Death By Education

I understand that the message for the next generation is, and always will be that attending school will one day lead to a successful lifestyle. On the contrary, dropping out of school, and the use of drugs is highly frowned upon and should be avoided in order to prosper. This idea of life has given definitions to words such as, " genius", "education", "successful", and any thing else that can be specified by its generation. Life has defined us, leading most to take these definitions at face value. I would like to see a society that turns it around and begins to define life, rather than letting life be the ultimate sole definition. School is seen as a necessity because it is how we learn and gain "knowledge." What we learn is then transferred into numbers or letters that will define our future. The intellectual essence of a person is widely viewed as being based upon an individuals academic performance. I personally believe this is a bunch of bullshit. What we take in every second of every day is our knowledge. What we give and receive, influence, and become influenced by, is what truly defines ones intellect. To say that a letter grade is the representation of our understanding of "life" is selling us all short. A genius is not one that receives a GPA of 4.0, rather it is someone who processes his or her surroundings by application. The influential aspect of it all is really what we should be studying and putting our work into. Abiding by the societal norm of sitting in a classroom and learning, in my opinion, is counter productive. If we are being forced to learn, only to receive a good grade, then can you really classify that as learning? I don't think so. Knowledge and growth comes from the desire, the choice, the action, and the result. If it is forced, it is merely just a brain process being carried out. It may be classified under "education," but surely it is not learning. We learn by being, a complex simplicity. How we maintain in every aspect is the real basis of intellect. A genius learns to live in the most beneficial, yet personalized way. Universal becomes introspective, and ultimately, we all are a genius of our kind.