Trifecta

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.