Social Structure

For this entry I took a look at the social structure of the United States education system.  Social structure is defined as: the framework of society that exists above the level of individuals and provides the social setting in which individuals interact with one another to form relationships.  To relate this to the education system we must understand that there are national, state, district, and individual school structures to the education system within the United States.  Each one implements a different type of authority that or structure that guides us to accomplish set goals.  Nationally we might have to meet certain test scores to enter college or graduate.  Each state might have a specific test that each student must pass to meet national requirements.  It is a hierarchal approach to social structure.

The individual school structure or requirements is what I am more familiar with.  Each school sets standards or ways of teaching that are supposed to further your education.  My high school was not exactly the most renowned school in the state of Minnesota, but it accomplished what had to be done.  Ultimately, all I had to do was pass high school and pass the mandatory state tests to earn my degree.  But what if I wanted to go to college?

This is where I saw the importance of the social structure within our school systems.  Grades.  Grades are ultimately what determined if I would make it to college one day.  Also, it wasn't just grades but the difficulty of the class I was taking.  I knew that if I were to finish high school with a high GPA that would be awesome, but the social structure insisted that I could get a lower grade in a more difficult class and colleges would respect that much more.  Is this a flaw within our social structure or is it the right thing to implement?  I was an advocate for the AP or Honors classes because they made me concentrate on a specific issue within a subject and elaborate more.  This helped me build more thinking skills that I still use today.  These classes set me up for success within my college courses.

I never thought about the social structure that was implemented into my brain from a young age.  But is it truly fair to say that if someone doesn't have a high GPA or test scores in high school that they are dumb?  There are plenty of people that I know personally who are extremely smart, but they accomplished neither a high GPA or excellent test scores.  Most of which have a very entrepreneurial mindset.  This is why I am skeptical of the social structure that has been pounded into our brains for years now.

Do you think only good students end up successful?  Think again...
Check out these extremely successful people who did not even graduate college... or high school for some of them!

http://www.neatorama.com/2009/10/13/7-highly-successful-high-school-dropouts/

Funny how you can follow the structure of society and it will bring you success, but you can also break the social structure and create your own success.  As an entrepreneur I have much respect for the people who rebel against the norms and I hope people continue to do this!