Now, I should hope that you’re not suggesting that Jay-Z is the exception that proves the rule. If any of his lyrics are true, it’s a statistical aberration he made it to maturity, much less so to head a musical conglomerate. Talent not withstanding, I doubt any teacher would have recognized his nascent lyrical/business abilities; and EVEN if they had, how could someone like Shawn Carter have been shepherded through the system to the same fame and glory? Almost impossible, no?

I think there’s a fair amount of us who can recognize a talent and know that the person’s not in the space they need to be to get where they need to go, if that makes sense. We see tons of kids who do messed-up stuff, but the skill set that allows them to survive in those conditions also can propel them to do better.

And yes, Jay-Z is the exception that proves the rule. The fact that he went through that stuff and still made it out alive speaks to just how many don’t.

critical thinking and adaptation. How can these be taught? Arguably, unless they’re like yourself, most teachers don’t have the technical aptitude to pass along ‘marketable’ job skills, so how can one build a tool-kit for an uncertain future?

First, we need the belief that it can be done, and we take it from there. More even concentration of the arts and sciences, strengthening social studies and sciences, and providing equitable education for all. We aren’t even close to those conditions, res ipsa loquitur.

I think all teachers should have some sort of belief system that doesn’t deny their students their human capital.

institutions make you follow rules, even if those rules are antiquated. you are rewarded for following rules, not creating, growing, expanding those rulse.

success comes from dedication and desire, and a splash of knowledge – hopefully gotten from a good teacher. aj

When it comes right down to it, what you’re essentially arguing is for the diversification of talent: pursue your dreams, but have a back-up plan. What you don’t touch on, is how this meant to happen within the current educational system?

Arguably, the public educational system teaches three basic lessons (1) enough math to be able to handle basic accounts; (2) enough literacy to be able to function in some basic clerical position; and (3) an almost Pavlovian regimentation of time which trains the kids to sit somewhere for about eight hours straight until you’re released by the bell (all of a sudden the Flintstones theme song takes an ominous twist, when you consider high-school doesn’t do much more than train you for the foreman’s bell). Forget that the IQ, SAT, and GRE test TWO of twelve subjectively quantifiable types of ‘intelligence.’

Now, I should hope that you’re not suggesting that Jay-Z is the exception that proves the rule. If any of his lyrics are true, it’s a statistical aberration he made it to maturity, much less so to head a musical conglomerate. Talent not withstanding, I doubt any teacher would have recognized his nascent lyrical/business abilities; and EVEN if they had, how could someone like Shawn Carter have been shepherded through the system to the same fame and glory? Almost impossible, no?

Now I absolutely agree that you should never insult any of your charges, but where does the line get drawn between hedging one’s bets? In many ways, the economic landscape is changing so rapidly, that many of the people who are doing the teaching are doing so because they themselves were not prepared for the market they were thrust into. Given the inherently dynamic nature of the current employment market, isn’t it more true that we’re being shepherded into the Golden Cage of wage slavery, we don’t necessarily need to be locked up in the PIC to be trapped by credit. Our generation, so called ‘generation debt’ was the first to enter the world where college didn’t necessarily determine that you’d get a job. The false illusion of the American meritocracy is aptly demonstrated by the fact that one of our previous presidents was a legacy at the illustrious school he attended. So, I guess what the long-winded diatribe was trying to get at is this: critical thinking and adaptation. How can these be taught? Arguably, unless they’re like yourself, most teachers don’t have the technical aptitude to pass along ‘marketable’ job skills, so how can one build a tool-kit for an uncertain future? In many ways, we’re being abstracted a number of levels from how the world actually works around us. So, those of us trapped in debt, browbeaten by the system, might remember a lesson from Ancient History (or social studies). The Athenian democracy, was founded by a rebel, Solon, who cast off the tyrants who had enslaved the Athenians in debt and indentured servitude (how does a 10% apr differ from slavery, other than that the motivating principle to work is indirect?). Ok, I’ve gone off on too much of a tangent, but I hope someone can articulate what I’m trying to a little better.