To be privileged means to have more opportunities, support, and possibly a better understanding of your passion. Time, money, and encouragement opens new doors and provides the privilege to explore new ideas, events and find people you have interests in common with. This also helps you figure out what it is you do not like. Having the privilege to experience events may help you see things are not always what they seem, or might have a price to high too pay. Christopher Johnson McCandless is considered privileged because of his supportive family, economic status, and because he was a white male. All these factors gave him the opportunity to explore his passion sand be successful. Having guidance from his parents he was able to attend and graduate Emory University in Atlanta. He had accomplishes the goal many dream of, but realized his whole life had been set up; the path he had taken, was not the one that would fulfill his dreams and passion of being free from society and the environment he had grown in, and explore the world. Chris was fortunate to see that the American Dream is not what many expect, “So many people live within un happy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future”-Into The Wild. With the opportunity of living a comfortable life also come negatives. Chris realized money and security was not what he was after; something he might not have had the chance to realize if he had grown in a poor family.
Financial stability is not the only thing that influences your ability to find and practice your passion. There are factors that cannot be changed, such as gender and race that also have great influence. Unlike economic status which can be changed, gender and race is something you are born into and have to deal with the rest of your life. Being a white young man Chris was able to get away with a lot of things others wouldn’t have. For example, his ability to simply travel and explore. If Chris was a woman he wouldn’t have survived. Being a woman makes you vulnerable to danger, such as being sexually assaulted, or being physically tortured by someone stronger than you. Chris at one point did get beat, but his chances of surviving that beating would have been less if he was a woman. Additionally, Chris was white which allowed him to travel without being questioned about his intentions as often as someone who belongs to minority would. If an African American or Latino man was to be seen out in the streets late at night, people would suspect he was up to no good; if he was seen out in the streets during the day as a homeless he would be judge, accused of being lazy and most likely attacked or arrested. Chris had the privilege to go to Mexico with no documents and come back “But his entry of Mexico is either unnoticed or ignored. Alexander is jubilant!”-Into The Wild. A person of any other race without documentation coming into The United States would be rejected and deported. Christopher McCandless wouldn’t have been able to travel as far, or fulfill is passion if he wasn’t white.
Most people are passionate about something. Having a passion towards something means wanting to do that all the time, but not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to do so. Some can't afford to practice their passion because they are not privileged. With privilege come more opportunities to explore and participate. Being privileged means you face fewer barriers, and may even be helped and encouraged to follow your dreams. When you are privileged it is likely your passion might be your priority; while the unprivileged may have other things to focus on such as simply surviving or helping others and with that life style there probably isn't time to focus on passion. The difference between a privileged and unprivileged person will depend on many aspects of their life. For example, passions may require money, if you have a good job and time, or your parents make enough to pay for your expenses, you will be able to fulfill your passion. On the other hand if you come from a poor family, you will most likely not receive financial support, in addition you may also have to help with the family's expenses and in many cases work two jobs, leaving you with no free time to engage even in free activities such as hiking. Another example is the education your family has received. That plays a role when you need guidance. If your parents are college graduates then they might serve as a counselor, who will focus only on you and will have your best interest in mind, but if your family has not had a higher education you will not be able to count on their advice. Being privileged is likely to aid you in following your passion, but it all depends on which angle you view life from. Contrary from that, someone completely unprivileged may feel the desire to fulfill their passion more intensely than someone who is already living a good life. The hunger for success, and to run away from the life they are already living can be the biggest motivation; that is the case to many celebrities who speak about growing up in harsh situations and fighting for their dreams. It does not matter what situation you are in; you can always follow your passions, even though most of the time it is privileged people the ones that will do so.
Your surroundings as a child will influence every aspect of your life. This can result on an easier path to success, or a harder one. The way you were raised will also determine to an extent how you handle problems when they are come up. The problems students face at school are a result of the way they were raised. Everyone wants to be successful, but they don't know the way. We are influenced to think that happiness is the result of the material we gain, but that's not necessarily true, happiness is a choice. We also feel pressure as we compete against the world, we are all individuals and unique, yet we get compared to each other as if we were all the same. This affects most of us since we don't produce the same results. Since we are unique we all have different needs and different priorities, but most of us get influenced into thinking that what we need is not always what we want, or we become so brainwashed and forget to think for ourselves at all. Unless we are able to think for ourselves and do what we love, we become slaves of pressure "Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery." -Wayne Dyer. From the moment we are born this process begins; many of our parents will go out and make sure to buy the "best" baby supplies for us. Most babies will have at least some brand name clothing and shoes. As we grow older we work hard to keep up to those standards. We invest time and money in school, then we get to work forty hours a week, plus the commuting. We do this to live comfortably, to own a house, nice car, and other commodities. There is no doubt we will benefit from this, but who really benefits from it is big companies. We work our whole lives to purchase their products, once we are economically stable we might consider ourselves successful, but imagine how big companies feel; knowing that millions of people are busting their back just to purchase from them, they are the real winners not us. We literally work to get the rich richer, our boss becomes richer, and same goes for whoever sold us our home, car and other goods. Sometimes our priorities aren't what are best for us, “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life, don’t be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other peoples thinking. Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice, and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition"-Steve Jobs. It is important to realize that we need to follow our passions and forgot about what will give us more money. Doing what you love every day will bring more joy than any material goods will bring. The fact that our system works this way proves that there is something wrong with it, but we need to be able to outsmart fear and be pioneers. We need to try new methods in order to get different results, and hopefully create a better environment for future generations.
