An Impressive Education

The presence of the Master

Students at the Colorado College in downtown Colorado Springs can reserve a library desk for a 'block' semester. One of the desks had this voluminous collection of books intimidating all those who dare approach.

On the desk, someone left an amusing note remarking about the wall of education presented before her.

Loving note

The note reads: "Jake, Your collection of books is as intimidating as God Himself. In fact, I may just be feeling His presence here at this very carreL.[sic] May He bless your hardworking heart, LOL (Lots of love), Mira".

I was about to feel genuinely impressed with this Jake's hardy studiousness that I could've agreed with Mira. But then I looked at the titles of the books on his shelf.

I would've tipped my hat if the subjects were anything like Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Helping People with Disabilities, Psychology for Childhood Development, American Literature of the 20th Century... anything not so self-serving, slanted, and narrow. Instead, I saw a bunch of books on religion, Jews, and the holocaust. And I thought, well fuck that, that ain't real noble pursuit of knowledge that's going to help anyone.

Antisemitic thoughts

Help no one? Well, maybe help the Jews. But they think of themselves enough as it is. They're the only group I know of that named a term for the dislike, opposition to, or disbarring of their own people's interests: antisemitism, and propaganda'd it into the most heinous, vile, moral sin one could commit.

What kind of bullshit is that!? There's no special term for anti-Chinese. We're not trying to manipulate public image in our favor to pull strings in prominent positions. We don't demonize people who hate on our math skills and, I dunno... playing Ping Pong or some shit. But Jews feel so entitled by the indignation of their historical persecution that the 'politically correct' outrage to displaying antisemitism would destroy any detractor's public career.

You can't even call it Racism, because they play the technicality card that Judaism is a religion (even though the real protest to them has nothing to do with their spiritual beliefs, but their secular societal practices as an ethnic and cultural people).

The College Experience

One step at a time...

The Colorado College has an interesting curriculum structure, where students take one class per semester unit called a 'block'. An academic year has two semesters, each semester has four blocks for a total of eight blocks. Explanation.


These units are short, four week intensive academic schedules separated by short breaks. During a block, you take the same class every day until you finish. I believe this is a natural way to learn and (at least in theory) is far superior than the traditional juggling act of four disconnected courses, dragging on over half a school year.

Keep it singular, stupid

It's not just that focusing on one subject at a time puts you on the longest leash to immerse in the subject and develop your own explorations. In addition, the faster pace of study keeps ideas fresh in your memory, and you don't have to wait arbitrarily to move on to the next topic. You are constantly progressing.

Make speed, not haste

When learning a foreign language, it takes a certain speed of reading to attain comprehension. Same thing with education. If you go through the material too slowly, your studying reduces to memorizing isolated facts without stringing them together to attain an overall understanding.

A traditional circus

Traditional four-course study has been like this for me. In the beginning, you are restless with the easy material and lose interest as the basic material offers little substance. You want to do more, but the structured pacing of the course holds you back from working ahead to prepare for the huge dump load you know will fall on your head. The real shit storm starts after the first midterm.

It's a bullshit three-ring circus sideshow of freaks here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A. - Tool, Aenema.

Hit the fan, learn to swim

Suddenly in the middle of the course, all four courses start getting to the real material and you are overwhelmed with assignments, new concepts, labs, projects, and the wrong answers you didn't understand from the first graded assignments. Now you are not learning, but running the paces to meet the logistics of your student expectations. Get to this recitation, talk to this professor, run back and forth on a wing and a prayer that one of these meetings will reveal the right explanation that can help you through all the confusion and nonsense.

Depending on your luck, whether you talked to the right people, or if you (thank God) came prepared before enrolling in the class by learning all the material beforehand you may or may not do well on the second midterm, really the only midterm that counts worth a damn.

