Post by sarahcritchfield on Aug 7, 2011 19:54:07 GMT -5
“Hey, dude! Do you want to hang out tonight?!”
“I can’t! Tonight I’m going to do all of my calculus homework for the next semester!”
“Oh, bummer. What about sometime next week?!”
“Nope! Next week I’m teaching myself Mandarin Chinese and reading every book in my parent’s library. I’ll have absolutely no time for any social life.”
“Oh, okay.”
I swear I’ve had that actual conversation with at least three of my friends. Okay, maybe not exactly that conversation, but it’s been pretty darn close. Now, either my friends really hate me and are trying to avoid me, or they like getting a little too much into their school life. Don’t get me wrong, academics are extremely important. No one wants to be stupid and being overly dedicated to something isn’t a bad thing. It could lead to getting a job faster after college and being better at that job than if you’d just slacked off. “The Organization Kid” points out (of these studious types) that it “doesn’t mean that these leaders-in-training are money-mad (though they are certainly career conscious). It means they are goal-oriented.” It’s great to have a goal. You should always be working toward something. However, in my opinion, all work and no play is definitely not the way to go. In his essay “The Organization Kid,” David Brooks describes the origin and life of these future workaholics. One student he interviewed said, “Sometimes we feel like we’re just tools for processing information. That’s what we call ourselves- power tools.” Being a “power tool” can be seen as a positive thing or a negative thing. On the positive end of the spectrum, the “power tool” will gain knowledge and insight at an extraordinary level which will help themselves and others later on in life. Negatively, though, being an all knowing, I-need-to-learn-everything-fast machine leaves no room for a social life. Some people can say, “Eh, who needs friends or connections or relationships? I’m going to be rich someday. I’ll just buy my friends.” But really, they’ll just end up alone and unhappy probably. No matter how insignificant and unimportant a social life seems, it really does matter. People need people to live, or else they’ll go crazy. You need friends to talk to and family to support you. Maybe even some inside connections with other businesses to help you get a little further than your competitors. I promise I’m not promoting a life of nothingness. Students should be expected to work hard and spend a portion of their day studying and doing homework, especially students taking multiple advanced placement courses. Not doing work and not being dedicated to your work is a bad thing and could lead to worse things, like not getting accepted to any colleges… Or only getting accepted to community college. I’m just saying to, every now and then, put down the Mandarin Chinese books, close the calculator, and call up an old friend and have a fun night. Procrastinate just a tad. The school work can wait.
“I can’t! Tonight I’m going to do all of my calculus homework for the next semester!”
“Oh, bummer. What about sometime next week?!”
“Nope! Next week I’m teaching myself Mandarin Chinese and reading every book in my parent’s library. I’ll have absolutely no time for any social life.”
“Oh, okay.”
I swear I’ve had that actual conversation with at least three of my friends. Okay, maybe not exactly that conversation, but it’s been pretty darn close. Now, either my friends really hate me and are trying to avoid me, or they like getting a little too much into their school life. Don’t get me wrong, academics are extremely important. No one wants to be stupid and being overly dedicated to something isn’t a bad thing. It could lead to getting a job faster after college and being better at that job than if you’d just slacked off. “The Organization Kid” points out (of these studious types) that it “doesn’t mean that these leaders-in-training are money-mad (though they are certainly career conscious). It means they are goal-oriented.” It’s great to have a goal. You should always be working toward something. However, in my opinion, all work and no play is definitely not the way to go. In his essay “The Organization Kid,” David Brooks describes the origin and life of these future workaholics. One student he interviewed said, “Sometimes we feel like we’re just tools for processing information. That’s what we call ourselves- power tools.” Being a “power tool” can be seen as a positive thing or a negative thing. On the positive end of the spectrum, the “power tool” will gain knowledge and insight at an extraordinary level which will help themselves and others later on in life. Negatively, though, being an all knowing, I-need-to-learn-everything-fast machine leaves no room for a social life. Some people can say, “Eh, who needs friends or connections or relationships? I’m going to be rich someday. I’ll just buy my friends.” But really, they’ll just end up alone and unhappy probably. No matter how insignificant and unimportant a social life seems, it really does matter. People need people to live, or else they’ll go crazy. You need friends to talk to and family to support you. Maybe even some inside connections with other businesses to help you get a little further than your competitors. I promise I’m not promoting a life of nothingness. Students should be expected to work hard and spend a portion of their day studying and doing homework, especially students taking multiple advanced placement courses. Not doing work and not being dedicated to your work is a bad thing and could lead to worse things, like not getting accepted to any colleges… Or only getting accepted to community college. I’m just saying to, every now and then, put down the Mandarin Chinese books, close the calculator, and call up an old friend and have a fun night. Procrastinate just a tad. The school work can wait.