Forty years ago, I had no idea what I could be, what to do for a living. Counselors had interest and aptitude tests that were useless. I was interested in everything, as a good generalist student. People had opinions, but the idea of a woman with a career was still a bit new to be considered as a serious question.
I knew I didn't want to work fast food. Nor wind up in a factory like my father, nor sewing as my mother'd done until marriage. Other than that, I had little more than vague fantasy.
Kids today I imagine feel much the same, differing in the detail. Something to do with the internet is probably as far as they get, but how real will that be in 20 years? What comes next, and will it bear any relationship to now?
What I did get was a solid academic education, rigorous homework and tests. One excellent class "Growth as a Person"* that taught me how to make decisions. I learned to study, work hard, and stand by my choices. Having ballet as a kid taught me a kind of grace and comfort in my body, with the mindset to endure discomfort and pain. Learned it again in the military. Never could manage a musical instrument, but I sang in the choir, which helps fluency.
When D started back to college, he credited his Critical Thinking class for a great deal of his skill dealing with research. He played guitar, and wooed me. Still plays and composes for the sheer joy. As maker fairs appeared, we both wished we could have had access to building skills early on. For the sake of problem solving and perseverance and confidence to make mistakes. We are struggling with basic handyman work.
One of my surgeons was taught to tie flies as a kid, challenged by his father to do them faster and faster. Those long practiced movements serve him well tying suture, his hands blur, and it's astonishingly assured.
All this is about as good a training for an unseeable future as possible. Since it's less what we learn than how we approach learning. One form will convert to another.
*I shit you not. I didn't want to take it, but wound up needing it for credits. And it really turned into a great lesson.
4 comments:
Our son, G-bot, will likely not be required to attend summer school to make up any classes he is currently taking, however, one of the courses being offered is called 'study skills' and we plan on registering him for that. We are hoping that it will help him for his future studies.
I didn't get specifically any 'critical thinking' courses through my educational years, in retrospect it would have been nice.
Phil,
Neither did I, and yes, it could have been useful.
I'd still like to be able to wire up a micro-robot. Teach it to read captcha...
I wish I had learned home repair skills, but my parents didn't know them to teach me.
At least they did teach me some good basics to build on, such as how to hammer a nail, sew on a button, make bread from scratch.
Hey, and how to change a typewriter ribbon!
My parents did a lot of house maintenance. I guess I did learn to drywall and paint, and to stoke a coal furnace. Learned a bit of sewing from my mother, but she complained that she had no patience. A seam or a button, I'm good with.
A bit more woodwork or car repair, though.
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