Cause the first one was easy not representative of the material covered in the course, and the third midterm is barely squeezed in before the final, and is really the same material as the final and by that time students don't even bother to figure out if their understanding is right or not. Few come back to collect their graded finals to see what they failed to learn about the course, as long as they got their A or B or pass, whatever they need to stumble through to the next hoop before graduation.

So it's just a circus of acrobatics where you may or may not come out with an education or a 4.0 gpa. Some are better than others at the tumbling performance than others and do get those high grades. Some have a knack to know how to answer questions the way they are expected. Some might even be really good at the subject by their own virtue. But how many are educated? Far fewer I feel than those who are jumbled around to establish a hierarchy.

Let's find a scapegoat

In whose fault lies the blame? The teachers? More often than not, I find the teachers are the strongest resistance to this systemic charade. They do want to teach something, and yearly are disappointed with the turnout of true education lost amid the scramble for grades and appointed merit.

So the students? Yes, and no. It is their fault for giving in so spinelessly to real and perceived societal pressures for job procurement, financial advancement, and beating their competition (each other). But on the other hand, they are not doing this because they want to but because they are afraid they will be left with no future if they don't.

Whose fault is it then? As always, follow the trail of money. Who are the funders? Who are paying the Dean to whittle admissions to drive the senseless competition. Who are offering students fantasies of wealth and prosperity? Spurring a toxic atmosphere by offering these top 10% the merits and promises of gold and riches, starting $100,000 salaries with a Mercedes Benz to the 'best of the best' of the worst.

The investment banks, the hedge funds, the fortune 500 crowd. They are buying the education system into their pockets, not caring about the effect it has on the 90% of the young people who just want to learn, do something productive with skills, and lead a promising future. The 1% only care about the 1%, and their policy reflects that the top must become more exclusive and the rest might as well not exist.

A devout morality

'I will not Lie, Cheat, or Steal and I will not tolerate those who do.' is the military cadet's honor code.

But who are the people leading the military? What honor code do politicians live by? What good is a moral military when it is dutifully obedient to a paid actor working for a greedy tycoon????

Another bone I have to pick is with the word 'tolerance' related to morality. Used in this way, it is a hoary euphemism.

Being tolerant is not Tolerance!

Tolerance is for that guy who has a different color skin and wears a funny hat.I don't give a fuck, because he plays a great ball, approaches challenges with zeal, and looks for ways to create an opening or turn a situation around in our favor. I respect him based on his character, the work he puts into his talents, and how he treats others. Okay? That is tolerance.

When it comes to morality, turning a blind eye to something you know is wrong, that is collusion. 'I don't care how he makes his money, it's none of my business. I like him because he can take me to nice parties and knows how to have a good time.' That is fucking collusion.

collusion: a secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal, deceitful, or unethical purpose

There's nothing noble about tolerating the unethical, immoral actions of people around you. Well... 'I don't gain anything from his immoral actions, I just think he is a good person in other ways and I don't think it's my place to judge the things he does which I view as immoral.' Okay, fine you got me there.

Collusion

But I think more often than not, we are not impartial bystanders with a zen-like detachment from judgement and from personal gain. We are not unlike beneficiaries. We are the spouses sharing the nice house, the friend who has a cool friend who can get season ticket seats, the guy who knows a guy and can get things done.

We collude with players who do the things we wouldn't do, because we think of ourselves as innocent and decent people. But then we play into the hands of the ethically uncouth, admiring their haves and privately wishing to live the perks in their lives.

Poor is un-sexy

LOL I have the radio playing in the background and just now a guest on the show was talking about how rigged the Academy Awards are to favor nominations and awards to the rich. One of the films he thinks is an important and meaningful work, he is outraged won't win any awards.

The reason he sees is because 'Poor people are not sexy.' He continues, 'They're not exciting or attractive, who wants to see them? But they are reality. The 1% ers are not reality, they are some of the nastiest people on the planet.'

I'm sorry, I didn't catch the guest's name. I wish I did. For the sake of supposition, let's say it was Paul McCartney.