So I'm in a little bit of a quandary (that's not really the focus of this post).
Well, not really.
Ok let me explain first.
So I was writing a chemistry exam on Thursday and what do I see when I look up? Yep! Two fresh-out-of-highschool imbeciles brazenly attempting to beat the academic system...and beat it they did! Why? Because I haven't quite decided if I want to rat them out or not :$ tehehe. Now here is where I'm experiencing a bit of internal conflict. I'm a staunch believer in Karma and the fact that everything happens for a reason. That being said, I know that somehow somewhere these two ignoble charlatans will get their just desserts. But do I wait for the universe to deliver that blow or am I suppose to be playing the role of the universe-blessed "Karma deliverer" in this scenario? I'm 89% decided that I will be taking the silent path (mainly because when I told my friend of the pickle I'm in, he laughed and told me to mind my own business), but those remaining 11 percents are what are eroding away the last bit of sense I have remaining. Ugh.
Here I am, completely livid, because I slaved over a textbook, chemistry no doubt, for days on end while these *insert angry swears* get to sit back and ride the coattails of the little piece of paper they had stashed on their laps. And the best part? How boldly these two exchanged notes on an audaciously bright yellow paper and how loudly they carried out their conversations about confusing questions while the professor was out of the room. Are they so brash to assume that there is some sort of unwritten code amongst students that we don't tattle on each other, that it's us against the system?....IS there some sort of unwritten code amongst students :s??? I choose to believe there isn't, so don't be mistaken that that is the reason I'm not exposing my fellow classmates. The way I see it, and the way I've been settling my conscience, is by believing that if I don't take any action now, the universe will handle it. It is the universe, after all, that is keeping and controlling some sort of cosmic balance sheet, not me. I mean really, who am I in comparison to the universe?
The bigger, more pertinent question is what are people like these two doing at a post-secondary institution anyways? It's a bit of a slippery slope to assume so much but are these not the kinds of people we see cheating their way through all aspects of life? Are these not the same people we see in positions of trust and power such as doctors who, in reality, have degrees made up of bull crap, bought on the black market? How is it that universities have become an institution EVERYONE is REQUIRED to go to in order to have some sort of "life"? This may be just be conjecture on my part but I do feel that many of you have had that conversation about how a Bachelors degree nowadays means close to nothing, unless followed by additional abbreviations (i.e M._, Ph.D etc.). This was way before I was born, but I am aware of a time when post-secondary education was only for people who could handle it and who wished to enrich their lives in a different way. The conception that being in a university will make you "smart" is so plainly stupid it hurts: you're suppose to BE some sort of "smart" before you get there....not anymore I guess. The fact that there are people out there who know they cannot handle the necessary responsibilities of being in such a demanding position, yet decide to carry on anyways for the sake of saving face, aggravates me all the time. Why is it that these once seemingly exclusive institutions are now open to the undeserving public, examples being those two dimwits in my class?
Societal culture has penetrated the deepest levels of our psyche, leaving behind the notion that the only kind of acceptable "smarts" is "book smarts". That's why.
It continues to awe me how much focus and importance we give to something that really, in the larger scheme of things, can mean so little to some people. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to belittle post-secondary education in anyway whatsoever, it just bothers me how much we claim that one cannot have a life without it. There are so many other means of subsistence available to us without actually having a degree. One doesn't need to know that 1,2-Dichloroethene exhibits cis-trans isomerism or that diamagnetic elements contain all paired electrons, in order to achieve greatness in their lives; Bill Gates (Microsoft creator) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook creator) are both Harvard drop-outs and two of the richest men in the world....just saying. (Just to clarify, not drop outs in the sense they failed classes and therefore were required to leave, they just didn't finish their degrees.) The assumption that attending a university means your "smart" is completely ridiculous and the perception that a degree, a standard by which we judge how "smart" someone is, can make or break your life story, just seems absurd. Don't take this to mean that I'm against post-sec education (I don't plan on dropping out anytime soon:p), I just feel that society as a whole needs to take a huge step back and see the bigger picture, parents need to ease up on the whole "you won't amount to anything without a degree", and learning institutions need to do what they were there to do in the first place: keep out the fakers, while providing a sanctuary of knowledge to those who genuinely wish to learn.
