thoughts on the education system.

This next entry is in partial response to the discussions we’ve been having regarding education and the university model.

I always like starting with an anecdote, so here goes. It was the first week of my first semester at RMIT. I was enrolled in the Professional Communications course, and seeing as that its entrance score made it quite difficult to get into, I envisioned that I would soon be up against some serious competition.

I walked into my first class. Principles of design, public interest, mass psychology and Joseph Goebbels. Brilliant. I know this stuff.
But like every first class, the teacher usually does some type of obligatory introduction exercise, in order for the students to become better acquainted  with each other. Whatever. Hurry up and be done with it.

But on that day, the teacher insisted on something different. In a loud and confident voice he asked: “Would anyone care to share why they are here? Or rather, why they chose this course?” I liked this. See, it was three years since I left highschool. I took a year off to work, one year off for music and then another year off to study graphic design. I knew what I liked, and I had a fairly firm idea of what I didn’t like. Much to his expectance, not one student said a word. He then replied with “Ok then, how about we make it easy?”

“Who’s doing this course because their teacher recommended it?” he said. Out of the twenty students in the class, 5 put their hands up.

“Who’s doing this course because their parents thought it was a good idea?” 6 students then put their hands up.

“Ok. Who’s doing this course because they didn’t know what else to do?” 6 students put up their hands.

I left the class plagued by the thought of what I had just experienced. 85% of my peers were sitting in that class because of someone else’s recommendation; or the lack of their own direction.

This brings me to my first point regarding the current tertiary education model: students have been made to think that at 17-18 years of age, there is an expectation that they must know how they’ll best fit in society. Students who are lucky will have parents that take the initiative to get them industry meetings/excursions, industry trend information and at the very least, take them to open day. But for many people, the online course outline seems to suffice, coupled with the high school teachers advice on what your son or daughter will be best at in the years to come.

It may seem dramatic, but it’s not. There’s no one to tell you what I just told you. If you’re lucky, you’ll have parents that help you. If you don’t, then chances are you’ll have to find out the hard way. What is for sure, is that these students are taking this passing advice sometimes very seriously. This is a big deal. It is partially determining the course of your life, at least for some few years.

You may come out of highschool thinking that you know a few things. But creativity will not respect intelligence unless you are passionate. And the only way passion can be found, is through direction.

There is no school for direction. At best it’s a term that high school puts together with words like dedication, discipline and devotion.
There needs to be more assistance to people who are unaware of this, because unfortunately, it’s becoming far too common.