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Rant Alert- A myriad of school provoked thoughts

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devino246

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[rant]I walk into English class last week to find the warmup question going something like this: After reading these two articles about college, do you think hard work can lead to success? Is the American Dream still possible?

My answer, of course, was generally, yes. My definition of success however, is entirely different than most people's.

So what is success? A high paying job? An executive career? Simply put- NO! Success is contentedness, plain and simple. If you're content with your place in life, you are SUCCESSFUL. There are far too many rich people in this world that aren't content, and far too many poor people who are contempt.


Now, onto the college subject. IMHO, the expectation of college attendance is partially to blame for this country's downfall. How many college graduates cant find jobs right now? TONS. Yet I havent even graduated high school and I've already got a job waiting for me! Far too many people now'a days refuse to get their hands dirty. Most people think hard work is sitting in an office all day pushing pencils. BS, you havent worked a day in your life until you've come home and collapsed on the couch from physical exhaustion.

The people who work hard build and fix this country's infrastructure- Mechanics, iron workers, ship builders, road workers, carpenters, stone masons, HVAC techs; the list is endless. Are these people stupid because they don't hold a college degree? NO, most of them have more brain power in their corpus callosum than a pencil pusher has in his entire brain.

My school system has made the fatal error of focusing on college bound students. They act like they want to help increase the 70% graduation rate, yet there are no programs to help. Build a tech center for the county schools. I guarantee the dropout rate will decrease by 5% or more. That's thousands of extra students who graduate. Not only that, now they've learned a trade in the process!

**Things to do, will finish this later**

[/rant]
 

kendelrk

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I agree that success is happiness, my world studies teacher is a bit like yours except she’s extremely racist which makes the class extremely difficult for me. She’s always talking about how the white man brought her kind down and how were always discriminating against her. On your subject, people are always afraid to get their hands dirty. They feel like it’s too hard to learn and that they just couldn’t do it, while in reality they just never tried, as much as I don’t like my father he was a prototype mechanic for fords and was at a good financial spot in his life. Some people are afraid of hard work
 

Doc Sprocket

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Speak it brotha, speak it!!!!

Hard work? pencil pushers? Tradesmen with brains? I'll tell you what hard work is-

Picture yourself an engineer putting together a building plan. He's at his desk, surrounded by reference books and a computer. 5:00 comes around, and he splits. Gets home, says, "Whew, honey- I really gave 100% today- I'm bushed, I need a glass of Pinot!"

Now here's the truth- A bunch of us underappreciated blue-collar shmucks get to show up on the site with our hardhats and trucks full of powertools. We have drills and saws, and tapemeasures and equipment so big that it sometimes has to be transported in pieces. We get the drawings that the engineers worked so hard at. We measure and mark, heave and ho, sweat and bleed. We go to work against all odds to make these paper dreams happen. We sometimes die trying. And all these drawings that look so nice on paper, well- you ever heard the saying that "theory and practise are two different things"? Well, it's the truth. It looks lovely on Mr. Engineer's computer, but implementing it is another matter. He's not the one trying like he// to get that beam into place while balancing precariously. He's not the one attempting to weld the ductwork together from inside the duct, because even though it theoretically fits into the space there is zero clearance for the welder (and I did that exact thing MANY times). Mr. Engineer has no idea that you need to get a 14" Rotohammer into a 12" space to make his paper dream happen.

And it does happen. And when we're done, we go home and say, "Whew, honey- I'm exhausted. I think I need a beer. I'm sorry son, I just do not have the energy to play ball with you today."

That, my good friends, is hard work.
 
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Badot

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I agree that the school systems are pushing college too hard. You should see the engineering programs at colleges around here. Most of the people going into it couldn't even tell you a single difference between aluminum and steel besides how you spell them, and those are the people who go into it and have no interest in the subject, it was just where their guidance couselor told them to go, or where they think the money is best.

Imagine being in highly technical classes with people who don't understand a single thing about... well, anything related to the class. When the instructor uses a dirt simple comparison to relate to something complicated, they don't even understand the comparison. It's horrible. (Oh, and if anyone gets a grade under 75%, a passing grade, the instructors are required to allow them to hand the work in again for a maximum of 75%... seriously? You don't get do-overs when you're building bridges.)

Then you have the people who constantly talk about 'working on cars' and 'drag racing' and doing 'engine and tranny swaps' to their cars.... and then they drive away in their spray painted honda civic with the automatic transmission, squealing belt, giant ugly wing on the back, stupidly loud muffler, and bright blue spray painted brake drums, having to rev it up to 3500 rpm to gradually reach 20 mph.

The majority of my generation is rather unintelligent.


