HW 40 - The Interviews

Part A:


Friend (New York City Public High School Student)

Having experienced going to both a regular public school and a specialized public school, how would you say the experiences are either similar or different?

Regular Public Schools and Specialized Public Schools are a lot different in size. Since Specialized Public Schools are larger there is a lot more diversity. Although you meet a lot of different people it can become overwhelming because there are just so many. The teachers don't really know who people are. They cannot really do a lot of one on one help because they have so many students to care for. However for some that might be a difficult challenge to undertake. Personally my parents and teachers have always told me I am an independent person. So it doesn't really take affect on me. Besides which I don't really like asking my teachers for help, I normally ask my peers. I think the reason why I rely on my peers is because when teachers tell me stuff I don't really care because they are my teachers and not my friends. I find that my friends can make sure I understand it more. They explain it to me in ways that I can relate to and are more willing to listen.

Dad

How much did your school career have an affect on your real career?

In my early childhood schooling as a teenager I decided early on that my interests would be in music and literature. When I got to college my interests were defined even more. But it wasn't in till out of school I realized I wanted to be a teacher as well as working in the arts in general. In elementary school there was very little emphasis on the arts and in middle school and high school there was more emphasis in the interest of the arts but there was also a lot of emphasis on grades and testing. I was fortunate to go to a college (Bard) where the emphasis was not so much on grades but on learning for its own sake.

How different would your life have been if you didn't have as much schooling as your father had?

It probably would of been different because my father couldn't attend school because he had to earn a living to support his family at a very young age. He had to choose an occupation that would enable him to support both himself and his family throughout his life. If my father had gone to more school he in fact may have become an artist himself. Since he was very drawn to art and in later life music. What schooling enabled me to do was have some leisure time to explore many different aspects of thinking and doing. It helped me learn many different ways of thinking about the work that I eventually chose to do after college. My father despite his lack of formal education was a very "educated" man. He was able to take his experience and relate it directly to his work and his family. He became very articulate in his understanding of many principals of life. I think my father made his life meaningful by the knowledge he gained from his work and his relations with people. His not going to school did not affect his ability to interact with people and to become a successful business man. In the long run what you make of your experience and your knowledge has little to do with the amount of schooling you have and more to do with your ability to deepen your experience, through reflection and your attempts to understand who you are and what it is that you are doing.


Mom

How important is school to a successful life?

I think it is very important because in school you learn about the world and yourself, and your relation to the world. Through different subjects. School can awaken your sense of curiosity. In school you learn to interact with other people and collaborate and work toward common goals. A student also learns about the history of the world and the various cultures to help them understand their place in the world. One of the first steps to success is to make good decisions and a good plan on how to proceed. We are lucky in these days that we have a variety of choices of ways to engage in the world and to find meaningful work. We are very fortunate in that regard. School can actually be a microcosm of the world and we can learn how to live in the world. The more educated one is the better. However one also has to learn compassion and understanding and listening skills, in order to really function.

If you had not gone back to get your masters degree would your life be any worse or better?

I think my life is better because going to graduate school presented a challenge for me. It wasn't easy because I was working full time. It took a long time for me to earn my degree but it also proved to me that I could reach my goal of improving my knowledge of the world as it related to art history and museum studies.

Would you say that your experiences in life were more meaningful than the ones gained in school?

Both of my experiences in my life and in college and graduate school have been equally important to my education. Some of the most profound experiences have occurred when I was traveling to other countries in the world including, France, Italy, Spain, Israel and various states in the US. I felt more connected to the world and realized what a big wonderful planet we are living on. How marvelous all of the people around the world are. However I hope that I am always a life time learner.


Friend # 2 (New York City Public High School Student)

How different would you say coming from a private school education public school is?

I think public school is a lot better in many ways, I don't see a huge difference since my school is a lot like a private school anyways. I think it is better because the kids don't have as much a sense of entitlement and work much harder. The teachers are better. I think the reason why my school is so similar is because it is very small, well off and is very nice inside. It doesn't have a lack of funding whatsoever and gets the same opportunities and stuff for the students. My school however is not very diverse that's the only thing, it is still a majority white school and is about the same diversity as my old school. The reason for this is because it is a screened school, priority to district two. Although my school is public it is very different in comparison to most because it is more like a private school.

Self

Why is going to school for practically everyone such a painful thing?

I honestly don't know its probably like going to a job you absolutely dislike. If you have no interest in what you are doing than why would you want to waste your time doing it. To be successful? It is as if we bribe ourselves to get out of bed every morning and remind ourselves of the gold pot at the end of the rainbow. Success seems to drive people and if theoretically we want to be successful we seem to follow the peoples paths which lead them to success. Most people in this day and age led very similar lives after high school, they go to college get a degree in something they claim to find interesting and try to find a job that satisfies their ability. If high school classes were more based around things that I was interested in I think I would enjoy coming more. The fact that we are forced to learn certain things that follow the curriculum just makes it so boring. Personally I find this class interesting although we have units at least it helps us to form our opinions. We get to learn information that will most likely have a lot more significance in 10 years. 

A couple of weeks ago Mr. Kinory was talking about how people remember 9/11 so clearly but can't remember September 10Th 2001. Our brains remember significant things that had a huge impact on our lives. I don't think for example the subject math makes an impact on my life at all, I can't even remember what we learned a week ago in that class. I believe that learning is about experiences that change us as learners and people. A couple of summers ago I volunteered at the hospital Mount Siani and some of the people that were patients made such an impact on my life. There was a patient from Inwood Park and I talked to her every day for a week. The fact is I still remember things she said to me and that was 2 years ago... once we get to a certain age I think that experience in the real world plays a bigger role in learning. I am working with 3 year olds at a preschool called Merricat's Castle for my internship. They are learning about things such as feelings and communication skills. I think those are important reasons to come to school especially at the age when the brain is still a sponge. But at a certain age our skills should be practiced in real life situations verses in structured classes.

Part B:

From all five interviews I think what strikes me from most of them is being able to figure out what makes the individual interested. I guess by coming to school we create skills which help us branch of into different areas of interest. However I truly don't know how important it is to keep coming back to school. My mom for example who went back to get her masters degree already had a job in the same area. Is it simply for the title which makes the person seem as a superior authority? Or is it the fact that in order to have a job in this day we must know a certain amount of information? My grandfather who my dad described was a very successful factorer (someone who gives loans to people working in the garment business) was very well respected and he had zero degrees. However that was in a different time and in this day and age there is much more competition to success. Regardless though I don't believe that degrees make someone any better of a person and maybe in some ways by spending so much time competing you loose sense of meaning. 

My mom said this which I thought was interesting: "School can actually be a microcosm of the world and we can learn how to live in the world. The more educated one is the better. However one also has to learn compassion and understanding and listening skills, in order to really function." In a way though every school is different so does that mean whatever kind of school one attends is the type of life they will lead? One of my friends who has always attended private school has the goal of getting at least a 2100 on her SAT, getting into Duke and becoming filthy rich. In all honesty that just sounds so disgusting. I am convinced that the reason she is like that is because of the way she is taught both in the classroom and in the world. Not only is she like this so are all the other students that go to school with her. It is as if we are all programed robots and from Day 1 there is evidence of separation of the classes. No wonder it is so much easier for certain people to find success than others it is probably because of the way that they were trained in school so they have the skills to reach whatever goal is designated to their social class.