I think my empire is expanding somehow, because there are a few things that do puzzle me here.
I was recently talking with a student about education and opportunities...
Now, that student's reading in a prestigious institution and being offered high-quality education in a quite selective and limited field, and I must say that I was quite shocked when that person declared that everybody cannot study quantum physics because there's a limited number of positions for specialists in quantum physics. That (privileged) person was happy to see others kept in conditions where education's not a priority according to bipeds of the political variety (we were talking about other countries at the time).
Now, I do know that society can't work if 100% of the work force is composed of specialists in quantum physics. We need a bit of everything in every field.
But... would everyone like to become a specialist in quantum physics if given the opportunity? Strangely, I don't see this happening.
People have always been happy to turn to various activities for different reasons.
I fear that the "not everybody can become a {fill in the blank}" line is a pretty smokescreen for conservative people who do not want the masses to be given access to higher education (or elementary education in some cases). That gives me the feeling that the people thinking that believe that "Oh, that'll always be good enough for those people", and that's scaring me.
I just cannot believe that we'd get too many neurosurgeons, physicists, nurses, teachers, fishmongers, or whatever if education was promoted.
That feels like a political thing in favour of castes and classes. "Stay in your place, child"... Don't dream, don't change, don't try to get a better life. Don't use your brain too much, or you'll get in troubles (and someone will silence you).
I'll always be on the side of the Earthlings who want to learn and become better.
It was quite disturbing to hear such a young person (and someone who's been given a tremendous chance to become a part of a certain elite) be so heartless and bigoted.
Someone should study conservative DNA (or brain cells). There's something scary in the way they keep multiplying.
2 comments:
I like to help my pupils dream and look as high as they can, but I also meet ex pupils in low pay jobs and doing very menial work, and you know what as long as they are happy, working to live and getting by then I am happy for them, we may need quantum physicists but they wont empty the bins! in fact we could love with out the high brow and still get by with street cleaners and bin men, try doing with less of them and watch folk miss them! take out a middle management and up post and watch no one miss it :-) despite my middle management post I would argue most of my day to day stuff is fine in my assistants hands! over time you would miss the overall organization stuff I do, but you would miss the hands on a lot quicker. Dream big but live sensible lives! :-) just think how sad that view of keep in your place child is! and at the end of the day the limit in in the mind of the conservative, not the life of the normal person.!
Happiness and sense are extremely important.
It's great to be able to pay the rent and the bills, but if one is unhappy, that's half a life.
Of course, we need to be "responsible adults", but the possibility of education should be available (some US school programmes make me want to weep, for example).
Perhaps that's weird, but I grew up in a family that believes that there will always be people to empty the bins. What we need is the child of someone who's not in any so-called elite to have the possibility to become a ballet dancer, a painter, or a physicist if it's got the brain for it.
I do believe that things could be better balanced if the use of brains was promoted... Not out of the wood on that one! ô.O
Oh! That reminds me of something Neil Gaiman said: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Vpl8JoIiY (that really must have stuck in my brain).
Let's pay the bills, find a cool job, change the world, and aim for the Orion galaxy (or something). ^_~
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