And toystory -- these are the 'engineers' you're talking about.
 

kendelrk

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toystory you hit the nail right on the head. even tho im not an adult, ive worked many jobs and it is hard, when we come home were exaughsted, were ready to take a shower and sleep, while they just sit up and watch TV, we might be scheduled to work till 5 but half of us stay later to get the guys dream finished
 

devino246

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Maybe we should be shipping the pencil-pusher's jobs overseas.

BTW, I am in no way saying that engineers, doctors, lawyers, pencil pushers, etc. are stupid. The fact is, they're smart, but their intelligence is generally useless (booksmarts).


Random question: Given a large box of matches, 2 thumb tacks, and a candle, how do you attach the candle to the side of a wall?
 

sexyvicta

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melt wax. stick it on. LOL.

everything is relative. The old "think of the starving children in africa" before you complain about whatever crap you're eating lol
 

Doc Sprocket

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Light candle, attach thumb tacks to wall with molten wax, one a couple inches above the other, let wax cool, stick candle to tacks.

I am in no way suggesting that white-collar folks are stupid. It just grinds my gears to no end that they have a real tendency to forget who builds their world.
 

devino246

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melt wax. stick it on. LOL.

Light candle, attach thumb tacks to wall with molten wax, one a couple inches above the other, let wax cool, stick candle to tacks.

Y'all over thought it.

Take match box, throw out matches, dispose of box cover. Take thumbtacks, stick through side of matchbox and into wall. Place candle on protruding box.
 

Doc Sprocket

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That's great- unless it's a block, stone, or cement wall- the only reason I could think of that would warrant sticking a candle to it! Besides- any wall you can stick a thumbtack into is flammable enough that having a candle there on a cardboard box is a bad plan!

Throw out the matches? and what- have an UNlit candle stuck to the wall?
 

devino246

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That's great- unless it's a block, stone, or cement wall- the only reason I could think of that would warrant sticking a candle to it! Besides- any wall you can stick a thumbtack into is flammable enough that having a candle there on a cardboard box is a bad plan!

Throw out the matches? and what- have an UNlit candle stuck to the wall?

It was in a psychology book. You know how crazy psychologists can be?!? If they want their unlit candle pinned to the wall then GOD DAM!T, THEYRE GONNA HAVE AN UNLIT CANDLE PINNED TO THE WALL!:roflol:
 

dave1701

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They wonder why we don't make anything in America anymore. When so many kids are being forced by society (I'm one of them) to go to college and get a white collar job. Who is actually going to do the real work? All of the "decent" kids go to college now, leaving the shumcks to do the real work, hurting everyone. Why is it that society wants use to sit on our asses all day? I would 100% rather drive a truck for a living than be a software programer. The trucker arguably contributes more to society, but then why would I be looked down upon for thinking that being a trucker is cool? On the radio I hear the woman doing the weather saying "it looks like terrible weather today", but I think to myself "why does she care". Why do most people who are driving to work care. The go sit in a building all day, then drive home and watch TV. Why the hell do they care if it rains? Rich suburban white boys ***** about the rain, then go play video games all day rain or shine. The people who actually work outside should be the ones, if any complaining. But yet every day it rains/snows, or is even cloudy, the lady on the news says that the weather is miserable.

Granted, there are a lot of service jobs in technology specifically that do need a lot of training to complete, but that training is not done at college, generally. The notion that one must go college is one of the greatest brainwashing scams ever successfully orchestrated by educators ever. Talk about a homogenized society!

I am going to college because now you almost need to get good money. Plus, my parents would be mad if I did not go to college, I suspect. My grandfather is a great man. He worked at GM for most of his life, actually making things. He didn't go to college. He made enough money just working with mostly his hands. Now he lives happily retired. His job now does not exist, computers do it all. I would never stand in the way of innovation, but what are we all going to do after machines do all of our jobs?

Incoherent rant ended.
 

devino246

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They wonder why we don't make anything in America anymore. When so many kids are being forced by society (I'm one of them) to go to college and get a white collar job. Who is actually going to do the real work? All of the "decent" kids go to college now, leaving the shumcks to do the real work, hurting everyone. Why is it that society wants use to sit on our asses all day? I would 100% rather drive a truck for a living than be a software programer. The trucker arguably contributes more to society, but then why would I be looked down upon for thinking that being a trucker is cool? On the radio I hear the woman doing the weather saying "it looks like terrible weather today", but I think to myself "why does she care". Why do most people who are driving to work care. The go sit in a building all day, then drive home and watch TV. Why the hell do they care if it rains? Rich suburban white boys ***** about the rain, then go play video games all day rain or shine. The people who actually work outside should be the ones, if any complaining. But yet every day it rains/snows, or is even cloudy, the lady on the news says that the weather is miserable.

