Jaden Smith: If Everyone "Dropped Out of School," Society Would Be "More Intelligent"

[Theocrat]

http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/66358-jaden-smith-if-everyone-dropped-out-of-school-society-would-be-more-intelligent/1379356439_jaden-smith-article.jpg

Will Smith's son, Jaden Smith, recently Tweeted against public education (http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/jaden-smith-if-everyone-dropped-out-of-school-society-would-be-more-intelligent-2013169#ixzz2fABSyZcy).

The mainstream media went crazy:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9UhCiCb_4U&feature=youtu.be

[angelatc]

Life's easy when you're the son of a popular millionaire.


Society might have a lot more common sense if there were no schools, but anybody that's been to the backwoods of Appalachia knows darned well that no schoolin' doesn't make for the the smartest folks.

[dannno]

anybody that's been to the backwoods of Appalachia knows darned well that no schoolin' doesn't make for the the smartest folks.

Well when you don't start out with the smartest folks...


I think he was making a statement more about our public education system than education in general.

[heavenlyboy34]

Life's easy when you're the son of a popular millionaire.


Society might have a lot more common sense if there were no schools, but anybody that's been to the backwoods of Appalachia knows darned well that no schoolin' doesn't make for the the smartest folks.
schooling =/= education. (I've heard of people making it all the way through grad school completely illiterate) As I understand it, that's the general philosophy of the unschooling folks as well.

[Snew]

props to Jaden.

[kathy88]

Just because he's privileged doesn't make him wrong.

[Natural Citizen]

http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/66358-jaden-smith-if-everyone-dropped-out-of-school-society-would-be-more-intelligent/1379356439_jaden-smith-article.jpg

Will Smith's son, Jaden Smith, recently Tweeted against public education (http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/jaden-smith-if-everyone-dropped-out-of-school-society-would-be-more-intelligent-2013169#ixzz2fABSyZcy).

The mainstream media went crazy:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9UhCiCb_4U&feature=youtu.be

Forge

[mad cow]

Life's easy when you're the son of a popular millionaire.


Society might have a lot more common sense if there were no schools, but anybody that's been to the backwoods of Appalachia knows darned well that no schoolin' doesn't make for the the smartest folks.

Some of us can only dream of moving to the backwoods of Appalachia. :(

[Dr.3D]

No amount of education will make ever make a person smarter/more intelligent. You are born with all the I.Q. you will ever have.

[donnay]

Applauds Will Smith and his wife!

[amy31416]

Must know a thing or two about the US' educational system to make such a comment. I commend him.

[heavenlyboy34]

No amount of education will make ever make a person smarter/more intelligent. You are born with all the I.Q. you will ever have.
Meh....so many different theories of "intelligence" out there...ya never know. ~shrugs~

[angelatc]

Well when you don't start out with the smartest folks...

Seriously? You think they're genetically dumb?



I think he was making a statement more about our public education system than education in general.

Do we really think he went to public schools? Sorry, but getting all excited about what a 15 year old Hollywood royal thinks about what we mundanes do and don't require isn't something I'm prepared to do.

[angelatc]

Some of us can only dream of moving to the backwoods of Appalachia. :(

Sure. It's much easier to be the smartest guy in the room there.

[donnay]

Jaden Smith is homeschooled.

[mad cow]

No amount of education will make ever make a person smarter/more intelligent. You are born with all the I.Q. you will ever have.

Three words:

Fresh American Seafood.

[heavenlyboy34]

Seriously? You think they're genetically dumb?

Do we really think he went to public schools? Sorry, but getting all excited about what a 15 year old Hollywood royal thinks about what we mundanes do and don't require isn't something I'm prepared to do.
Doubleplusungood. You're officially uncool like HB. :(:toady:

[angelatc]

Must know a thing or two about the US' educational system to make such a comment. I commend him.

I wouldn't be so quick to do that.
"People Use To Ask Me What Do You Wanna Be When You Get Older And I Would Say What A Stupid Question The Real Question Is What Am I Right Now"
"All The Rules In This World Were Made By Someone No Smarter Than You. So Make Your Own."

"School Is The Tool To Brainwash The Youth"
"Education Is Rebellion. If Newborn Babies Could Speak They Would Be The Most Intelligent Beings On Planet Earth."

