Hello, World
“Left shoulder down a bit. No, no too much. There,
that’s it. Chin just a little to the
right. Yes. Yes. Now up. Up! Yes, nice and tall. Perfect. Big smile.”
Click. Flash.
“That’s it.”
With a deep exhale I let my shoulders fall and my back
slouch. I took a minute to allow my eyes to surrender to the red and blue spots
of vision the camera flash had now created while massaging my cheeks free from the
unnatural position they had been forced into.
“Would you like to see your proof?”
Certainly.
I lifted the oversized gown that would’ve dragged a likely
six inches behind my feet and made my way to the screen.
My hair fell in front of my shoulder, just short of the
gleaming university logo and the black and gold tassel seemed to match the glow
I could see in my own eyes.
Whoa.
It really was proof. Proof that this was all happening
in just a few months. At twenty-one, I’d have my Bachelor of Science degree in
Engineering.
Whoa.
That was several weeks ago and although I still have a
few months left to tackle, the thought of graduating is still quite daunting. Senior
year, though a time to live in the present and enjoy these last memorable
experiences, is also a time of reflection. I can’t help but look at the road
that lead me here and smile… And cringe. And laugh. And smack my forehead. And appreciate.
But mostly I look back and I’m just grateful.
I spend most of my time on my college campus. I live
here, I work here, I study here. It isn’t often that I venture home to
Palmdale, but when I do I’m more and more aware of the economic disparity that
plagues it. Just recently folks back home have congratulated me on overcoming
such a “disadvantage”. Friends from high school raise a drink with me for
having “made it out”. Somewhat shamefully I’ve realized that living in my
college bubble has made me a stranger to my own home. Reality has now set in as
I look back at the years before college.
It was never in my nature to think of the odds I was
up against when approaching a challenge. You just gave it your all. That’s how
I was brought up. I didn’t see my journey to college as a rough one or an
unlikely one because I had nothing to compare it with. Few of my classmates in
college are products of the public school system and even fewer (In fact, I
think I can only count myself) came from a Title 1 School and low income
family. I rarely let this discourage me and I have been blessed to have an
amazingly supportive family, but I look back on what’s now been sixteen years
of education and I wonder just how lucky was I to make it out of the black hole
that is America’s public school system?
The quality in the
public school system is grossly lacking and as a result children (and our
future) are suffering. Many fingers have been pointed. Teaching Unions. Poor
neighborhoods. Tenured instructors. Uninvolved parents. Unmotivated students. Technological
distractions. Whomever or whatever is to blame, the call for reform is urgent. When
we start referring to these solutions as “
Waiting for Superman” or as winning “
The Lottery ”, I think we can all agree that something’s not right.
I know just through living my life, that coming from these
economic and academic hardships can be a hollowing and exhausting experience
(for student, parent, and teacher alike!) but then I hear men like Geoffrey
Canada speak and I see the benefits of programs like
Teach for America and I
think maybe we’re not as alone as we thought.
Profile
One does not have to look long or far to find strong
opinions on the state of America’s educational system but it may be hard to
find few more passionate and evocative as those of Whitney Tilson.
WhitneyTilson is an investor, writer, and philanthropist. (Why thank you Wikipedia and
the free legal sharing of information). I find that he is quite an amazing guy
and has lead a thoroughly full life.
Now, I’ve found that it helps to have a background in
whatever area you choose to study, work, or simply endeavor in. It came as
little surprise to me then, to learn that Tilson is the son of two educators
who met during their service in the Peace Corps (Whoa). Pretty safe to guess he
grew up knowing the importance of education and of volunteerism. Clearly on the
right track to success, Tilson majored in government and business, graduating
from Harvard (Again, whoa!) After college he helped launch Teach for America, although
I’m not certain the extent of his involvement. Nevertheless, it is clear that
the saving of America’s educational system is a passion of Tilson’s.
He posts in his blog, “
Whitney Tilson’s School ReformBlog” (I know, original) often, at least monthly. Although he writes fewer
posts himself, he constantly links and references literature that he believes
helpful, enlightening, or interesting on the topic of school reform and
provides a smidgeon of insight and opinion. Tilson has been posting in this
blog since October of 2005 and considering how long he’s been an advocate of
this subject, I’d say the articles and links he finds worthwhile are probably
pretty damn interesting and worth some time to explore.
