What does it mean to be an educated person?

A thought-provoking video:
(Thanks to New Stede for sharing this in their house assembly)

 

So you want to get a degree? Why?
Let me tell you what society would tell you. It increases your chances of getting a job, provides you with an opportunity to be successful, your life will be a lot less stressful, education is the key.
Now, let me tell you what your parents would tell you. "Make me proud", it increases your chances of getting a job, provides you with an opportunity to be successful, your life will be a lot less stressful, education is the key.

Now let’s look at the statistics, Steve Jobs - net worth $7 billion (R.I.P.); Richard Branson  - net worth $4.2 billion; Oprah Winfrey - net worth $2.7 billion; Mark Zuckerberg, Henry Ford, Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates now here comes the coup de grace.

Looking at these individuals, what’s your conclusion? Neither of them in being successful ever graduated from a higher learning institution, now some of you would protest like, "You know money isn't only the medium by which one measures worldly success," some of you even have the nerve to say, "I don’t do it for the money", so what are studying for? To work for a charity? Need more clarity?

Let’s look at the statistics, Jesus, Muhammed (pbuh), Socrates, Malcolm X, Mother Teresa, Spielberg, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, Sean Carter, Michael Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Joseph Jackson were either of these people unsuccessful or uneducated?

All I’m saying is that if there was a family tree, hard work and education would be related, but school would probably be a distant cousin . . .

If education is the key, then school is the lock. Because it rarely ever develops your mind to the point where it can perceive red as green and continue to go when someone else said "STOP", because as long as you follow the rules and pass the exams, you’re cool. But are you aware that examiners have a checklist? And if your answer is something outside of the box, the automatic response is a cross, and then they claim that school expands your horizons and your visions. Well, tell that to Malcolm X, who dropped out of school and is world renowned for what he learned in a prison.

Proverbs 17:16, "It does a fool no good to spend money on education," why? Because he has no common sense.
George Bush. Need I say more?

“Education is about inspiring one's mind not just filling their head.” And take this from me, because I’m a educated man myself, who only came to this realization after countless nights in the library with a can of Red Bull keeping me awake till dawn and another can in the morn, falling asleep in between piles of books which probably equates the same amount I’ve spent on my rent, memorize equations, facts and dates, right down to the letter, half of which I’d never remember, and half of which I'd forget straight after the exam, or before the start of the next semester, asking anyone if they had notes for the last lecture? I often found myself running to class, just so I could find the spot on which I could rest my head and fall asleep without making a scene, ironic because that’s the only time I ever spent in university of chasing my dreams.

And then after nights with a dead-mind; identifying myself in the queue of half awake student zombies waiting to hand in an assignment, maybe that’s why they call it a "dead-line". And then after three years of mental suppression and frustration, my proud mother didn't even turn up to my graduation.

Now I'm not saying that school is evil, and there’s nothing to gain, but all I’m saying is, understand your motives and reassess your aims, because if you want a job working for someone else, then help yourself. But then that would be a contradiction, because you wouldn’t have really be helping yourself, you’ll be helping somebody else; there’s a saying, which says, “If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help build theirs.”

Redefine, how you view education. Understand its true meaning. Education is not just about regurgitating facts from a book or someone else’s opinion on a subject to pass an exam. Look at it, Picasso was educated in creating art; Shakespeare was educated in the art of all that was written. Colonel Harland Sanders was educated in the art of creating Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I once saw David Beckham take a free kick. I watched as the side of his Adidas-sponsored boot hit the patent leather of the ball at angle which caused it to travel towards the skies as though it was destined for the heavens. And then as it reached the peak of its momentum, as though it changed its mind, it switched directions . . . I watched as the goalkeeper froze, as though reciting to himself the laws of physics, and as though his brain was negotiating with his eyes that was indeed witnessing the spectacle of the leather swan that was sweeping towards it, and then reacted. But only a fraction of a millisecond too late, and before the net of the goal embraced the FIFA-sponsored ball, as though it was the prodigal son returning home; and the country that I live in erupted into cheers. I look at the play, and thought, "Damn; looking at David Beckham, there is more than one way in this world to be an educated man."

"I will not let an exam result decide my fate . . . "  Suli Breaks, Vanity Fair 2009

And that David Beckham free kick:

Drive by Daniel H Pink - Book Review

Daniel H Pink's Drive is a study of what motivates people and its conclusions are as relevant for individuals as they are for organisations.

The essence of Pink's argument is that the secret to achieving high performance in the work place is to shift from "Extrinsic" reward-based motivators, such as bonuses; to "Intrinsic" motivators, such as having greater autonomy, having the opportunity to master what we do, and having a sense of a (higher) purpose.

The book is divided into three sections.

1. The first engages with the body of research on what motivation, which indicates that traditional motivational techniques of carrots and sticks ("Motivation 2.0") are flawed. Indeed, he argues that (extrinsic - "Type X") bonus cultures when applied in the wrong context can have the opposite to the desired effect, causing a short-term approach that can encourage unethical behaviour and addiction to the next reward. Instead, the key is to motivation are intrinsic ("Type I") rewards:
2. The second expands on the three pillars of an intrinsic motivational culture ("Motivation 3.0): Autonomy (over Task, over Time, over Technique, over Team), Mastery (is a Mindset, is Pain, is an Asymptote) and Purpose (words - policies - goals).
3. The third section provides a handy summary in the form of a "Type I Toolkit" of how these principles for individuals, organisations, parents and educators.

Drive is an excellent book and I thoroughly recommend it to all who aspire to lead teams or organisations.

The ideas that underpin Drive have important implications for education. I will discuss these in subsequent blogposts in the coming weeks.

Advice to Young People

The following video was shown to the sixth form in assembly this week. It makes you think . . . . .



Lyrics of Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience . . . I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind;
you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind . . . the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life . . . the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary . . . what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own . . .

Dance . . . even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen . . .

All I need to know about life I learned at Nursery School (a guide for Global Leadership)

I have always enjoyed the following reflection on life:

"All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned at Nursery School. These are the things I learned:

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don't hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don't take things that aren't yours.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush the toilet.
• Warm biscuits and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Janet-and-John books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had milk and biscuits at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."

[Translated from the original American]