Oh no!!?

Is it necessarily not "smart" if you dONT do well in school? I think everyone else is smart in some areas and some ppl arent smart in other areas, just because some ppl arent doing well in school doesnt claim them as being totally "dumb". Maybe its because society and this whole world makes it so that school is everything and that education is everything because those educations fit with how you're going to "survive" in this world. I dont think the level of degree of having a brain has anything to do with just doing well in school. Does anyone else have opinions on this?

Luz, I couldn't agree with you more. I have known some literally brilliant minds who did not graduate from high school. One of them, who is a year younger than me, is currently on a world tour with a very prestigious, froo-froo sort of symphonic music group...he is "1st Trumpet", which means he's the best trumpet player in the entire league or whatever it is. This music group is highly selective and plays these exclusive concerts all over the world, lately he's been everywhere from Germany to Italy to Switzerland to Japan. He goes to this music college in Boston (can't remember the name of it) and was chosen as one of the few from thousands of applicants. He is also one of the most intelligent people I have ever heard speak. I was madly in love with him for a short while in high school, but sometimes people who are THAT smart freak me out (in a good way) and I feel insecure and as if I can't really keep up with them, and I shy away. He was also a bit of a slut, and had women at his feet all the time, which was another reason I backed away from him romantically. He took me out to this very expensive french restaurant once, and we got all dressed up and it was fabulous, although neither of us realized how expensive the food would be, but he was a perfect gentleman about it...I was the one upset by the priceyness of it. He was tall, black hair, brown eyes, always dressed to the nines, had a mercedes and a BMW, and was just generally one of the sexiest Pisceans ever....lol....well now that I've just shared a completely meaningless (to everyone but me) little life story of mine, I will get back to the point. 🙂

I believe that many times, neither age nor level of education completed has much to do with a person's intelligence level. Intelligence is about so much more than "book smarts" IMO. Now, I will say this: it does indicate a lack of determination and perhaps self discipline if a person quits school or fails a lot. However, those are different than being dumb. I almost failed out of school the last 2 years of high school, simply due to my rebellious streak I went through as well as my disillusionment with my parents and teachers and all people who had authority over me. It had nothing to do with being smart, it was just my (self-destructive) way of thumbing my nose at "the system" and skipping classes at every available opportunity to make out with my boyfriends and smoke pot. Very immature, now that I have the luxury of 20/20 hindsight. In the end, I graduated 2 weeks late and was unable to "walk" because of my immature decisions that I made. But, I don't think I would have learned to be more self-disciplined had I done it any other way. I was almost disowned for the results (not graduating on time) of my procrastination and lack of discipline. I learned a lot from that (bad) experience though. I learned that I can be my own worst enemy, and that the only person I hurt (besides my parents) was myself. Since then, I learned that the decisions I make, I must hold myself accountable for. I also learned that while I have good parents, they made mistakes in their approach to my rebelliousness that I will never make with my own future children. Nobody is perfect, but certainly if BOTH myself and my parents had taken a different path in my education, the outcome would have been different. I was in the talented and gifted ("TAG") program all throughout my schooling, and if I had just stuck to my homework and made better decisions about friends and drugs and such, I could be at Harvard right now. But, like I said, would I have learned the same lessons that I did? I think not.

Sorry to have written a book here, but this is a good topic about which I think a lot can be said 🙂

thanx pheonix, you cheered me up.. 🙂 i can relate to you a lot, thanx..

Hey Luz, no problem, any time...you keep your head up no matter what. You have a great deal to offer to this world and I definitely want you to realize that and run with it.

Love ya,
Heather

I agree Luz! It's all based on society. I mean who are they anyway? It's not everyone that 's for sure! I also don't think that everyone should go to college or get a "degree". It's a matter of choice. I know people with degrees that still don't have a good job after this. It's a matter of luck in my eyes.

Luz,

I would say there is more than one way to get an education, Luz.

I think maybe if you are not doing well, it is because you are bored with it and it is not teaching you anything new. It is just a formality to get to the end of the program. I was like that. You need to be challenged. The harder it was, the better I did. I applied myself more. I made the dean's list with all A's, not to be bragging on myself but anyways, I managed this while working full-time and carrying a full boat at school and taking care of my home! This is what I like, to be under pressure. Not all the time, but every now and again.

I got most of my education by just living, you know what I mean.

Never finished high school; dropped out when I was 16 and went to work and then decided to take off and see the world. I finally realized later I should have finished school and I did and went on to college and finished that and got a great job because of it. I did it on my own schedule and when the time was right, I did what I had to do.

Good Luck,

Your Mother!

PS: Phoenix is very smart and she can figure some stuff out too. I think she could be a very good detective if she wanted to. Maybe FBI!

Yeah, i think anyone can go back and do it again, theres no prediction that you are going to literally fall and never get back on ur feet, its your will. I think because everyone expects you to do it in such old fasion latters that we look down on those who dont want to go by that traditional way. Everyones smart in their own way, and i think ANYONE can pass hs. Its just our own will... and anyone CAN master in anything they want, just some just dont CARE for that area and ppl automatically claim them as less fortunate...

ladders*..frock

Wow, thank you, Mother! You are also very smart and intuitive. That was a very nice compliment...I have secrectly fantasized about being a detective many a time...lol. Hehehe, the FBI--now wouldn't THAT be awesome! "Hello, Clarice." lol.

Now, I like what you said about doing it on your own schedule. Luz, don't let anyone tell you when to do what. You do what you feel like doing, when it's right for you. I myself, have already made the decision that I have no desire to live in a dorm, if/when I attend a four-year university. I have also made the decision that I will work full time until I start feeling the urge to further my education, and then (and ONLY then) will I worry about starting college. I am quite happy being out of school; I didn't find it to be all that wonderous a place, and I hate homework, which will only get worse with college. But I also know that someday I will want to go back...I just refuse to make huge life altering decisions based on anyone else's timetable or expectations, or even the decisions of 90 percent of my peers.

"It's your thing/do what you wanna do/I can't tell ya/who to sock it to"...lol. 😛

I just want to add one more thing. I am smart (not meaning to brag) and high school always was boring. It was nothing, no studying needed, homework done just before class, always got good grades. But the problem was, I wasn't challenged. I was bored out of my mind. I've seen others with this problem and their wandering minds got them into trouble..and then they didn't graduate. It wasn't because they couldn't do the work, it was because they couldn't see the point in it if they weren't learning. I survived (thankfully) but others didn't.

That was just part 1. My cousin is dyslexic and learning disabled. When he got to high school, they tried to ut him in the "special education" classes (which are alright if they are your level). His mom had to fight like hell to get him into good classes. He graduated college with a computer science degree in a record 2 and a half years. And his grades weren't so good.

Anyway, I'll stop preaching. The point is, there is too much emphasis in grades. Grades don't reflect who you really are. You could be working and studying all the time and barely get a C while another sleeps off an A.

Grades are just numbers anyway...with a little ink (or the right hacker software) anyone can change them. They aren't fixed.

LOL on that last sentence, Gwendylyn...naughty, tsk, tsk...but you're right.

I agree with your post, all the way.

OMG gwen, you just totally understood me there -_- my mind ALWAYs wanders off....

LOL on the hacker stuff. I knew it!