An Open Letter To Gil’s Son
This is an open letter to Gil The Jenius's son concerning Gil's blog Forging Ahead.
Let me ease the pain your feeling. School sucks! So don't feel bad.
I dropped out of junior high school in the 8th grade in Philadelphia, PA. Sadly, I should have been in the 10th grade, but how was I suppose to pass if I hardly attended. All I did at school was get picked on and fight to defend myself. Not to mention that the class clowns were many. When I did attend and it just happened to be on a day of an exam, I would pass. My English teacher (my home class teacher) would always scratch his head and tried hard, with the help of the math teacher, to get me to stay and attend more. I would look at him and say "I learn a lot more at home!"
I am not making this up! I didn't learn computer programming at school. I didn't learn the algebra needed for the computer programming I was doing at school! I learned all this at home with the help of an Atari 8-bit computer running at 1.77 mHz and books like Oh! Pascal!. Granted I was introduced to personal computers in school, but this was an after school program for an hour. Not much you can learn in this time, but was enough to get me started.
As far as history was concerned, LMAO, I got a better education watching PBS on channel 12! Most of the history text books provided in school were a joke when it came to this topic as well! My history teacher told us once that Hitler's body was never found and that no one knew what had happened to Hitler after the war. Having watched PBS I had already known that his body was cremated (partially) outside the bunker were he spent the last days of the war and that the Russians had found the bunker and not the Americans. Talk about the failures of public education. I also bought books on many of these topics at the time. My books were a thousand times better than anything the public schools had to offer. Public libraries were available to me, but I hardly ever visited them. Besides, I always wanted books by favorite authors, those who were knowledgeable in their fields.
As far as being alone? At least you have a father that you can sit down with and have a meaningful conversation with. I come from a long line of alcoholics. My dad is an alcoholic, my grandfather was an alcoholic, most of my uncles on my father's side are alcoholics. What can I say? This is what Puerto Rico has cultivated in my part of the island (sadly, I don't think my situation is that much different than most here–we just like to sweep it under the rug).
As far as searching out people here that can engage me in a conversation that has nothing to do with alcoholic drinks, the next dance craze, cars, or gossip, I am out of luck. Most of the time I keep to myself.
The only education you need in this world you will never find in a public school anyway. And that is economics. The irony of living in a capitalist society is that in its public schools you are never thought that all important education you need to make it in our society!
You have to find a way to educate yourself in this area because your government and its public schools will never teach you this.
Once you do educate yourself in this area and can tell the difference between when your government puts out a report on the latest jobless rate, and you know the real numbers are never reported, congratulate yourself because you have seen the light and are on your way to becoming a complete human being. But only you have that power.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I agree with you that school was largely a waste of time. Now I know, believe Me, that saying that makes Me sound like an über-nerd (and I pretty much looked like one!), but I learned FAR more from books, some TV and from simply wandering into university classrooms when I was 12, 13 and 14 than from sitting in a classroom watching an incompetent oaf mumble his or her way through another payday.
I know I sound arrogant (I call Myself the Jenius for a reason), but being able to talk to someone who’s head isn’t wrapped in “I Don’t Know and I Don’t Care” is increasingly rare. However, I have the good fortune of knowing some 10-12 people with whom I can sit down and talk about a variety of things and LEARN something, hopefully, while teaching them a thing or two.
At first I didn’t agree with your assessment that economics was all a person needed to learn, but on second thought, you may be right. Far too many people treat money and its uses like a mirage, a self-propelled fantasy, and end up getting crushed under the reality and banality of its existence. I would add that before learning about economics, learn HOW to learn. You know you did it (witness your esperiences) and I know I did and neither of Us learned HOW in school. That’s what I’m trying to frame now for My son: a way for him to learn how to learn. I can’t tell him or show him how: he has to do that on his own. But I will certainly guide him along the way. And as for forging ahead of his classmates, I’ll encourage him to keep doing it: settling for “average” or “mediocrity” is a sin too many of Us already commit.
Thank you and best wishes.