Bad Grades Are Meaningless Grades

You have to punch through what everyone else is saying,

if something feels wrong, you walk, you get out, you don't let people push you.

Long time ago, we had these little schools,

that taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.

And people loved them, everyone loved and admired them,

it was a true gift, and teachers were True Angels of Wisdom.

But schools require funding,

part of that funding is paying teachers.

And what that means is:

money.

Everyone suddenly was a teacher,

and to optimize money, testing, testing, testing.

This is not a school anymore,

this is a business, all the teachers now take a paycheck home.

The concept of grades is very iffy, very lazy, a teacher should talk to the parent.

if grades used to work, then maybe they didn't matter much, somehow.

But over time,

with everyone busy optimizing things to get or make more money.

With schools everywhere needing funding,

with teachers needing to get paid.

Nobody would have noticed,

when grades became everything.

Same with tests, nobody noticed when lectures became too abstract,

and people just started memorizing for tests to get good grades.

So now, we have a school, that needs funding,

teachers that need to get paid.

And lectures and tests,

setup in a way where majority passes by memorization.

And then there are those who assume that teachers are there to teach,

and that the abstract disconnected lectures actually make sense.

They don't know everyone is memorizing,

they assume they are just not smart enough.

C, and D, an occasional B+. but mostly Cs,

it wouldn't occur to them that teachers are looking at other classes and give the same grade.

Nor would it occur to them that statistically a certain number of students,

should have bad grades, and the teacher will make that happen as not to stick out.

And then there is the big one, the biggie,

the one that nobody talks about, that inconvenient fact.

The grades, are actually a performance score of how well the teacher is teaching,

and they have not a darn thing to do with any of the students.

You can't learn disconnected facts,

you can only temporarily memorize them.

Your grades are are reflection of how inclined you are to participate in a memorization charade,

that fetches the teacher money, and keeps your school operating.

They have to get paid,

they have to put food on their table.

They can't teach, because that would mean addressing every student,

that is just not possible, and they would rather get a job elsewhere.

More importantly, they won't know, they won't even care, when you do find something that you like,

they will take that away you, because there is no time for you to learn, you have to pass tests that are in class right now.

If you don't pass the standardized tests that are an insult to your uniqueness, your predispositions, talents and creativity,

the teacher will have to be transferred to another school as a lemon and that makes them look bad.

How dare you,

how dare you little child.

They will behave high and mighty,

while selling your mind for a paycheck.

Do yo see?

do you see?

The tests were never a judgment of you,

they are just the simplest way to track who the worst teachers are.

Everything that surrounds you in school is created with the least amount of effort,

they are using grades to make you feel bad, so that you will memorize and pretend to learn, so that everyone keeps getting paid.

That is what the teacher wants,

put food on the table.

They don't know what it means to get bad grades,

the fact that they are a teachers shows that they crammed, memorized and probably were proud of their meaningless grades.

It is so strange that someone solving a math problem with memorized formulas, thinks that they understand it - they don't,

they must understand how the formulas work, and it is easy and beautiful.

To begin learning mathematics for real, you need to even out the playing field with a simple programming language,

because to quote Math As Code, "Mathematical symbols can mean different things depending on the author, context and the field of study (linear algebra, set theory, etc)."

So, you aren't even learning real math,

and beyond that as you create or re-create your formulas in a simple programming language, it makes sense to plug them in, and create interactive visualizations.

And of course, before you start learning math, you need a reason to lean math, which would be creating computer games,

designing Screen Savers, Music Visualizations, Generative Art, or Generative Music, even stuff for making videos.

More than that, you can't learn math when someone tells you to,

your mind has to be ready, and that may take a long time.

And you need to see the full picture, because as fun as Generative Art is,

you need to know why you need it...

The reason why you need generative art,

is so that you may exhibit your works at Guggenheim, creating another product line, or helping students learn how to be more like you.

The point of it all, is to build a breathtaking portfolio,

describing a series of companies that you built.

I can't even imagine what schools must think we are,

for them to treat us the way they do, and where exactly are they directing us?

College, Debt and Cubicle? ... College, Brand Name University, and Lab?

And for how long, for ever? In a cubicle? Or is it until we start dreaming about opening up our own business - because we can do that as teenagers, and actually learn something for real in the process.

We are each unique, we have different curiosities that mark natural starting points for real education,

but they will all lead to art, computers, and sciences, AND in a way that actually empowers you, makes you more powerful.

Bad grades, are just a sign that schools only care about funding,

and teachers only care about getting you to pretend to know, so that they get paid.

Bad grades are not real,

they just reveal the reality of fake education.

You are just as smart as everyone else,

and your rejection of blind memorization is a sign of and affinity for great authenticity, I'll let you discover where that will take you, on your own.

For all the naysayers, and apologetic teachers with great excuses,

the principals, and the students with perfect grades, I understand what you are saying.

But that is not worth a single student crying her self to sleep at night,

because her grades and teachers are trying to convince her she is stupid, because she is failing your stupid make-believe schools that will lead all into debt and stress.

I honestly believe that people with bad grades,

mature faster, and are in a way gifted, but schools trick them and show them that they have no future, and sometimes this robs them of their beautiful gift.

All the schools are not worth,

a single student crying her self to sleep.

All of these thoughts can be easily dismissed as a conspiracy theory,

until we rephrase them as accusations of fraud.

So,

let us ask.

Why are schools getting funding,

when graduating student do not feel that they have received a real education.

Why are grades being used on students,

when they do more damage than good.

Why is there a standard curriculum,

when everybody has different curiosities, a different pace of learning, and holds a unique constellation of knowledge.

How can an institution refer to it self as a school,

when it causes stress that often leads to tears, and low self esteem.

Furthermore,

Standardized schools have a tendency to convince students to spend their parents money or go into debt from overpriced college,

a paid education, with unforgivable debt, with a significant percentage of students pushed into drugs and alcohol.

The jobs that college graduates get are often less than advertised,

terrible job interviews, with bad starting salaries, and awful entry level positions.

All of this shows signs of fraud, neglect, and lies, and more lies.

All of this can be repaired with a Personalized Education with the Aid of Computers,

and with a focus on building small companies that will help the students to financial independence, rather than debt.