America is the land of opportunities. Everyone around the world believes this that is why The United States is so multicultural; people from all over the world come to live the American Dream. But our future is not going to be how it has been in the past; even our present is rapidly changing. Our formal education starts as early as age four, from that moment we are told that if we want to be realistic education will be our only path to success. True most people with a formal education live a more comfortable life style, but when analyzing this theory there is many aspects that can be questioned. For example in the 70's a college student could afford to pay for their education without any loans or financial support from others, they were able to afford a car and possibly have enough to live on their own, all this was done with a part time job. Now a part time is barely enough for gas, food, and books. Most students receive financial aid from the government or family. Inflation has changed our economy so drastically that former students were able to make a living, now students are lucky if they can make a surviving. Education is essential, but everyday it becomes clearer that the government benefits more than the students. To support this theory there is the simple example of text books; the prices for these texts books are ridiculously high. For my anthropology class this summer the text book required was about 250 dollars, that is a lot of money, but it seems like more when you are only taking the class for six weeks. These books are upgraded every couple years, the text is basically the same, but it is rearranged and some new information is added. This leads to the books having no resale value, if a new edition is coming out. Another example is the fact that college tuition goes up every year, in 2010 the total college tuition debt was at 830 billion, this number rises every year. Lastly, there is other options besides college in which a person can become successful, there is free ways to become educated, but the techniques are never taught in school because that would cause them to lose too many costumers. Students as well as teachers become dependent, and are not free to think or come up with new techniques for teaching, learning and thinking, "Instead of teachers having the freedom to think outside the box, and use creative techniques to prepare their students for the real world; they are forced to be narrow minded and teach with worthless information that will never help their students have successful careers"-The College Conspiracy. I watched this documentary before I started attending Chabot College, and it really affected my plans and ideas. After watching this I decided I would find alternative methods of education and not go to school, so I missed a year and a half after of school after graduating high school. I finally decided to go to school and take general education classes, and explore new subjects, just in case I do choose a career and to transfer to a university. I do not want to lose any possible opportunities, and even though I do believe our education system needs a lot of improvements, if I find the right career it will be worth it, because if you enjoy your job, you do not work a day in your life.
Everyone has dreams, but may become unmotivated to see the results they get, aren't the results they expect. Our schools system measures our intelligence by having us take various tests, and based on those results we obtain our placement in college. We are treated the same, and have our intelligence and knowledge measured in inadequate ways. For example, studies have shown that the SAT's are designed for middle class white students; leading to poor results from minorities and lower class students. It will be difficult to come up with a method that is able to measure intelligence since everyone is different, but it is essential. The school system at this moment tries to use the "cookie cutter" effect on us, they try to mold and shape us all the same way, leading to mediocre results. Everyone is unique, therefore they shouldn't be expected to produce the same results as others, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing its stupid"-Unknown. Just like in nature everyone has a different purpose and abilities; this quote explains how a fish can’t be expected to climb a tree the way a monkey would, and a monkey can’t be expected to swim as a well as a fish. I also believe that the way schools teach can be inadequate because in the majority of cases, teachers will teach the student what to think instead of how to think for themselves. Many classes consist of reading text, memorizing it and then testing on your ability to remember everything, but it’s hard to remember things that may sometimes seem meaningless. We take classes that are required, but don't understand why it is we need that class. It is in those classes that we learn contents, but forget about them as soon as the test or the semester is over. The strategies used by schools and in schools may seem good, but it is the results of the students that actually shows how good they are, "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results"-Winston Churchill. Learning should be something that comes naturally not something forced, and personally I believe I learn more from interacting with different people every day and experiencing new situations, than I do by sitting in class listening to a lecture or reading a text book. It is easy to remember something when your feelings are involved. That is why most remember common things that happen in everyday life, more often than they remember what they were asked to memorize in a text book. Nevertheless, this strategy isn't used in schools often, most of our learning is cold, and a lot of the times we don't understand why were supposed to be learning that. We should be taught to come up with concepts of our own, give our opinion, and question, not simply memorize.
