Youth and Objectivism

[JMeganSnow]

Ouch. Okay, you're right, and I'm sorry. It was a generalization that I shouldn't have made. My bitterness about my old school got in the way, which I shouldn't have let happen. I retract the statement and apologize if I offended anyone.

Heh, there's plenty of good reasons to be bitter.

My accomplishment isn't much of one. I escaped. I transferred schools. I don't know how much longer I would have lasted at my old school. And in any case my dad raised me to be a good student and I'm no genius.

Yeah? My parents "raised" me to be a good student and it didn't take. It's kind of hard to have an appreciation for what you've done that was good, because, usually, all you can think about is what you could have done that was better. But self-deprecation is another form of injustice--it's just a socially acceptable one.

What I want to know is at what point does this stop being the fault of the teachers or the parents and start being the fault of the student? Can we really blame parents or schools for every person that graduates from high school unmotivated, unhappy, and unprepared?

Unmotivated, unhappy, and unprepared for/about what? If they're unmotivated to pursue further education, then I'd say that's definitely a problem with the school. (This is me, btw . . . now.) If they're unprepared to go to college, that's a problem with the school. If they are unmotivated to live and unprepared for it, that's the student's fault because you don't learn that in school anyway.

Fortunately, if it's your fault, you can fix it, which is what I've done to an extent.

I feel like I am missing something important here.

I think we just need to remember that when we're talking about blame we need to use it as a transitive verb instead of an instransitive one . . .

[non-contradictor]

Yeah? My parents "raised" me to be a good student and it didn't take. It's kind of hard to have an appreciation for what you've done that was good, because, usually, all you can think about is what you could have done that was better. But self-deprecation is another form of injustice--it's just a socially acceptable one.

True enough. Is it as upopular to be happy with adults as it is with teenagers? Nah, all I'm saying is that my parents could've made things a lot harder for me than they did.

Unmotivated, unhappy, and unprepared for/about what? If they're unmotivated to pursue further education, then I'd say that's definitely a problem with the school. (This is me, btw . . . now.)

Okay, I agree with you on that one.

I think we just need to remember that when we're talking about blame we need to use it as a transitive verb instead of an instransitive one . . .

Good point.