On the way to work on Tuesday, Thomas and I were discussing a bit of the news. There seems to be a school in NYC that is a PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL that does a special kind of testing to get into it. The NAACP is suing this place for discrimination against black and Latino kids. The majority of the kids in this school are of Oriental decent, not white. They are saying that the testing that is done isn't fair.
Now this school did a city wide survey to see about the knowledge of the school in general. The ones who knew about this school seem to know about it when the kids are in 3rd grade and begin to study for the entrance exam. The rest of the kids in the city who hear about this school, don't find out about it until the are already in high school. It's not that these kids are stupid or anything, but, they simply don't know about it and have no time to study for the exam.
Let's think about this one, shall we... The Juilliard School is a very prestigious school that is dedicated to the teaching of the very best dancers, singers, actors/actresses, and musicians in the country. There most certainly is an entrance exam that one has to pass in order to get into this school. In fact, only the most talented get into the Juilliard. I don't see the NAACP suing the Juilliard because they are keeping out those without the skill and talent needed to get into the school. So what's the difference in this case?
I am wondering that right now... what is the difference between these schools that are both in NYC, that both have an entrance exam, that both only let in the top, the most exceptional students with the skill and talent, those who have studied and practiced for years to get to this school. And though the Juilliard is a college and this other school is a high school, it's still about working your ass off to get into the best school. You don't see everyone getting into MIT, Harvard, Princeton, or Yale, or Brown, or Oxford do you? Why? Because they aren't going to let just everyone in. No, these schools want only the best! Only the ones with the drive to succeed and the talent to get them places in life. They want to the ones who are going to make them proud to say, hey, we have... (pause for a moment... I don't know of a good example to put here) Kofi Annan, William Hewlett, C. S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Benjamin Spock, Eli Whitney, Bill Clinton, George and George Jr Bush, James Madison, John F Kennedy, and author of one of my most beloved book, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.
We don't discriminate against those who want to get into the elite schools in this country, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Navy Seals, Delta Force, Air Force Para jumpers, however these schools are not AVERAGE!!! They have elite standards and those who wish to attend have to meet those standards, and if you can't meet those standards, then it's not for you. But, those who can qualify are permitted to take the entrance exam. Our country needs to stop attempting to bring all schools down to an average standard, because this breeds average citizens. We are a great nation that needs to strive for elite citizens. We shouldn't attempt to brow beat schools simply because they have higher standards then the AVERAGE high schools. There is nothing wrong with these schools, and just because you not going to get into Delta Force, it doesn't mean that you can't be the best damn taxi driver in NYC. If you're going to do anything, be the best at it! Strive for perfection, do the very best that you can. No one can do everything, no one is going to tell you that you are going to be able to do everything... All you need to do is find your limitations and push harder.. Go further.. Do more. Be the best you, that you can be! Stop accepting AVERAGE as a way of living.
I don't really know where this whole case is going to lead the NAACP, and somehow, I hate to admit it, but, I just don't care tonight. I would love to say that this is the kind of case that will change our country, but, if it does, I think it will be for the wrong reasons, and we will just sink further into out abyss of mediocrity and self sabotage. We are saying it's OK to do your tests over and over again. It's OK that you can't read yet, you don't really have to. It's OK to sit on your ass and wait for everyone around you to pay your way through life, you don't need a job. I'm telling you right now, it's not OK. It's not OK for you to wait around for life to start, it's not OK to not work and expect everything to be handed to you. It's not OK to let the government to pay you to live somewhere so you can be lazy and irresponsible. And I truly think that if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Sadly, too many of our problems have been caused by those who have come before us and said that make money at any cost is good for our people. But, they have failed to see what they did. I'm sure if Sam Walton was alive today, he would go ape shit over what has happened to his dream of America. It was suppose to be made in USA, and now, it's all made in China. ...... I just realized what a total tangent that was... sorry about that. If we go around expecting someone else to do everything for us, we will never get out of this mentality that average is acceptable. And maybe it is acceptable for some, but not for me. And not for my family... What about you? Is AVERAGE going to be your best? What kind of a life do you expect to get out of average?
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