The average person has to face many barriers in order to attend school, graduate, or transfer. The education system has flaws and was not designed to treat all students the same, additionally each individual has unique problems they face on a daily basis. Attending college is a luxury. In order to do so, first you must be able to take care of your primary financial needs, have enough money to attend school and have the time necessary. Everyday people face challenges, and obstacles are put in their way, which make going to school more difficult. Sometimes the barriers are so big that they cannot be overcome and cause people to leave school, or not attend in the first place. Every individual has unique problems that intervene with their education, but the one problem that most students have in common is lack of money. Money is a potential deal breaker for me; community college is supposed to be affordable, and it is, but can also become expensive after the cost of books, gas, and food. I receive financial aid, and if it wasn't for that i would probably not be able to attend college full time. Money is an issue that I struggle with, but I wouldn't have considered it a "deal breaker" until recently. As soon as I was able to register for summer and fall semester I did. My summer classes got paid for by my financial aid, so I assumed my fall classes were also paid for. I paid the registration and other fees for both semesters, so I was surprised when I received a letter in the mail charging me over six-hundred dollars for my fall classes. My FAFSA did not cover my fall classes; I reapplied and once again I got approved, and at that point I thought that problem had been solved. When I log into class web a few days later to check my fall schedule, it said that I was not registered in any classes. My plan now is to show up the first day of class, and try to add, but that will be difficult because there will be many people on the waiting list ahead of me. If I had the money at the moment when I got the bill, my plans for next semester would have stayed consistent. Now I have to rearrange my plans for the next few months. Missing a semester will not be bad, I can work full time and possibly have a better idea of what I want to do when I come back to Chabot College in the spring semester, but it is a problem I wouldn't have to have faced if I was doing better economically.
Money can be the root of other issues. For example, lack of time, health problems such as stress and anxiety, hunger and malnutrition, and transportation. In my case I am fortunate enough to not be affected by more harmful problems, like health, but I have has issues with transportation. Last semester, my car broke down in Oakland when I was on my way to visit my dad who had just gotten surgery and was in the hospital. Fortunately, I have very supportive family that helped me out. My brother used his insurance to tow my car, and let me borrow his old car that had been sitting in his drive way for years. I considered myself very lucky to have found a replacement car, even though the car isn't very comfortable. Sometimes it won’t start and I have to wait about 5 minutes until I can try to start it again. The trunk cannot be closed after it is opened, unless I have the right tools to make it work, and lastly two out of the four windows will not open, so by the end of the semester it was super hot in my car every time I got in. A couple months later my car got fixed, and I no longer had to deal with my brother’s defective car. I felt confident once again, and was grateful for my car; until about a week and a half ago when my car broke down again. This time it was the transmission, so repairing it will be more expensive, and once again I'm borrowing my brother’s car. Transportation has not been an obstacle I can't overcome, but it has been an issue. It is because of my shortness of money that I cannot afford a reliable car.
We all have different goals and face different obstacles, but many of us are in similar situations. Coming into college we all have something different in mind, but the one thing we all have in common is that we expect to get something good out of it. Some come to school prepared and focused on what path to take, but most will change paths, or not have one at all. Classes that may seem unnecessary to students are required to be taken, this causes discouragement, and even when students are super motivated in their classes, they might find out the classes being taken were the wrong ones all along. Like mentioned in Focusing the Laser video, some students do not start taking the necessary general education classes early enough, and some other students may not even be aware that there is certain classes that must be taken. Every individual has a unique story and a reason for the way they behave. A group of Chabot's students took the time to divide the students into six categories, as the students were interviewed I found that I fit into two of the six categories, but am actually hoping to be in a completely different one. I consider myself to be a visitor and a wanderer. A visitor student is one that was encouraged to attend college for non academic reasons. The main reason why I started attending Chabot was to give my mother security; she wants to see me grow and be sure that I will become completely independent. The second reason is that it is the closest school to me, and some of my family members have attended Chabot also, so I figured they could mentor me. These are not the best reasons for going to school, since there is no dream or motivation behind them. Another category in which I fall in is the wanderers. Wanderers do not have a clear path, or have even decided on a dream they would like to chase. Like me, most attend college because they believe it’s their best option, but end up taking a whole bunch of unnecessary classes. Being a wanderer makes you feel lost, along with that comes all the pressure of figuring out what career you will choose to pursue and the fear of failure. It is comforting to know that I am not the only student feeling this way, and that even though most do not speak about it; they are also fearful, lost and frustrated. I hope that I can become part of the Lasers group, which has a specific dream in mind, a clear path and support. If all the students at Chabot were to transfer into the Laser group the transfer rate for four year colleges would be a lot higher, and many students would be able to complete their programs without a problem, "every student we have interviewed that could fit into the laser category belonged at one time in another category"-Focusing the Lasers. It is comforting to know that it is okay to be lost, and that you do not have to face these problems alone. Knowing this gives other students and me the motivation to keep moving forward.
