by Jesse Hunt

Created on: February 21, 2009

When was the last time you read a self help book or any book for that manner, then lived exactly what it said? I'm guessing never, right? How about the last time you viewed an infomercial and were compelled to action by it's promises? Are you quicker to believe something you read or something you saw on you tube? The odds are you were driven to action quicker by the infomercial, the odds are you believe what you see as well.

I do not deny that books have a certain power to enliven the mind when we read stories we can imagine the story play out in the mind and sometimes we feel it with emotion. You read a text book and identify concepts, but these don't morph strait into our being. However, repetitive reading can begin to sink into the mind and create learning and knowledge, or what some would call book smarts. But book smarts will only get you so far in gaining a new skill. If only it were that easy a lot more people would read and desire literacy. Millions of illiterate people live in America, and these people have significant skill levels some even greater than the book smart individual. Why? because they learned by experinces, hard and fast.

The college education I received spoke volumes to me about the failings of the education system in general. Testing in college was identical to my prior education. Read a few pages and answer a few questions and guess what if you did this homework you would pass the class even if you messed up on tests. College felt too much like a pyramid scheme where they were more interested in your money than your future. In fact I can remember at least three or four classes that I was counseled to enrolled in that counted towards nada in my degree. In essence I was misled to take these classes which meant extended time at the school as well as a waste of money on classes I didn't need. This left me jaded, I paid for a service and got crappy advice. I am not completely against the education system because hey I did survive with a degree.

Our current education system is unchallenging at best. Math classes teach concepts that will never be applied again, unless of course you seek a engineering degree. It is no wonder teens today aren't like the students of yesteryear, they are bored and tired of being taken advantage of. Student every where recognize that they are pawns that make money for their schools, and it is based upon the student's performance rather than the quality of the lesson the teacher gives. Teachers last at best a few

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