I also went to school with a kid who knew more than the teachers. Exceptionally intelligent. All through school he got nearly 100% every time in maths, science and english without fail, and always straight A's in every subject. In the final year of school he once got 99% for a maths test and there was an uproar, and he eventually proved the teachers wrong and got 100%. In English he wrote such great essays that the teachers said that compared to other essays that got 100% his essays were worth 150%, and they said that his writing was beyond anything they had ever seen and they personally could never write so good. No jokes. Everyone knew years before he was goung to get the highest marks in the school and come close to topping the state. He was not quite as clever as my uncle (the kid needed to study), but he was still mind blowingly bright, and he had an ego and posh voice to go with it.

There was one thing he never topped the school with, and that was music. That was my subject. He hated that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2015 10:39PM by The Sproutarian Man.

Music. My first love. Sigh.

My mother, who was an opera singer, told me not to major in music. She said, "anything but music."

(my mother majored in music)

I still wish that I hadn't listened to her, even though I know she meant to spare me pain and disappointment.

"I did not apply for any scholarships but I co-oped with an engineering firm and they paid for my last two years. In grad school I had TAs and RAs so I didn't have to pay."

What was the deal with the co-op? What are TA's and RA's?

Co-op: You alternate terms of work and school, pretty much guaranteed a job on graduation. I don't know if they are still doing it these days.

TA = teaching assistantship. you teach, they give you a stipend, pay your tuition and books.

RA = research assistantship. you do research, same deal.

arugula Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Music. My first love. Sigh.
>
> My mother, who was an opera singer, told me not to
> major in music. She said, "anything but music."
>
> (my mother majored in music)
>
> I still wish that I hadn't listened to her, even
> though I know she meant to spare me pain and
> disappointment.


Music would have had fun and brilliant moments, but yes, moments full of pain and disappointment were the reasons l never persued it. Lots of boring times would have been had too.

Would have loved to have been a conductor of a top orchestra too (dream job), but that would have had many crummy moments when players don't play with the interpretation you wanted. Anyway, l probably wouldn't have been any good without years of top teaching and experience in conducting. I hear so many top orchestras that don't play with the inpretation l want to hear and it is such a downer. So many top players, but so few really hit the spot for me. But of course there are those iconic performances where everything is perfect, and it makes it all worth while....and it makes your eyes and soul sparkle brighter than ever and gets you on cloud 10 with a crazy smile on your face and lots of tears. Sometimes all you want to do is cry at the beauty and cry for joy and never stop. I love those conductors that hardly move their arms or fingers, they stand still....shows how well trained the orchestra are.

Sorry to get off topic.

www.thesproutarian.com



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2015 12:03AM by The Sproutarian Man.

TSM I am like that with interpretations, too. Inordinately picky, yet totally transformed by the perfect performance. Always looking for new highs. And when I get them, wow wow wow wow wow. What a high!

I am more into solo piano than orchestra, though. I don't consider myself to be a connoisseur of conductors and I don't think they are equally inspired by all that they conduct and this includes not only the work and the ensembles but the individuals in the ensembles.

I also imagine it's quite difficult for them to maintain the same level of enthusiasm for works they have conducted hundreds to thousands of time.

Despite the dumbing down that's going on these days it's a lot harder to get into the really good Universities. It's just insanely competitive. One of my nieces (who is a junior in high school) told me she was not happy with her ACT score and is going to take the test again. She got a 34.

Sue, they have ridiculous quotas. Mine has to serve all the counties in my state.

They have to admit x number of students from each county.

They have to admit x number of students whose parents did not go to college but made their living through agriculture.

And so on.

I have seen a number of remarkable young people get turned away.

One thing that make them stand out is extracurriculars. You can consider two equally talented people--one gets turned down because he or she did not join the drama club in high school.

My uni is one of the largest in the country. It is very competitive to get in. But some of my students have me scratching my head, wondering how they got in. The answer is most certainly not academics.

Very sorry for all the digressions in this tread.