In his post, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”
(
Here.) I could really feel the extent to which he cares about this issue. The
article, which points out the glaring differences between the American style of
family support and education versus that of the Chinese family style, is
commended by Tilson for pointing of the crippling effect over-nurturing can
have on children. Like myself, he holds parents accountable for the lack in
responsibility they take in their children’s educations. Not all blame can be
placed on the school system and it is important to keep in mind all possibly
issues.
In another
short post about an increase in tuition
for private schools, I discovered what it was that really drew me to his blog.
It was the difference in our perspectives or our current places in life.
Although both passionate about this issue Tilson is a proud father of three,
graduated, and successful. And somehow Im guessing he didn’t come from the
single parent, title 1 life I did. I am still a student and am still living
through the consequences of not receiving the best early education. I find this
contrast in perspectives and backgrounds refreshing and unique. I know there
may be times when because I am a subject of this environment, I may not be able
to (or be unwilling to) see flaws in its system. It is here that Tilson’s point
of view from the outside is so important.
I look forward to reading the articles that Whitney
Tilson finds worthy enough to share and to picking apart his brain for the
duration of this blog. I can see that there is a lot to learn from his example
and because I was raised by a single mom (superwoman by the way) it’s
comforting in a way I can’t really explain to know that this Dad cares so much
about the future America his children will grow up in.
Voice Critique
After nearly four
years of busting my ass in engineering and attending countless career events
and interviews, I’ve finally done what every senior hopes to do: I’ve tied down
a full-time job for after graduation. Ah, what a relief! Yes. Above average
starting salary (if you can bear to let me brag a bit). Nice signing bonus. Benfits.
With graduation
looming so near, it’s been hitting me more and more frequently how soon and
just how much my life is going to change in the next year. I wonder if educational
reform will still be this important to me once I’ve achieved financial independence
or if I’ll look back on it as just a speed bump I’ve now overcome. It’s
important to me that, once a parent, I seek the best education possible for my
children but I wonder if I’ll still be an advocate for those who suffer from the
economic disparity that plagues the public school system.
Whitney Tilson
gives me hope that I will. Although
providing a comfortable life for himself and his family, Tilson devotes much of
his energy (and his frustration, and his annoyance, and sometimes his applause)
to this issue. The attitude of a concerned father resonates within his blog.
Caring, concerned, firm, and at times a little jaded.
Tilson establishes
his justification for having such opinions as a parent and merits them as an
intellectual. Looking at two posts already mentioned in my blog, we can see
that this style. From his post, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”:
“It’s hilarious,
hyperbolic and provocative, and will surely provoke strong emptions, especially
among people (like my wife and me) raising young children.”
He is a father.
First and Foremost. And although he’s paying “three private school tuitions as
mentioned in his post “Bracing for $40,000 at City Private Schools”, he
maintains an awareness of the problem that is school reform in the United
States.
Tilson uses strong
diction and long, detailed sentences to portray his own sense of frustration
with the problems around education.
“In a world filled with endless, cheap, mind-rotting
entertainment via hundreds of TV channels (heavily weighted toward 24/7 sports,
cartoons and other junk) the internet, video games, music and movies, I’m
firmly convinced that nearly all children will spend every waking hour messing
around with these activities and wasting their lives…”
I can hear him as a frustrated parent, “every waking
hour!” It almost makes me smile that this evokes such strong emotion in him. He
is sure, always, to add sensibility in his posts. He is not simply an angry,
jaded victim of the educational system (a frustrated witness more likely) but
he is also an intelligent philanthropist. With every claim Tilson makes, there
is support to follow.
“Lest you think I’m perpetuating stereotypes about
American youth, check out this data about how they spend their time…”
Or in another post, “…I’d bet that tuition payments
account for a lower percentage of
total income for the majority of families whose kids attend these schools… I
could find apples-to-apples 10-yr-data, but from 1979-2007…”
This claim/support pattern to his writing gives his
words merit and authority. I trust Tilson’s opinions. It is not blind passion
and frustration. It is clear-sighted, level-headed thinking. Despite the
inclusion of frequent data and statistics (a characteristic that can dry up any
blog if done poorly) he maintains his passion which is hard to oversee through
the use of italics and the shouting favorite, CAPS LOCK.
“It depicts lots of stressed-out, overworked kids… As
a nation, our real problem is EXACTLY the opposite!”
“For more on how Chinese (and Indian) youth are just
HUSTLING a lot more than American youth are, I highly recommend a great
documentary…”
Ultimately, Tilson’s blog is intelligent, passionate,
and personal. Three things I’m certain you need to have in order to move the heart of
any reader.
