Hold Those Kids Back - Lest They Amaze You

Fresh from my personal inbox:

Interestingly, my sister runs a daycare....she was complaining about a parent who pulls her kid out of daycare early to take him to reading lessons (the kid is 3). My sister says (no joke), "What's the point of learning to read when you're 3 years old? That makes no sense. When the kid gets to kindergarten, he's just gonna be bored, sit there, and probably cause trouble for the other kids." I tried to offer enlightened alternative perspectives, but she firmly believed (and argued with passion) that learning to read before kindergarten is wasted effort.

There's nothing outstanding about that Moronic email...

Except that I believe it's the THIRD TIME in the past few months where I've been relayed THE EXACT SAME line of *reasoning*.

What's sad about those parents, who intentionally hold their kids back, is that they are merely trying to game the useless and harmful system of academia.

All of the millions of kids and parents out there hellbent on getting *good grades*...

I look at them with sad eyes. What a tragedy of wasted effort and wasted humanity.

Go ask any 'old coot' out there. Ask them how supremely pivotal their report cards were for the course of their lives.

There's simply ZERO EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE for today's exaltation of grades and degrees.

It's merely a triumph of social propaganda and institutional inertia. Once a degreed and certified class is raised and ascendant, it's near impossible for them to ever look objectively at the BS system from which they graduated.

In fact I was thinking about this the other day. I've read a ton of people, smart ones to boot, but I've NEVER read one person like myself who Marginalizes their own inadequate schooling. I believe my rare capacity speaks to a poverty of genuine self-analysis amongst the population.

Yeah, I do have such a massive ego that I can rip myself apart and keep my chin up.

But still, it should be no wonder that since most everyone has been inculcated with the mindset that only *others* (third parties: teachers, experts, gov't agencies) are capable of assessing them....it should be no wonder that we now have an entire populace allergic to a good hard look in the mirror.

See also - Coddling For Growth?.

And for one good, classic post where I Marginalize myself, see - Sheep To Slaughter.