One last side track and l will get back on topic.


arugula Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> TSM I am like that with interpretations, too.
> Inordinately picky, yet totally transformed by the
> perfect performance. Always looking for new highs.
> And when I get them, wow wow wow wow wow. What a
> high!

Yep, the ultimate high. And if you do powerful meditation before the music it is almost like going to heaven. You buzz!



>
> I am more into solo piano than orchestra, though.
> I don't consider myself to be a connoisseur of
> conductors and I don't think they are equally
> inspired by all that they conduct and this
> includes not only the work and the ensembles but
> the individuals in the ensembles.


Yes! Conductors make or break pieces, and you can easily tell many aren't inspired or bored with various music because they don't go the extra mile and bring out the best in the players. They let medicocre interpretations go and it makes me grit my teeth.


>
> I also imagine it's quite difficult for them to
> maintain the same level of enthusiasm for works
> they have conducted hundreds to thousands of time.


Yes, same goes with the players but when the players and conductor are keen the magic happens, but that is more the exception than the rule.

I remember watching Leonard Bernstein give a masterclass in conducting an orchestra. Blew my mind and put chills up my spine and put tears in my eyes thinking of his conducting brilliance. Wow, what a genious!!!


That's it, the last word l am saying on music in this thread.

arugula Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sue, they have ridiculous quotas. Mine has to
> serve all the counties in my state.
>
> They have to admit x number of students from each
> county.
>
> They have to admit x number of students whose
> parents did not go to college but made their
> living through agriculture.
>
> And so on.
>
> I have seen a number of remarkable young people
> get turned away.
>
> One thing that make them stand out is
> extracurriculars. You can consider two equally
> talented people--one gets turned down because he
> or she did not join the drama club in high
> school.
>
> My uni is one of the largest in the country. It is
> very competitive to get in. But some of my
> students have me scratching my head, wondering how
> they got in. The answer is most certainly not
> academics.
>
> Very sorry for all the digressions in this tread.

I really think it used to be easier. One of my brothers, who wasn't even a valedictorian, graduated from the University of Illinois as an engineer (back when that was even higher in the ratings than today) after going to the local community college for two years. I doubt that could happen these days.

My niece runs cross country, is class president, is in the drama club, does community service, wins spelling bees, and has played piano since she was 4 - but she says she wants to ace the SAT so she can choose from all the schools she's interested in. I guess if there is someone like her at every high school that's what they've got to do to get where they want to be.

Johan G. Fichte (1762-1814) e xplained that " education should aim at destroying free will, so that after pupils have left school, they would be incapable, throughout the rest of their days, of thinking or acting otherwise
than as their school masters would have wished. Diet, injections and inunctions will combine, from a very early age, to produce the kind of character and belief that the authorities consider desirable."

The very work Education is a tricky misnomer. The schools are not designed to educate but to domesticate . Their purpose is to train children like horses and dogs. Children are brainwashed and mind-conditioned to do
the things and to think the thoughts which those in authority want them to do and to think . They are trained to accept without prejudice and to obey without question the dictates of authority. This training is so deeply instilled
that only a few are ever able to recover from the effects of it , and they are smeared as enemies of civilization.

NuNativs Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Johan G. Fichte (1762-1814) e xplained that "
> education should aim at destroying free will, so
> that after pupils have left school, they would be
> incapable, throughout the rest of their days, of
> thinking or acting otherwise
> than as their school masters would have wished.
> Diet, injections and inunctions will combine, from
> a very early age, to produce the kind of character
> and belief that the authorities consider
> desirable."
>
> The very work Education is a tricky misnomer. The
> schools are not designed to educate but to
> domesticate . Their purpose is to train children
> like horses and dogs. Children are brainwashed and
> mind-conditioned to do
> the things and to think the thoughts which those
> in authority want them to do and to think . They
> are trained to accept without prejudice and to
> obey without question the dictates of authority.
> This training is so deeply instilled
> that only a few are ever able to recover from the
> effects of it , and they are smeared as enemies of
> civilization.



