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CHAPTER 6
was heavily into music. In high school, I failed or almost failed most of the critical courses. I was doing really poorly, but I had a lot of friends and hosted two variety shows. I couldn’t do science at all, or I took bird courses like environmental science. I thank the lord I could take two years of typing!
ANDREW: At Ryerson, in my Graphic Communications program, we had to take an elective. I took literature each year just because I figured that was ea- siest. The third year was the most intense of the four-year program; I was com- pletely overwhelmed. I also bought Coles notes and didn’t finish reading all the books because they were so long. I wasn’t very proud of that because I was- n’t doing the required reading. Because I had to focus on the business and technical courses, I let the literature course go.
I think the big problem with the educational system is that it’s designed to churn out people like me, that is, placid automatons who sit at a desk for eight or nine hours a day and just work. The whole concept of grading came from the Industrial Revolution, where products were graded for quality. That’s OK for products; not so good for children. If you’re a young creative person, an entrepreneur, or a free thinker, school can be very damaging.
The power of testing or grading is not understood by many educators. Where it is seen as a part of the learning process, it can be a powerful tool to accelerate learning. Where it is seen as a comparative tool, it serves a limited purpose and is more often a hindrance to learning. It can be de- structive to the whole process, including the student.
MICHAEL: That brings me to my career. After graduating in May of 1986, I had a job with a children’s record company from May to October. In October, I went to Europe and travelled until April 1987.
On my return, I got a job at the Record Peddler, selling records across Canada. They were a distribution company, and I was paid $8 an hour. In September of 1987, I wound up at a huge multinational record company, which I thought was my dream job.
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