The public schools work well for some people, but they don't work well for me. Basically, public school is an exercise in faith and futility. They don't give you any career information until late in the game, so you have no way of knowing that this is important for your life. Basically, it always seemed like a waste of time to me. I was always bored stiff, sitting in the back of the classroom, and staring at the ceiling. I would act up, not pay attention, and fall behind on my lessons. A lot of teachers thought I was stupid, but I was just bored. If they had given me some job information and told me more about what I could do with my education when I grew up, I might have paid more attention.
I'm a pretty typical kid in most respects. I want to make money, I want to live a good life, and I want to have a beautiful wife and a nice house. Something like career salary information could have really gotten me interested. Unfortunately, we didn't get any jobs information until high school. By that time it was too late. In elementary and middle school, we were supposed to pay attention just because we were told to.
When I finally had a job placement test in ninth grade, it was already somewhat late in the game. I found out that I was very interested in business and that it would make a good career for me. Unfortunately, however, I had been doing so poorly in school for so long that it didn't matter. My counselor told me that I should give up and set my goals lower, but that made me want to work harder. I looked at the career information, and I knew that I had a long way to go, but I was willing to go there. If I had to spend a couple years at the junior college before I could get into a university, I would do that.
Fortunately, there was some very good career information at the counseling office. I found out what I needed to know, what kind of grades I needed to get, and what my future prospects were. A great thing about America is, even if you screw up the first time, you usually get a second chance. Between community colleges and job placement services, there is always a way to advance yourself. If you get your career information too late and fall behind, however, it takes a lot longer.
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