History... Connected: The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America w/ Charlotte Iserbyt
[www.youtube.com]


You understand well. The schools largely aim at educating you in the way they want you to think. Think outside the box and you will fail in many cases. Do a Ph D and bring up disvoveries that threaten previous ideas imposed by the system and you will never work again in that field.

The lawyers also get taught the scraps, because the last thing the system wants is millions of lawyers who know the `real' law and gaining power in the system. What the judges learn and what the common lawyers know is worlds apart. They teach the slaves version of law, and now we have star chamber defacto judges where we are made to bow before them like a God (dark forces stuff).

I bet you the history taught in schools in not the real history either, it would be history taught from the perspective of the rulers.

Economics/accounting/business is based on a lie also. It is the slaves version of business.

The science seems to be largely based on a lie too imo, l am sure people are being taught the scraps there too.

The medical science is based on a lie too as we know.

Nearly everything seems to be based on the lie except for some of the arts based on talent and ability.

Lots of dull people who excel in school who are slaves to the thinking imposed by the system. Perfect little slaves who believe everything they read in books, hear on the news and are told by the defacto authorities. Tell the average person to jump and they'll ask `how high'. The average person is a beaten little slave to scared to stand up to anything...they are scared like little rabbits.

They shouldn't call the education system `school', they should call it `slave school' or `school for mindless slaves who have no respect for themselves'. It so so easy to control people, especially when they are on the chemicals and have books and t.v. So sad that it is sickening.

www.thesproutarian.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2015 06:25AM by The Sproutarian Man.

The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I also went to school with a kid who knew more
> than the teachers. Exceptionally intelligent. All
> through school he got nearly 100% every time in
> maths, science and english without fail, and
> always straight A's in every subject. In the final
> year of school he once got 99% for a maths test
> and there was an uproar, and he eventually proved
> the teachers wrong and got 100%. In English he
> wrote such great essays that the teachers said
> that compared to other essays that got 100% his
> essays were worth 150%, and they said that his
> writing was beyond anything they had ever seen and
> they personally could never write so good. No
> jokes. Everyone knew years before he was goung to
> get the highest marks in the school and come close
> to topping the state. He was not quite as clever
> as my uncle (the kid needed to study), but he was
> still mind blowingly bright, and he had an ego and
> posh voice to go with it.

The world is a big place with lots of smart talented people. So what is this guy doing now? Have we heard of him or was he just a local guy who once stood out for having promise once upon a time?


> There was one thing he never topped the school
> with, and that was music. That was my subject. He
> hated that.

I get whiplash from watching you run back and forth between snobbery and reverse snobbery, etc., around here, lol.

SueZ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I also went to school with a kid who knew more
> > than the teachers. Exceptionally intelligent.
> All
> > through school he got nearly 100% every time in
> > maths, science and english without fail, and
> > always straight A's in every subject. In the
> final
> > year of school he once got 99% for a maths test
> > and there was an uproar, and he eventually
> proved
> > the teachers wrong and got 100%. In English he
> > wrote such great essays that the teachers said
> > that compared to other essays that got 100% his
> > essays were worth 150%, and they said that his
> > writing was beyond anything they had ever seen
> and
> > they personally could never write so good. No
> > jokes. Everyone knew years before he was goung
> to
> > get the highest marks in the school and come
> close
> > to topping the state. He was not quite as
> clever
> > as my uncle (the kid needed to study), but he
> was
> > still mind blowingly bright, and he had an ego
> and
> > posh voice to go with it.
>
> The world is a big place with lots of smart
> talented people. So what is this guy doing now?
> Have we heard of him or was he just a local guy
> who once stood out for having promise once upon a
> time?



Ironically he enrolled in a maths/science course with a low entry score, completed that in record time, did his masters in a maths (I think) in record time and then went to work for the government in a laboritory and no-one seems to know what has happened to him. He hasn't become famous in the world of science or maths by changing the world. In other words, he is just another person working in a lab. We always thought he would change the world, but nothing. I can't help feel that he wasted his abilities.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2015 08:32PM by The Sproutarian Man.