They are homegrown, Christian, overachievers that have received a lot of opportunities that young people normally do not.  When I picked up the book for the first time, I was expecting a lot of fairly far-fetched ideas that were not really applicable to real life and were really only taken on by the elitists.  But what I found was exactly the opposite.

The authors focused on their faith, as it is the foundation for everything that they do - their motivation, their reason, their support.  My first thought?  How awesome.  I took notes as I read and the thing that stuck out most to me was that they saw the change starting with Christ in us, and then us taking that will and putting it into action.  The basis of the book can be dwindled down to this quote: "It's about something God is doing in the hearts and minds of our generation.  It's about an idea.  It's about rebelling against low expectations.  It's about a movement that is changing the attitudes and actions of teens around the world."

I understand that this blog was originally aimed at correcting the education - and yes, I do intend to get to that.  But we have to follow the chain all the way up.  At the top is our own mindsets.  It is not as if the education system has always been around; it was thought up by somebody or a group of somebody's.  But what on Earth were they thinking when they set the standards?  It's time to change the way we think, so that we can change the standards.

Personal Experience with Self-Evaluation

When thinking about this blog, the goal was to make it more scholarly and academic as opposed to a young woman's diary because, well, who wants to read about a nineteen year old's personal life; however, I feel compelled to share a story about the epiphany that I had in looking at myself tonight, conveniently occurring just a few hours after my last post dealing with self-evaluation.

This evening, my roommate (and best friend) came home from a busy weekend and after spewing out her weekend in the matter of minutes, she looks at me and says, "Talk."  I looked at her questioningly and she added, "Talk about anything... Life."  And so I did, talking about my weekend, my boyfriend, my homework, and everything in between.  Then I brought up a conflict that I had had just a few days ago and we began to dissect.  Essentially, it was an explosion of figuring out that my nurturing manner was both a flaw and a positive characteristic.  We discussed the ways in which I displayed my mothering nature - making dinner for, cleaning compulsively, checking in on people.

At first, I was completely offended.  I did not believe that being a caring person could possibly offend or annoy anybody ever.  It all seemed very black and white to me.  After the initial shock, I began to feel defensive.  I started spitting out reasons why I do those things and that it's necessary.  Luckily, my best friend is the most reasonable and sensible person I know.  She caught onto my feelings and began to make the situation less black and white, and more gray.

She talked about how it was not a bad thing, except when it was.  This "when it was" concept struck me.  I thought, "Who doesn't want to be taken care of?"  As we discussed the idea more and more, we came to the conclusion that it was not who did not want to be cared for, but when any given person needs to be independent for the time being.  It whittled down to perception.  If somebody perceives themselves as caring, they see it as good.  However, another could see it as overbearing and nosy, which is hardly ever a good thing.

As we look at ourselves, it is our job to look at both the good and the bad with multiple sets of eyes: our own, our friends, and even through the eyes of a stranger.  We must be open-minded and willing to look past the obvious commentary and dig a little bit deeper, reach for the "why."  Only after we find that out can we learn to control our behaviors and change the way that we act.  Maybe one day we can even alter the way that we think.

And that is the story of how I came about a seemingly harmless characteristic, nailed down the way, and started on how to change it.

Examining Ourselves

When I was in high school, I was part of the leadership team in band for three years.  There were always required readings to be on the leadership team.  The one that I found most applicable to all situations was "The Lombardi Rules" by Vince Lombardi, Jr.  Vince Lombardi (the author's father) was one of the greatest NFL coaches ever.  He brought the Green Bay Packers from being in the bottom of the bunch to standing in the shoes of championship players on a championship team.  Now, I know what you are thinking, "Football is based on winning football games, not character and leadership skills."  Right.  But Vince Lombardi was more about the "how" than the "what" - more about the "process" than the "product."

In order to make any change to this world, we must first understand what the problem is, why it is a problem, and how to fix it, and this begins with the individual.  Lombardi writes that we must get to know ourselves, that we cannot improve if we do not first understand.  Looking at myself, I see a controlling, impatient, and anxious student.  However, on the positive side of that, I see a kind, driven, and smart individual.  So, this is step one: understanding what we are.

Step two: understand why we are that way.  How do we get to the bottom?  We ask ourselves questions.  How do I spend my spare time?  What kind of people do I gravitate towards?  Of course, one would probably not sit down and think, "Why is my life the way it is?"  Break it down, spread it out.

So, now we have begun the process of examining who we are and why we are that way.  But there is a catch!  People change.  We cannot wake up one day and say to ourselves, "I have it all figured out!  I know who I am.  I know why I am this way.  The world is right.  Now I can go back to mindless, thoughtless living."  We must assess ourselves on a daily basis.  This takes concentration, the ability to multi-task, and awareness; to sum all these into one word:  simultaneous awareness - doing what we are doing, while assessing what we just did, while thinking about what we are about to do.  All this and "why."

Good luck.  Please feel free to share your thoughts in comment form.

The Beginning

This is the start of something that has been on my heart for three years now.  This is my way of trying to share my opinion with the world.  This is my way of beginning to change the world one mind at a time.  This blog is about our education system: my experiences with it, my opinions of it, and the ways in which I feel it could be improved.  This is not about calling our education system severely flawed, or bashing the creators of it.  This right here is about changing ourselves - our mindsets.  By changing how we think and the standards that we hold ourselves to, we will consequently feel obligated to make a change, a change that will benefit ourselves, our children, our children's children, and the future this world will behold.

Skeptical?  So am I.  I am skeptical as to whether this idea of changing the way that we think will even be accepted.  But for now, suspend disbelief and subject yourself to something new - something that can alter everything for the better.