4 Reasons Millennials Need To Push For Education Reform In America
In our era of globalization, an individual needs to interact with the world in an innovative way, rather than just be another cog in the system.
The current trend in education — with its one-size-fits-all lessons that force square pegs into round holes — is becoming obsolete.
School curriculums are written to satisfy the least common denominator, while offering little to help students who want to truly expand their horizons and achieve their own visions of success.
While there is no doubt a college degree increases your chances of landing a 9-to-5 job, there is no guarantee such a job will lead you to a fulfilling life.
Evaluating A Student's Aptitude
A typical desk job may sound like a safe, stable prospect, but few people aspire to work in a cubicle.
The reality is, over time, our hopes and dreams are being replaced. Rather than working toward our own satisfaction, we're really just a part of someone else's vision.
The problem starts with how we evaluate students in the classroom.
With standardized tests and core curriculum requirements, every detail of the educational process is built to someone else's specifications.
Inspired to explore something different? Too bad; there's no place for that at school.
At times, even parents don't recognize the difference between educating children according to their interests and abilities, as opposed to memorizing the same facts and figures we've been led to believe are important.
We reinforce this mentality with grades, class rankings and awards.
Those who do a better job of fitting in are celebrated, while those who dare to think differently are seen as having “learning problems.”
A Time For Change
The current state of affairs necessitates a paradigm shift, and you only need to look at the plight of recent grads to see why.
As students go deeper and deeper into debt due to rising education costs, they are seeing a diminishing return on their investment.
Many are forced to take unpaid or underpaid internships or even return to school to pursue yet another degree.
The educational system has failed these students who were led to believe going to college or university was the “key” to success.
Furthermore, as these institutions force a singular line of thinking, they turn free-thinking youth into jaded skeptics.
It should then come as no surprise that job satisfaction is so low, and turnover continues to rise.
Fortunately, there is a solution to this education crisis.
Creativity Outside Of The Classroom
Jim Rohn once said:
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
His claim has been proven right time and again by the innovative minds of our generation.
Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey and others have all experienced tremendous success without a college degree.
Kevin Harrington, a successful and famous entrepreneur, left school and started his business at the young age of 15.
He blazed his own trail and followed his passion, which led to fame and success doing what he loved.
My own personal experience has taught me many of the same lessons.
At the age of 16, I started my online business after my father had lost his job, which forced my mother to take a second job.
Driven by a passion to support my family with these online ventures, I hunted for new information and soaked it up like a sponge.
That hunger for knowledge led to more learning than I could have ever gained inside a school.
By the time I turned 23, that drive for self-improvement yielded a six-figure business that took me around the world, across six continents and over 60 cities.
I've had the good fortune to live in places like Shanghai, Johannesburg, Phuket and now Playa del Carmen, and I have my own self-education to thank for all of it.
Drive Yourself
Whether you decide to stay within the system or strike out on your own path, the tenets of self-education can help you to achieve your dreams.
The smartest among us are able to take the best out of the situations they are placed in, while mitigating any shortcomings.
Take advantage of the school system to lay a foundation, but don't let it stifle your individual spirit.
Walk that line successfully, and the world can be your oyster.
