On night owls
13/03/2017: A really short rant that lost paragraph structure. It expresses my attitude to the daily schedule dogma established by society. And no, I am not going to bed just because it's 11pm.Although not exactly right here and right now, I have one dream that I want to reach. Despite studying rather theoretical academic subject, slowly specializing on the skills needed for business analysis as a profession, I once wish to become a teacher.
I already am a Peer Assisted Learning Scheme leader, but there, we act as peers to the students and only facilitate comfortable study environment involving innovative methods of learning and go over study techniques younger students might need. It is highly enjoyable, yet it does not give me the chance to reach what I find most pleasuring about teaching. That is the drive towards discovery and making people wonder. Furthermore, one can never reach their full potential without cooperation, observation, and epiphanies of young minds.
This idea comes illustrated nicely throughout the story of TV series House MD, which I have seen about six times in total and learned a lot from. Although House is a genius and has perfect sense for investigation and revealing of surprising connections, he only becomes the star he is deemed to be thanks to his team. Bouncing ideas off of junior colleagues provides him with range of ideas he would otherwise spent hours looking for. Additionally, although he is a total jerk, his team is grateful to work with him, because he helps them develop and propels them towards their own potential.
And that essentially is all a school should be about. Taking a lot of notes, revising nights before exam and effectively not giving a damn about most of the topics is mostly pointless and only makes people become stubborn, conservative and looking forward to take on a simple life with repetitive jobs. Even though some people may be satisfied with just that, each individual has a great potential and a unique field of interest. They should be encouraged to gain all the skills mathematics, science, and social studies offer in order to become experts in their field of interest and reach the top level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
In order to get there however, critical thinking is crucial. Unfortunately, all the exams and linear way of learning does not give us that. Hence, not all kids get to find out all the important links the world is full of and that is where they get boxed within the barriers of conservative society. That is where hate and ignorance and xenophobia probably originate.
Thankfully, there are many initiatives to change this, such as bighistoryproject.com, endorsed by the biggest mind of today’s society. People like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, J. K. Rowling, the Green brothers, and many others are broadly admired and often viewed by the society as the most gifted. The thing is that the critical difference between them and an average plumber is nothing but effort and an open mind. And I bet that most of them wish for the society to realize this and become inspired by them in order to make the world a smarter place all together.
And this is why I want to end up teaching in high school. Because I believe that there will be at least a couple of students in every class, who will make it work. It might be for the grace and respect I feel towards most of my past and current teachers or just for the satisfaction of seeing someone widening their scope. Nevertheless, everyone with the power and motivation should get there. Regardless of their parents, background, skin color, gender, or number of legs.
Some people around me call me a genius, which may be comforting but the main point remains that so are they. The only step to reveal it is to open their minds, never stop wondering, and value every thought that crosses their mind. So at the end, let me quote Poppy, a champion from the League of Legends: "I’m no hero - just a Yordle with a hammer!"