Irony and The Pursuit for Greatness

It's ironic really.  We spend our entire lives straining to achieve some level of greatness, some ideal state of being, and yet we look to fit in with society's standards to achieve that goal.  However, if there's one thing I've learned in my short life, it's that no one ever becomes great by simply achieving the standards set forth by society.  My favorite, and probably most cliché, example is that of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, arguably two of the most successful men in present history. The idea of greatness through individuality isn't isolated to this single case, but nearly every person who has gone on to do something amazing with their lives.  Don't believe me?  Look into it, and I'm willing to bet you that 90% of 'The Greats' weren't your average everyday Joes (not that I have anything against the name).  You see, there's more truth to the phrase "Strength through tragedy" than most people realize, but it isn't simply tragedy that breeds strength.  In fact, it's the simple act of carving your own path into the world instead of simply tracing the paths of others.


So why do we strive so hard to fit into the popular, the mediocre?  Why do we care what other's opinions or general studies show us when we should be striving to be beyond the standard or the general?  In my opinion, the greatest thing an individual can do is reject the standard in an effort to develop their individuality and inner strength.  The only real issue that I have with society in general (not American society, not European society, not even Modern society, but society as a whole) is that we tend to have low self images of ourselves, leading to a herd mentality.  We rationalize the decisions of others no matter how backward or obviously wrong they may be because, surely, "someone knows better than me."  Why?  Why should we base our opinions and ideologies on  the notion that there must be someone better?  Why can't you be the best?  If you spend your entire life following the decisions of others without ever taking the time to form your own beliefs and opinions, you will never emerge from the shadows of those around you.  You will never be the best, and you will never be great.  Instead, we should always assume that we have an equal chance of knowing just as much as the next guy.  Obviously there are exceptions and you shouldn't get into an argument with a nuclear physicist about dark matter or alpha decay unless you know what you're talking about.  Instead, I am saying that you should never discount your own, personal reason.  You have just as much of an opportunity of reasoning things out as the next guy and we should never discount that. 


Why is it that each of us dedicates years of our lives to a general education with general students who may or may not have the same drive as we do to succeed?  Why are we so bound a system that only serves to equalize performance, to meet a set standard established by someone who 'knows better' than you?  The biggest issue with this system is that it binds the progress of the individual to what others deem to be necessary.  This is supposed to raise smarter, stronger, and more efficient future generations.  But in reality, how do future generations become smarter if they are being told how to think?  How are future generations becoming stronger if they don't need the will power to forge their own path to success?  How will future generations be more efficient if they are bound to a set standard of performance?  It simply doesn't work out.  It's ironic.


And to ensure that this system of dominance and marginalization reigns supreme, the schooling system grades it's students on their progress and performance.  These grades are then used to determine things about the student that could not possibly be known.  Their work habits, their intelligence, and their ability to meet the standard are all determined by simple subjective letters.  Not only is this demeaning, but it punishes those that dare to rebel against the general and standard and think for themselves.


In my junior year of high school, I had a teacher who decided to grade me harder than the rest of the class simply because she "thought I could do better."  So while the rest of the class averaged out at a B+, I was awarded a C-.  I knew that I had done decently well in the class and had certainly performed better than the class average.  Obviously confused by this, I decided to confront the teacher to determine what I had done wrong or if it was simply an error in the system.  The words she said changed my perception of our schooling system for good.  She told me, "You met all of the requirements and performed as well as the other students, but I know you're smart and can do better.  So I had higher standards for your performance than the others."  I can honestly say that I have never been more angry in my life.  I was not angry about the grade.  I was not angry about the teacher's audacity that she thought she was responsible for determining my potential.  What I was angry about was the realization that everything I had ever done in school was subjective.  There is no standard.  Grades have no meaning because they are subjective to the instructor handing them out.  All the time I had spent working towards good grades was wasted because grades are inaccurate and subjective.  At that point, I proceeded to give my teacher a lecture that I stand by today.  I told her that it is not the teacher's job to judge the potential or the intelligence of the individual.  Her only job was to teach the class the information relevant to the class and then to determine the degree to which each student understood that information.  By choosing to grade me harder than the other students, she told the world that I had an incomplete understanding of the topics she was instructed to teach, when in reality I was "one of the smarter kids in the class."  Because of this event, I decided that getting good grades was not worth the effort it required.  Instead, I decided to educate myself outside of school, learning programming and graphic design.


