The most successful students become university professors
When kids are in diapers, their parents enroll them into primary school. If all goes right, the right primary school could mean the right high school.
No room for error though, so the kids are put in piano, Japanese, speech and drama, voice, painting, soccer, violin, tennis, dancing and deportment classes.
They got in? Great job!
Right, high school time. Marching band, United Nations community-building initiatives, maths club, speaking competitions, official school photographer, Physics Olympiads preparations, cheerleading, science fairs, bake fairs, school plays, volunteer work, president of the Student Representatives, school magazine editor and as many competitions as you can enter. Study a couple of hours each day. Graduate valedictorian. Have they done enough to get into a good university??
They got in? Great job!
…
Childhood is now a protracted process of university entrance. The most successful undergrads go on and do their masters. The most successful masters students go on to do their PhD. The most successful PhD students go on to become university professors.
February 28th, 2009 at 11:53 PM
Success is how you define it - the academic route is just one option.
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:22 PM
Hey msars!
That is so true. This blog post took the purely academic view of success though, as you noted. :)
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Marita
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:24 PM
I agree with msars - not becoming a professor doesn’t mean you’re not as successful.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:47 AM
Hi Richard,
In this post, I am referring to the purely academic route of success.
I think people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who dropped out of university are successful. Richard Branson, who dropped out of high school is successful. Many, many people who drop out of high school and university do and can go on to lead what many people who deem to be very successful lives, and have very successful careers.
Of course, not becoming a professor doesn’t mean you’re not as successful.
The post was more a reference to early education being a protracted process of university entrance, and a protraction of theme that beyond getting into university.
Thanks for reading and commenting! :)
Marita
March 3rd, 2009 at 2:27 PM
Interesting read.
It really depends on the interpretation of success, here as I understand it, is the success of a student, purely academic as Marita has pointed out.
Success in life however can be attained elsewhere, while I must point out that becoming a professor may not exactly equal success in this sense.