You mentioned you are trying to get into tech but with a different route, so what you are thinking of majoring in? Just curious.
@RMNiMiTz Right now I’m definitely majoring in CS with an additional major in either sociology or Africana studies. I want to use technology to figure out the best ways to help underserved communities.
Digital activism/storytelling (making easily accessible resources and not just ranting on Twitter) is a huge interest of mine. I want to serve real people and not shareholders. I also want to research the specific effects technology has had (or not had) on certain populations. There’s definitely no money in this, but I don’t really care.
I’d probably have to work in the tech field for a couple of years(I’m poorer than dirt), but this is my end goal.
I hate the way the education field is going right now. It’s all STEM and pre-professionalism. It’s like when my Asian parents told me at the age of 5 that I was going to be a doctor, except now that mentality is being applied to the education system, and I think it’s absolutely disgusting. The humanities and arts are just as important, and I find it closed-minded and depressing that our education system finds it more useful to put us into tracks as early as middle school in the name of efficiency and “academic success.” The thing that pisses me off the most about it is that we’re replacing programs like art, music, and foreign languages with STEM programs so schools could raise their rankings and get more funding from the government.
I believe that the arts and humanities are what makes us human. We become more creative and free-thinking the more that we’re exposed to different perspectives, whether they be from the present or the past. The more that schools push pre-professionalism and STEM programs, the more people become no more than robots. Schools become factories, and society becomes more like a machine. Education is supposed to serve the student AND society, not just the latter. We can become more efficient through these programs and that might lead us to greater innovations, but at the same time, who do we become as people? Society turns into a technocracy and success becomes measured by who has the most specialized education. We become homogeneous, and those who “can’t keep up” are left behind when their knowledge and capabilities are just as valuable.
Education has stopped having the student in mind now. It’s all about how to make everything else better. It stopped being about getting a student to reach their full potential. Now, it’s only about finding and nurturing the students who seem like they will be most useful.
I love STEM and might even be a STEM major in the future, but I hate how society views people like me as the “model students.” Not everyone is like me nor should they be, but that’s how schools get their money. I hate capitalism. It’s always about the money.
Note: before anyone gets into a capitalism vs. socialism vs. whatever debate with me, I just want to preface it by saying that it’s perfectly fine to dislike something while still believing it is better than something else; ie. I hate capitalism but that doesn’t mean I believe communism is any better
The arts and humanities are important, but the jobs simply aren’t there. What we have (at least in my opinion) is an unbalanced education system. Too many people are majoring in liberal arts, where there aren’t jobs, and too few are going into STEM.
I will be honest, studying history and reading is probably my greatest passion. But I will be majoring in electrical engineering because that is what is required. I may get a liberal arts minor (but I could end up with a minor in military science instead-it really depends on my free time).
Isn’t that exactly what society is? A society is designed for make humans more efficient in achieving their goals, in harnessing the manpower required for a common cause.
Again, I disagree with you here. A technocracy is inevitable. It is inevitable because it is always more efficient and will crush those other forms of society in its path. If we have 2 societies and one of them is the more efficient technocracy, then that society will conquer the other and the only society left will be a technocracy. I hate to sound dystopian, but this is what the future appears to be heading down.
Correct me if I am wrong, but hasn’t that always been the purpose of technical education? To make people more useful and productive?
You are trying to take enlightened education and force it into technical education. By this, I mean the traditional liberal arts universities, which were designed to train gentlemen in the arts of philosophy and rhetoric. Unfortunately, that type of education is only meant for the rich (who already have the money) and not for the masses.
That’s because money, at its base, is the easiest to understand and use as an incentive. Just as a side note, what sort of economic system do you propose to replace capitalism? I’m just curious about your views, no need to start any drama.
Hey guys! I haven’t been on in a while because my computer got busted. But it’s better now, and here I am!
Senior Year Schedule:
AP Gov
AP Lang
French 4 (it’s like DE but through a HS teacher not a college prof?)
Stats (same as above)
Infectious Diseases (0.5 credit)
Gym (0.5 credit)
Vocal Jazz (0.5 credit)
Band and Chorus (together make 1 credit)
College list is kind of all over the place as well as my intended major (I went through a kind of panic and realized I have no idea what I want to do and I kinda just want to learn everything haha) but here’s some I’ve been looking into:
Kent State University
West Virginia State University
Something in the CUNY system through the CUNY BA system
(the above colleges have similar “multidisciplinary studies” majors where you select 2-3 different areas of study and make it your major. It’s pretty cool)
SUNY Geneseo and Fredonia are looking pretty good, too
and I’m thinking of going into music theater again, because it’s the one thing I’m truly passionate about, so I’m making my reach AMDA (American Music and Drama Academy).
