Do you remember all the things that you wanted to be when you grew up? Teacher, lawyer, doctor, judge (I wanted to be a judge at one point), marine biologist (who doesn't want to do this after visiting Sea World), race car driver, movie star, singing sensation, world traveler, wife, husband, father, mother, president, king, queen, astronaut...the sky was the limit.
Kids, of all ages, know how to dream - and many times they dream big.
At some point reality hits - those dreams may not be possible due to talent, skill set, or... grades and school performance.
A friend of mine was not exactly the world's greatest student in high school. This is not to say that he wasn't smart as he is - very smart in fact. But he was the rebellious type and did things that don't exactly fit the position for which he applied a few years ago.
High school, for this man, was 30 years ago, but his actions kept him from obtaining a job he wanted and for which he was qualified.
I did not understand this as those activities occurred, 30 years ago!
What we do in high school - how we perform, our grades, and the activities in which we are engaged - can have an impact on our lives and the fulfillment of our dreams both directly after high school and years/decades later.
Living in a competitive environment, I am surrounded by parents and young adults alike planning their futures with fervor. Kids are taking college entrance exams before the age of 14 and doing all they can to create a well rounded and stellar résumé. It is stressful, competitive, and a world in which grades and activities matter, not only to the kids, but to the parents and the families.
I don't know that it is about fulfilling a dream though? Perhaps it is about status and ensuring entry into the best possible college so that the best possible position in the best possible company can be obtained?
But I often wonder what happens to those kids who don't make the grade? What happens when a kid does not take the high school career seriously? What happens to the kid's dreams?
7 comments:
As a young child, a teenager too, I always wanted to be a nurse, planned to go in nurse's training when I graduated to be an R.N. like my Mom. That was until January of my senior year when I got a bug up my behind that I wanted to go to college to become a teacher. Didn't think about grades -mine weren't bad -average -but had I done a little work, they could have been a whole lot better. Finances played a huge part in my NOT going to college then - took me 28 years to figure out a way to go to college but I did it and graduated in four years too with a B.S. in Rehabilitation Education. My "unpreparedness" for the reality of finances and education, for the reality of employment too since I had taken primarily "college prep" courses impacted my employment, my earning ability -in my opinion - for most of the rest of my life in this backwoods area where I live. The eight years I lived and worked in D.C., that aspect didn't seem to hinder me that much but then, general office type work was much more plentiful then too. Today, I probably wouldn't have any more of a prayer - degree or not - in that area than would a snowball in hell.
Frankly, my experience with higher education and employment has been such that I would recommend people get as much education as they can with respect to computers, software, how to utilize the common software programs as well as more specific ones too as even for an entry level job in many specialized fields, employers want someone who looks like they have an associate type degree from a business college as well as the B.S. they say you need for the particular field. Rough sledding in today's market, for sure.
I don't think that one's performance at high school affects their dream - at least not in my case (thankfully!)
that said, high school is a good foundation for the future and should be taken seriously - though the pressure these kids are under? not such a good thing
Some amazingly smart and successful people never even finished high school — think Peter Jennings (dropped out after 10th grade); Wendy's founder Dave Thomas (quit at age 15); Albert Einstein, who failed math (!) and took an high school equivalency test at age 17 and then published his E=MC2 paper two years later.
Who we were in high school often has nothing to do with our success later in life, thus so many football team captains who peaked in high school and never did anything after that.
Parents who pressure their kids in middle and high school do them a great disservice.
Dreams know no age, and the older you get, the freer you feel to explore them.
Jeni - You have done so much and learned so much through your experiences and hard work. I am sure that your kids benefitted from that. I appreciate your sharing your experiences.
Kathryn - Thankfully my high school or college grades didn't seem to matter either. I just wonder how much more they matter today? And kids under so much stress is not a good thing!
Kat - In today's world, can kids afford to be lazy students (as I was) or not take school seriously. There are definitely success stories - but is this the outcome for the majority of kids that do not do well in high school?
In high school, I fought with my mom because I wanted to take French lessons but she thought Spanish would be more useful. So I enrolled in Spanish against my will at first, but then continued on to take advanced courses until I graduated. 8 years after that argument, I got my job here in Spain and I'm now considering staying.
Funny how things work out, huh?
Emmaenlightened - That is great!! Sometimes moms know best!
They hope they can get into the NBA?
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