Ok, I feel like I've been rambling for a while and have gone off on like 6 tangents.... I think it's time to call it a night. Cheerio.
Well, not really.
Ok let me explain first.
So I was writing a chemistry exam on Thursday and what do I see when I look up? Yep! Two fresh-out-of-highschool imbeciles brazenly attempting to beat the academic system...and beat it they did! Why? Because I haven't quite decided if I want to rat them out or not :$ tehehe. Now here is where I'm experiencing a bit of internal conflict. I'm a staunch believer in Karma and the fact that everything happens for a reason. That being said, I know that somehow somewhere these two ignoble charlatans will get their just desserts. But do I wait for the universe to deliver that blow or am I suppose to be playing the role of the universe-blessed "Karma deliverer" in this scenario? I'm 89% decided that I will be taking the silent path (mainly because when I told my friend of the pickle I'm in, he laughed and told me to mind my own business), but those remaining 11 percents are what are eroding away the last bit of sense I have remaining. Ugh.
The bigger, more pertinent question is what are people like these two doing at a post-secondary institution anyways? It's a bit of a slippery slope to assume so much but are these not the kinds of people we see cheating their way through all aspects of life? Are these not the same people we see in positions of trust and power such as doctors who, in reality, have degrees made up of bull crap, bought on the black market? How is it that universities have become an institution EVERYONE is REQUIRED to go to in order to have some sort of "life"? This may be just be conjecture on my part but I do feel that many of you have had that conversation about how a Bachelors degree nowadays means close to nothing, unless followed by additional abbreviations (i.e M._, Ph.D etc.). This was way before I was born, but I am aware of a time when post-secondary education was only for people who could handle it and who wished to enrich their lives in a different way. The conception that being in a university will make you "smart" is so plainly stupid it hurts: you're suppose to BE some sort of "smart" before you get there....not anymore I guess. The fact that there are people out there who know they cannot handle the necessary responsibilities of being in such a demanding position, yet decide to carry on anyways for the sake of saving face, aggravates me all the time. Why is it that these once seemingly exclusive institutions are now open to the undeserving public, examples being those two dimwits in my class?
Societal culture has penetrated the deepest levels of our psyche, leaving behind the notion that the only kind of acceptable "smarts" is "book smarts". That's why.
It continues to awe me how much focus and importance we give to something that really, in the larger scheme of things, can mean so little to some people. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to belittle post-secondary education in anyway whatsoever, it just bothers me how much we claim that one cannot have a life without it. There are so many other means of subsistence available to us without actually having a degree. One doesn't need to know that 1,2-Dichloroethene exhibits cis-trans isomerism or that diamagnetic elements contain all paired electrons, in order to achieve greatness in their lives; Bill Gates (Microsoft creator) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook creator) are both Harvard drop-outs and two of the richest men in the world....just saying. (Just to clarify, not drop outs in the sense they failed classes and therefore were required to leave, they just didn't finish their degrees.) The assumption that attending a university means your "smart" is completely ridiculous and the perception that a degree, a standard by which we judge how "smart" someone is, can make or break your life story, just seems absurd. Don't take this to mean that I'm against post-sec education (I don't plan on dropping out anytime soon:p), I just feel that society as a whole needs to take a huge step back and see the bigger picture, parents need to ease up on the whole "you won't amount to anything without a degree", and learning institutions need to do what they were there to do in the first place: keep out the fakers, while providing a sanctuary of knowledge to those who genuinely wish to learn.
Ok, I feel like I've been rambling for a while and have gone off on like 6 tangents.... I think it's time to call it a night. Cheerio.
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