Most successful students have support from a teacher, or a group which guided them. The relationships between students and teachers are usually not personal, but when they are the student will likely perform better academically and be grateful with them. When a person is asked about previous teachers, instantly they will always remember a couple, but struggle to remember the rest. Teachers that are easily remembered are usually the ones who managed to inspire and motivate. There are teachers who take their job very personally and manage to touch student’s hearts. The next group of teachers who are remembered, are the ones who did a horrible job, the ones who caused stress, boredom and who did not take their teaching job seriously. Lastly the average teacher, who didn't manage to make a difference in your live, good or bad. Most teachers fall in the last category, which will vary often depending on the school district. Teachers in rich areas may be better motivated about work, while teachers in poor areas may be facing difficulties themselves, therefore causing a lack of motivation. Students and teachers need to work in teams, and in order to do that they have to understand each other’s situation. In many cases there is no communication, but I believe that the teacher, being the educated more experienced person should be the one to start a relationship with their students "you want kids to do better, you gotta touch their freaken hearts"-Jeff Bliss Rant. When teachers take the time to care for their students, like Andrade does, the students will participate and perform better. In many cases students are afraid to participate; the teacher will often get mad and assume the student is careless, when in reality there is only lack of trust and understanding from both sides. Personally I don't think most teachers are negligent intentionally, but they follow patters they are unable to see and break. Like Jeff Bliss Rant mentions, teachers shouldn't just hand out packets and expect great results. I think some teachers do this because that is the way they were taught to teach, but that is no excuse for this inefficient way of teaching to continue. This is an issues students might take personally, but in reality it affects everyone "you gotta take this job serious, this is the future of this nation"-Jeff Bliss Rant. Everyone needs to cooperate to make a change, if we want our nation to continue to be successful. I want to be able to provide a more efficient education system for future generations, as well as a better overall environment for everyone else. Many flaws are being exposed about our education system. Something has to be done about it now, before it is too late.
Some are becoming pioneers and speaking of the problems face by students every day. Jeff Ducan Andrade is aware of these problems, and has managed to create new methods of teaching and interacting with his students. His methods have produced outstanding results, even though he is dealing with students living in some of the worst conditions of the nation. It is not unusual for students to fail. Many barriers are put in their lives every day, but it is also known that certain communities deal with this issue more often. It is in communities where there is poverty that this will be more obvious, some students won't have the right role models and motivation. On the other hand some of the students, who do want to be successful, may not have time or money to make school they're priority. Schools are supposed to be the place where students find support, but this is false when schools are not taking the time to know the students as individuals. Students are graded on their self actualization, meaning: GPA, test scores, and attendance. But what are not being taken in account are all the other parts of a student’s life that build the structure for good self actualization, such as: psychological and safety needs food, clothing, love, belonging and self esteem. Not only this but in some areas students live in constant danger and extreme violence leading to even bigger issues. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is affecting a large quantity of these students’ lives, "Urban youth is twice as likely to have PTSD as soldiers coming home from Iraq"-Jeff Andrade. Post traumatic stress disorder is affecting a third of students living under\ these circumstances, causing depression and intervening with their ability to succeed in school and many other aspects of their life. This PTSD is sever, when soldiers leave the battle field their stress is over, but when the environment in which you live in is constantly causing stress, it becomes a lifestyle many can't seem to get away from. The education system is aware of these issues, yet does not do anything about them. Schools can be the way out of the concrete as they claim to be, but this will only happen when students who have been lucky to succeed help others, "When roses come back to the concrete, they create garden rose gardens"- Jeff Andrade. It is thanks to people like Jeff Duncan Andrade, that students who live under the wrong circumstances are able to succeed. He has proved this by personally helping students throughout the years, and showing his students in comparison to others have been greatly successful and gotten into four year universities. Furthermore, others have proved to be great inspirations, as Maya Angelou was to Tupac Shakur, and Tupac was and continues to be to millions of people. With roses returning, rose gardens can be created, that is a proven fact. If we love and support each other we will not need to wait for the education system to make changes, we the students are the ones in need of help, therefore we should be able to inspire, guide and help each other. In order to get better results teachers need to be aware of the issues students face; having this type of relationship will lead to a better performance from the student and less stress to the teacher. If students and teachers turn this into a pattern it will always produce good results, and set an example for future generations.
