The College Creep

Is there a college degree for "Fireman"?

The "Christmas Creep". That time around mid-October when stores begin peddling their Christmas goods. It's annoying. I freak out every year when I go to pick out a Halloween costume and Rudolphs red lightbulb nose is glaring at me from the next aisle over. So it's no surprise that when I saw this banner hanging in one the elementary schools in my district I had a similarly negative feeling towards it. 

When I saw that banner my first thought was "Oh thats nice". Then I realized where I was. I was in an elementary school. A school where students as young as 4 walk through the halls where apparently they should be thinking, "What do I want to do with my life?". At 4 years old they shouldn't be weighing the options of Harvard and Stanford. Elementary school students should not be learning in order to write so they have a perfect college essay they should be learning to love writing. They shouldn't be learning that 2+2=4 so that they can eventually know how to solve 2x+4=10, they should be learning to love math. These kids should be learning to love learning.

In middle school we did a project where we were required to present on what we wanted to do when we grew up. I wanted to be an animator. I got it into my head that I wanted to go to the Art Institute and learn to make cartoons. The problem is that I began to idolize the school. I understood what I needed to do to get into that school and really didn't put forth much additional effort. My young mind had made the decision that I was going to this school and it was so set in my head that I didn't even think to deviate from it. If I had I may have realized that there are very few animation jobs in or around my home town (which I was very happy to remain in), or that Pixar hires almost exclusively from a select few colleges (not the one I was attending), or that I would be vastly better at another field entirely. How can I be okay with asking children under 10 what they want to do with their lives when I didn't now until I was in my early twenties?

NOW AVAILABLE IN
3 SHADES
OF OFF-WHITE!

We are pushing kids down a path before we even show them how to navigate. My first child recently turned 6 months old. As a father who is deep in the world of #edreform and #edtech I can tell you that I am already worrying about what kind of education he is going to receive. Now I will be sure to do everything in my power to make sure that he gets a hefty dose of critical thinking and personal experience but I still worry that he will be in a school system that focuses on testing him until his mind becomes so numb that his body falls limp from his Virco 3400BR Solid Plastic Combo School Desk. I want to make sure that my son loves learning. I want him to be able to change his mind about what he wants to be as many times as he wants. I want him to feel safe with us if he says, "I dont' want to go to college". But most of all I want him to learn how to learn before he tries to decide what to learn.