Harrisburg High on Market St. Harrisburg, Pa. Education is personal. It all depends on what you want to get out of it. It can be self directed, "one on one", classroom, or computer base training.
Some people think that a good public or private education will get you into a good college. Some think that a good education is measured by test scores. Yet other people think that a good education will land you a good high paying job. What is a good education to you?
To me, a good education is something that I can use to make money and will allow me to keep money. It is also something that will allow me to defend myself in legal, financial, health, and political matters.
I made my living mainly from programming computers of major corporations as well as county and state government agencies. The income from these jobs allowed me to buy homes and cars, put food on the table and clothes on my back, as well as raise children. But not like many young people today, most of my education came free from my employers by way of company education benefits.
I went to public school in West Mifflin near Pittsburgh, Pa. From 1967 to 1972, I researched what I had to do to make a living in future economic times. Notice I said future not present. People who live for the present are doomed to fail because our economic situation changes about every 2 to 3 years. That is why people who see or hear what jobs are popular this minute, end up spending a lot of money just to be unemployed with a high education debt.
When I was in high school, I knew that working in the mills around Pittsburgh was not going to put food on the table for long. All people at that time had to do was look at the development of industry in other countries to know that supply of production will go up and demand will not, causing a slow down in production in this country. It will also cause companies to lay off and put mill workers in the street. Only if you can support any business at any time would it be profitable to get into a profession, trade, or some specialty labor to support yourself for a long period of time.
This is something that public and most private schools are not design to teach you. They are design to teach you how to read, write, and do math for the local businesses in your local area. They are not design to teach you to think on your own. Most colleges and universities are not design to teach independent thinking either. So in other words, schools, (public, or private and most colleges) are factories that produce human programmed robot laborers for the local work force.
When I was a small boy (3 to 12 years old) in the 1950s, I would get up early on Saturday morning (6:00 to 7:00) and watch the old documentary shows that the networks used as fillers. I did not know that I was educating myself in economics, production, and human resources. It was teaching me to think independently of the local industrial leaders. To me, it was just another TV show. This is why by 1967, I was able to look at my situation and figure out what I wanted to do and get what I wanted out of education.
My College Years
While many of my child hood friends hung out and wasted time, I taught myself COBOL programming and took computer courses in high school. As their parents talked about how racist it was to push Black children into technical trades, I went out and got trained in a trade while in High school. I worked in the computer industry by day and had my employer pay for my college courses at night.
While working and going for my General Studies Associates Degree at Allegheny Community College, I explored other interest such as Business and Estate law, financial markets, the real estate business, accounting, and many other disciplines. Then I went on to get my BS degree in Management and Computer Science from Robert Morris College.
At that point I was ready to do many jobs for many companies. I had knowledge of just about every financial market and how best to take advantage of them. I could raise and manage my children to know how to take advantage of their educational opportunities to pursue what they want to do. Because of my studies, I am in a position where I am least likely to be taken advantage of by corporations and individuals on the job, at home, and in society.
I had to defend myself in court against companies and individuals over the past 40 years, saving me money or getting back damages. I saved a lot of money in legal fees. I made a lot of money using my credit cards. I made a lot of money in the financial markets and bought three homes.
Education for the Next Generation
I have two children. The youngest has a different idea of education than I do. She always wanted to be a model. That is what she geared her life around and that is what she does. Making money is not a priority for her. She hangs out with the famous people of her time.
The oldest daughter’s idea of education is much different. She makes way more money than I do. Her idea of education is geared around making money, helping people, and obtaining economic power. She can do math that I don't understand. She does things with computers that I never dreamed of doing.
She has an Associate Degree, a BS Degree in Criminal Justice, and an MBA. She thinks independently and is part of the people in the business world that calls the shots.
When she was in her early 20s, some lady stole her pocket book and took her money. She charged that lady with the crime took her to court and prosecuted her by herself. The court was impressed and so was I. She was going in and out of the country without my knowledge or blessing. I found out when she came home one day to tell me that she was getting married to a man that she met in Jamaica.
Today, she has multinational business and family contacts. Her world is more complicated than I never known could be possible.
Education Starts before Birth
I started teaching my children before they were born. I would talk to them while still in my wife’s body. So I should not have been surprised when my children started talking at 2 months old and counting before 2 years old. This is a practice that my oldest daughter followed and I hope that this practice will continue for generations to come.
At age 4 my grandson started practicing to be the fastest person in the world. He is now 6 and my oldest daughter’s oldest son is already known in the US and around the world thru his blog in the Track and Field World. He can run 6 miles and is second seed (USATF SUB-Bantam) in the north east United States. He is 6 in the 1500 meter in USATF Region 2 Outdoor Track and Field in the US.
When he goes to the track to practice, people assume that I am making him do a practice that even college people would have trouble doing. People will question him on the track to see if I am abusing him. Recently, a group of ladies asked him what he was doing and my grandson replied, “I am in training.” They came over to me and told me what he said. My reply, “He is in training. He wants to be a world class athlete and he is educating himself to be just that. I am his transportation and his coach. He decides what he wants to do.”
My second grandson just turned one year old. He wanted to show me something one day. He can’t talk that well but he can work a smart phone. He showed me how it worked from the pictures to the music, to the videos. For a year, he taught himself by watching my oldest daughter use the phone while she breast fed him. I was shocked and surprised but that is what education means to him.
No comments:
Post a Comment