As you can see, I’m all over the place. I’m thinking of auditioning for the theater programs at Kent, Fredonia, and AMDA. If I don’t get into any of those, obviously AMDA is out for good but at Kent and Fredonia when I apply I can choose secondary majors. And then of course I’m applying to WVU and Geneseo too. I don’t know, I’m kind of all over the place…
As for my summer plans, I’m planning on auditioning for my local community theater’s youth production of Fame next week (shows in August). I’m also still planning on taking Sociology, but I need to hurry and take the prereq English test in order to be able to take the test. Also in there somewhere is college app stuff (probably the essays) and doing summer work for my AP classes next year. Not as prestigious or as impressive as the stuff you guys are going to be doing, but I think I’ll have a good time as well as being productive this summer!
@Marg532 Have you thought to ask your music/private lesson teachers for some options? They always know where to find the hidden gems, the schools that are really in need of a specific instrument/voice part, and those that give away a lot of scholarships. Definitely start with any of your teachers or mentors.
@Hamlon I’m going to talk to my chorus teacher about my options sometime this week. She’s an advocate of Potsdam, which I’m personally not a fan of (very Arctic-like winters, and I think I have it bad here in WNY!), but the entire music department except for her are alums from Fredonia. Our county music education organization has a scholarship for kids going into music-related degrees, too. I know a lot of these options are there, except I’m scared that I’m going to fail (which is why I have plenty of backup options haha)
@oPhilippos I agree. One of my favorite articles is called, “To Write Better Code, Read Virginia Woolf.” I’m super involved in music and it has helped me become a better (and faster) thinker. I focus the most when I have to work through a difficult passage or memorize a vocal solo. I feel like studying music for so long has really helped me grow as a person by showing me solutions don’t have to be rigid and that there is always another way.
My US History SAT is in 3 weeks! So close yet so far away
@merc81, @apple23, agree that Hamilton has an excellent math department with 10% of the students majoring in same; I think only Bowdoin and Williams share that amongst the NESCAC schools.
I have an outline for my world history research paper due tomorrow. and I have no idea what i’m doing it on. Every time I research something related to it, I just don’t understand it. Idk what to do at this point. I just can’t focus on anything related to world history anymore. Like, I got a 77 on my last quiz because I just couldn’t absorb some of the info. I started out strong this semester, but idk what happened. It’s the only class I’ve been studying for this semester yet I can’t grasp it like I could earlier this year. It might be because I’ve been so busy, but I don’t know. It’s stressing me out.
Hey guys!
Here’s my senior year schedule:
AP Gov/Honors Econ
AP Calc bc
AP Literature
AP Biology
AP comp sci A
Madrigals
I’m really hoping I don’t have any schedule conflicts!
Here’s my college list:
Reach:
Brown
Rice
UCLA
Match:
University of Rochester
UCSD
Boston University
Safety:
Cal State Fullerton
UCI
Can I get your guys’ advice on my college list? Do you think UCI and University of Rochester can be considered a safety? I have a 1500, all A’s and mediocre EC’s. I’m so worried to call something a safety/match because I don’t want to end up without acceptances, but what’s rreally the case??
@acomfysofa I’m also taking the US History SAT in 3 weeks! I’m taking the Math II and Chemistry exams then as well.
HEY GUYS, haven’t been on all weekend as I was at prom Friday and Saturday. I also won prom queen for my school!! 
I agree about the major’s problem, personally at my school thy had bade the STEM club into a STEAM club to add the arts in and focus on that too. My major really depends on where I want to go. Overall, the majors are around biology, public/community health, international relations, global studies, global management, and if I have to nursing. My idea is to double major a science with a liberal arts kind of thing related to anything in the foreign studies as I think it would fully prepare me for what I want to do in the future.
Guess who just had a spanish quiz they didn’t know about. Whoops. Anyway, my two least favorite classes are shortened by an hour due to state testing, and my two favorites are a full class! I’m super happy because it’s literally the opposite of last semester. Plus, I got to come in two hours late.
My schedule right now is so bs, I literally have one class on Monday, Wenesdsy, and Friday. It sounds great but they’res an hour commute each way and I’m bored. I’m just ready for summer cause I’ve actually got stuff to do then.
Is anyone planning on applying to Minerva at KGI?
So this is a question I thought I’d ask for a while, which one of us is likely going to start our college apps first?
I’m probably going to start my apps in July/August. I’m probably going to apply to VT and UPitt first.
Also, I literally had the most chill day of school EVER!! Because of state testing, we literally had 1st period twice an then I had a free 5th period and I’m basically watching videos in third period. We watched the Bee Movie in Spanish class too. I literally could’ve slept today.