* SCHOOL: "If I want to learn about something, I should attend to school/college/university."They give you high grades in school for obeying the teachers and kissing their asses. Parents give you love for being a good student, and not just for being their child. So education here becomes a manipulative tool for control. It's not the education of the student that matters, but rather how they can be exploited. Most teachers don't really care if their students learn anything - they get paid nonetheless, and their excuse is that the students are lazy. So in this system, everyone is doing something for all the wrong reasons. The incentives are totally twisted and bizarre. Students end up procrastinating, because their motivation has been murdered. School is a form of imprisonment: it limits your freedom and it scars you for life.
Wrong. I can easily learn things on my own by reading books, watching video tutorials, modeling, and practicing. Educational institutes create the illusion of a professional environment, but trust me: you can easily learn everything on your own, without being pressured by rules and authority.
* OBLIGATION: "I must study or else I'll be punished."
Not true. Education is a choice. Because schools make it obligatory to attend, one can be left with the impression that education as a whole is a must. You get scolded when you're absent, you get shamed for low grades. It's like a prison you get sent to, but you have to realize that education itself is not imprisonment, but rather liberation.
* CHORES: "Although studying is not a pleasant task, I should get it done for my own good."
Not really. I find it pleasant to learn about things I'm curious about. Schools make it seem like a chore because they make you study shit you don't necessarily care about. They make you compromise for the sake of good grades, or else you get punished.
* OBEYING AUTHORITY: "I should study because that's what teachers and parents tell me to do."
Wrong. Studying is not about following orders, it's about advancing my knowledge. Educational institutes promote ranks and hierarchy. If you refuse to obey, you get scolded and punished. But fuck what your parents and teachers say. They don't care about your intellectual development, all they wanna do is be in control and look important. You're the only one responsible for your education, so forget this bullshit.
* COMPETITION: "I should study because I shouldn't stay behind."
Absolutely not. I'm free to take as much time as I need to fully understand the lessons. Grades create the impression that education is some sort of a game where one wins or loses. Grades pressure students to rush things and compare each other hierarchically. There are no grades in real life.
* RESPECT: "I should study if I respect my teachers/parents."
Not true. Showing respect has nothing to do with advancing my knowledge. To say the least, if you study a subject that you're interested in, you respect yourself, not anybody else. Teachers and parents create the impression that if you don't do well in school, you're being disrespectful. Horseshit.
* BEING MORAL: "I'm a bad person if I don't want to study."
Wrong. Not being motivated means I have no clear interest in the subject. It has nothing to do with morality. Knowledge can make you a better person, but not necessarily. Resisting boring information, resisting to obey authority, and resisting to attend, have NOTHING to do with being a good person.
* SOCIAL STATUS: "I should study or else I'm a loser." or "I'm a loser if I study too much."
No. There are no winners and losers. This is not a game, it's just a process. Students resent good achievers because good achievers at school are often also good slaves and asskissers. In real life, that is not really the case, as intelligent people are not followers, but rather leaders.
Studying is really just the process of learning something new. Nothing more, nothing less. People learn all the time without even realizing it. They think they're having fun when they're playing a new game, and guess what: they have to learn the game. They have to study the whole thing in order to become skillful and beat it. Etc. In order to take advantage of college, have this in mind: you are in this class because you demand guidance and help with the subject that you wish to learn. You are in this class for knowledge, not for grades. You are in this class because you chose to, and you DON'T have to comply with anything that you dislike about it, including the teacher's instructions. This class is NOT a game, and there are no winners and losers - the school grades are fatuous - they are NOT an indicator of your intellect, and they are NOT an indicator of your worthiness.