Granted, there are a lot of service jobs in technology specifically that do need a lot of training to complete, but that training is not done at college, generally. The notion that one must go college is one of the greatest brainwashing scams ever successfully orchestrated by educators ever. Talk about a homogenized society!

I am going to college because now you almost need to get good money. Plus, my parents would be mad if I did not go to college, I suspect. My grandfather is a great man. He worked at GM for most of his life, actually making things. He didn't go to college. He made enough money just working with mostly his hands. Now he lives happily retired. His job now does not exist, computers do it all. I would never stand in the way of innovation, but what are we all going to do after machines do all of our jobs?

Incoherent rant ended.

I told my parents I wasn't going to college when I was in the 7th grade. They didn't like it at first but they got used to it. Its not their life, its yours.


Clearly, you've never hired a plumber, electrician, carpenter, tile installer, or drywaller.

Job________median hourly____median yearly*

Electrician____$22.32________ $44,640
Mason_______$21.94________ $43,880
Plumber______$21.86________ $43,720
Carpenter____$18.72________ $37,440
Drywaller_____$18.12________ $36,240
Flooring inst.__$17.80________ $35,600
Concrete inst._$16.87________ $33,740
Roofers_______$16.17________ $32,340

*Assuming 40 hour work weeks, 50 week years

Ok, so they're no six-figure salaries, but these are basic trades. Managers, business owners, and more experienced workers earn more. Plus most workers clock in some overtime.
 

kendelrk

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my grandpa and my other grandpa also worked at GM most their lives, one put parts on cars, one drove a beach cruiser bicycle around with parts in the front basket to give to the workers, they worked hard, driving around such a big plant with about 100 pounds of parts in the front is work, sitting at a table writing is not anywhere near that, yeah they had to go to school, they need to know math, but now being forced to have a typical job is just to much
 

dave1701

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I told my parents I wasn't going to college when I was in the 7th grade. They didn't like it at first but they got used to it. Its not their life, its yours.


Clearly, you've never hired a plumber, electrician, carpenter, tile installer, or drywaller.

Job________median hourly____median yearly*

Electrician____$22.32________ $44,640
Mason_______$21.94________ $43,880
Plumber______$21.86________ $43,720
Carpenter____$18.72________ $37,440
Drywaller_____$18.12________ $36,240
Flooring inst.__$17.80________ $35,600
Concrete inst._$16.87________ $33,740
Roofers_______$16.17________ $32,340

*Assuming 40 hour work weeks, 50 week years

Ok, so they're no six-figure salaries, but these are basic trades. Managers, business owners, and more experienced workers earn more. Plus most workers clock in some overtime.

All of those are below average household income in the US.
 

devino246

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All of those are below average household income in the US.

Forgot to add, those are 2008 wages. Median in 2006 was $48,201.00, 2009 was $50,221. Again, that was assuming a 40 hour week and 2 weeks off per year, excluding bonuses or overtime.

Take the electricians wages, make the weeks 45 hour, and 52 week years, $52,228.8
Mason: $51339.6
Plumber: $51152.4
You get the idea.


Oh, and by the way; from wikipedia:

Household income is often the combination of two income earners pooling the resources and should therefore not be confused with an individual's earnings
 

oscaryu1

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Far too many people now'a days refuse to get their hands dirty. Most people think hard work is sitting in an office all day pushing pencils.

Lol. I blame society. Society, not us, pushes us into our career. You wouldn't believe how many people in the top 10% of my high school is absolutely, positively CLUELESS about their future and major. It's ridiculous.
 

devino246

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Lol. I blame society. Society, not us, pushes us into our career. You wouldn't believe how many people in the top 10% of my high school is absolutely, positively CLUELESS about their future and major. It's ridiculous.

We are society. Its a vicious cycle that can only be broken when the few begin to break it. More will follow, and more, and more.
 

oscaryu1

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I wouldn't say giving up a chance for higher education would lead to an improvement in society... Personally, I'm going to college because I have a drive to learn more in engineering (mech and elec), yet I have a welding certification and computer cert. to fall back on.

BTW Devino, how old art thou?
 

devino246

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I wouldn't say giving up a chance for higher education would lead to an improvement in society... Personally, I'm going to college because I have a drive to learn more in engineering (mech and elec), yet I have a welding certification and computer cert. to fall back on.

BTW Devino, how old art thou?

Im not saying that either, just stating a simplified social model. All in all, one of the best things for a society and economy is total war. Just look at the US after WWI and WWII.


Im 17.
 
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