Now, this isn't simply one isolated case where our system is inaccurate.  If you think about it, our current education system is much like winning the lottery: you might get a good teacher, or you might get someone who has no idea what they're talking about; your teacher might hand out A's, or he might believe that all students deserve C's; your teacher might like you and therefore be more generous with their critique, or he might dislike and grade you on unfair standards.  There is a flaw in our standards for performance.  We treat a subjective and unreliable system as if it represents a basic standard by which everyone can be judged equally. By placing such an emphasis on a flawed and demeaning system, students become slaves to a system that they view as an accurate judgement of their performance.  Instead taking the risk and questioning the teaching and beliefs of their instructors, students choose the more reliable route and instead learn to simply accept information without verification.  They don't need to think for themselves because their instructors think for them, and if they dare defy their instructors, their all important grades will suffer.  Is this ok?


Each student should be required to seek their own education.  If we as a culture insist on public education to teach our youth, then it should stop after grade school, when children can still develop the skills necessary to think for themselves.  In addition, the grading system as a whole should be abolished.  Unless the state would like to implement standardized testing like the AP Exams, SAT, or ACT to determine grades, they are inaccurate, subjective, and unfit for judging performance.  We should be encouraging our youth to make mistakes, to take risks, and look at things from their own perspective, not forcing them to comply to our sense of good or right.  The greatest asset humanity has is our ability to look at situations from different perspectives.  When you attempt to destroy this asset by forming a uniform and marginal society, you destroy any hope for innovation, progress, or change.


Now, I realize that many will argue against my proposed solution to combat the blatant sabotage of our youth, and I would like to address some of those arguments now.

1. But how will lower income families afford to educate their youth if there is no public schooling? That's the real beauty of our modern society.  Information is at the tips of our fingers.  Anyone can find a library and access the internet or read a book.  I admit, it may be more difficult for an individual lost in poverty to educate themselves than a wealthy youth.  But I believe that those lost in poverty have an asset that the rich do not: motivation.  Those that engage in a constant struggle to improve their lives are going to leap at any opportunity to progress in society while the rich have no reason to strive for greatness.  Instead of limiting individuals by confining them to a set standard of rules and obligations, why not allow those with the motivation to work hard and rise up to do so while leaving the lazy and unmotivated behind?
2. How will colleges and employers judge potential employees if grades are inaccurate?  They might have to actually do the work necessary to determine if potential candidates are worthy or not.  This means interviews, standardized tests, maybe more essays.  Yeah, it'll be more work, but at least students won't have to be afraid to forge their own path to excel.
3. Won't students just use their time for other things besides school, like video games or socializing?  Have you ever noticed that when you tell someone to do something, their first reaction is to do the exact opposite?  That is because the individual inherently wants to assert his freedom and does this by rebelling against authority.  This is why teenagers are often seen as rebellious.  They aren't bad people, they are simply trying to assert themselves as an individual, something I believe to be a good thing.  So when teachers and parents attempt to stop students from doing anything but their studies, what do you think is going to happen?  They are going to rebel and do what they want to do, despite the fact that they know that studying and improving themselves is probably the best decision for their future.  In addition, a large part of the current student's need to waste away their free time on what we perceive to be waste might arise from a desire to take a break from the ridiculous eight hours of schooling five days a week in addition to the work that instructors send home.  What individual wouldn't want a break from that?  Without the constant pressure of school bearing down on them, students will be allowed to pursue their own interests.  If a child chooses not to, then that's up to him.  Those with the drive to succeed will rise up while the others will be left to determine their own destiny.  They will have no one to blame but themselves because they will have been given full responsibility for their actions.  It would be refreshing to know that people are finally responsible for their own actions, huh?

Now, just to be clear, I am not against college in any way.  At least they provide a way for the individual to make decisions for themselves and form their own path in life.  It is only when a government forces our youth into a particular course of action in order to 'succeed' in life that I begin to get frustrated.

In addition, this line of thinking is not limited solely to our school system, that is simply the most prominent and potentially devastating example that I could think of.  Churches, workplaces, and nearly any societal institution falls into this line of thinking.  We as a society need to wake up and begin to carve our own path into the world, choosing to take risks rather than simply submit to the popular course of action.  Thomas Jefferson wrote in "The Real America:"

And above all things, when it comes to religion, fix reason firmly in her seat and question everything. Take no man's singular opinion. Question the very existence of God, for if there be a God, He must surely rather honest questioning over blindfolded fear.

I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly, although I believe it applies to more than simple religion.  Question everything.  Each individual has the potential to be great, no matter how cliché or lame that sounds.   In order for that to happen however, the individual needs to step out from the shadow of his predecessors and shape his own path in the world.