Comments on: Blowing off Graduation and Not Going to College: A Hula Hoop Story

By: Chandler Rae

Chandler Rae — Mon, 19 May 2014 23:00:35 +0000

I think this article points out exactly what kids my age struggle with. People wonder what happened to the “Lost” Generation; we’re lost because we have been fed so much contrary information regarding the definitions of success and education. We’re told we have the power to create our own lives, so long as it’s a life within the parameters set up by society. We’re put on a beaten path that is supposed to ensure our success through education…but, when we become educated enough to realize that same path is not only beaten, but broken, we’re persecuted for it. We’re treated like foolish, dreamy kids who don’t understand how the real world works, like new age hippies or anarchists because we aren’t fulfilling expectations placed on us by those living in the past.
And I think the ego of the parent has a lot to do with it. I gave a speech when I graduated, and I wanted to speak to my peers and tell them to go make their own dent in the universe. That speech was censored by my principal because (and I’m paraphrasing here but not much) according to him my peers didn’t care what I had to say. They wouldn’t remember it in a year. He told me graduation day was for the parents and I needed to address them and thank them, as well as thank the high school and my teachers more than I had.
“Thank them for what?” I asked him, and he couldn’t even answer me, he just went red in the face and again told me it had to be changed. I included a quote from Oscar Wilde about how not everything can be taught in a classroom, and it was censored.
My parents are terrific, supportive parents who often tell me that they have no expectations except for my personal happiness and success. And yet I am miserably working towards an English degree I have no idea what I’ll do with because they believe I won’t be successful or happy without it. And so I feel lost, as I imagine the rest of my generation does. But I think we’re just scared to rewrite the rules that have been held over us for so long. So thank you for giving me, and hopefully some others, a little bit of bravery through this article and this entire site. It’s time to rewrite education.

By: Che

Che — Mon, 19 May 2014 19:56:48 +0000

Well done!! As a Mom, I need to remember every point you’ve made here. I’ll repeat you’re closing sentence in my mind for years to come. Thank you (and, my kids thank you:)}

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 19 May 2014 18:29:10 +0000

Oh this made my day as well. I don’t think most teenagers (or parents) realize the damage that can be done to their body and nervous system with long periods of relentless stress. It is no wonder that so many college students experiment with drugs, alcohol and are sexually active during college years, and so many adults are alcoholics, drug addicts or on mood stabilizers. Choosing a path that brings you joy does not mean you will be living on the streets, a college degree is no longer requisite to a successful career. I think of the Indigo Girls song “Closer to Fine” – “I spent four years prostrate to the higher minds got my paper and I was free [but now hundreds of thousands in debt in student loans]”. I am an RN, I had to attend college and university for my degree and love my career. But this is not for everyone. Thank you for the beautiful story.

By: Jim Oase

Jim Oase — Mon, 19 May 2014 15:09:35 +0000

Graduation day in rural America is moving out of town day. Rural America is going extinct at a population loss of 1% per year. Our graduates are not sufficiently educated to remain and raise their families where they grew up.

City Fathers are constantly staring at the horizon waiting for a White Knight to bring a business to town instead of looking in their classrooms to see how the next generation is being prepared to prosper in their community.

There are the famous stories about businesses starting in a garage. Rural America has lots of garages, more and more of them sitting behind For Sale signs. Urban America has lots of garages, more and more of them sitting the rubble behind foreclosure signs.

Its not normal for educated people to turn their life’s work in to rubble and their money into valueless paper. Ignorance historically achieves those outcomes.

By: Robert Brady

Robert Brady — Mon, 19 May 2014 14:32:01 +0000

Great Story!

Worthy for reposting/linking, except for the expletive at the end….now I’ll have to post it with a disclaimer.