"If Everybody In The World Dropped Out Of School We Would Have A Much More Intelligent Society . . . Everybody Get Off Your Phones And Go Do What You Actually Wanna Do."



He can't even properly capitalize his sentences. And he wasn't talking about only public school - he was talking about school in general. And I won't even get into the fact that "Education Is Rebellion" seems to contradict his anti-education theme.

To get a job, you need skills that you learn in school. Well, unless you're the son of two famous rich people who can use their power to get movies produced, starring you. This kid will never know what its like to apply for a job at McDonalds, much less applying for a job at McD's when you can't spell.

I assume that most of the mundane details that we deal with (paying bills, investing money, legal issues) are all handled by people who went to ....school to learn a skill that allows them to provide a value to people like him.

But no way should he be treated like some wise all-knowing prophet.

[fr33]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omx5KrRVkMc

[catfeathers]

Sure. It's much easier to be the smartest guy in the room there.

You're welcome to come visit me in Eastern Kentucky and see if you still believe that after you meet my sons.

[Dr.3D]

Three words:

Fresh American Seafood.
One word, mercury.

[mad cow]

One word, mercury.

Adds weight.We get paid by the pound.

[Dr.3D]

Adds weight.We get paid by the pound.
And everybody knows that stuff makes people smarter.

[angelatc]

One word, mercury.

That's why the Japanese are known to be a stupid, sluggish people.

We've been through this before. There is absolutely no evidence that mercury in seafood accumulates in humans. Scientists are exploring several different theories about why this is.

This is a great example of why common sense isn't always superior to education.

[angelatc]

You're welcome to come visit me in Eastern Kentucky and see if you still believe that after you meet my sons.

Did they go to high school?

[Dr.3D]

That's why the Japanese are known to be a stupid, sluggish people.
Hummm.... guess I'll be just as stupid and sluggish as them now that I can't eat any animal protein other than fish.

Lately, I've eaten so darned much fish, my urine is starting to smell like fish.

[phill4paul]

H/T to Tim Leary. I'd rather everyone "Drop Into" alternative schooling.

[fr33]

If the power ever goes off for a long period of time, those hillbillies in the Appalachians will have had a superior education.

Hell I think they are smarter than most simply because they don't live in big cities; but that's just my personal preferences.

[catfeathers]

Did they go to high school?

Actually the older one dropped out and went to college for a while then I home schooled him through the rest of high school.
The younger one was home schooled since third grade and is in college now.
Neither one of my grandfathers went to school past third grade. One was a coal miner and one of the most intelligent people I have ever met.

It is infuriating to me when people, usually from up north, assume that Appalachians are stupid. My husband was in the military when we were first married so I have met people from all over the country and I know that intelligence is not regional.

[Saint Vitus]

I teach 16-24 year old drop outs at a U.S. Forest Service Job Corps. I am going to respectfully disagree with Jaden Smith.

[AFPVet]

It all depends on the type of education. Public education is a joke. I didn't learn anything from high school. In fact, I had to play catch up in college by taking a lot of remedial classes. I suppose that if you cheated your way through undergrad, you could make it into grad school illiterate... but universities that fail to catch this should have their accreditation revoked.

As far as intelligence goes, there are many theories about the various types of intelligence and how they can be measured. All that I know is that I felt "smarter" when I have been intellectually stimulated. I personally believe that people can increase or decrease their intelligence—depending on stimulation. The right kind of education can do this, but you don't need to go to an institution... just read books. Go to a library, research, exercise your brain.

[phill4paul]

Actually the older one dropped out and went to college for a while then I home schooled him through the rest of high school.
The younger one was home schooled since third grade and is in college now.
Neither one of my grandfathers went to school past third grade. One was a coal miner and one of the most intelligent people I have ever met.

It is infuriating to me when people, usually from up north, assume that Appalachians are stupid. My husband was in the military when we were first married so I have met people from all over the country and I know that intelligence is not regional.

I don't understand why you would equate occupation with intelligence. There is nothing keeping coal miners from being very intelligent.

[Saint Vitus]

It all depends on the type of education. Public education is a joke. I didn't learn anything from high school. In fact, I had to play catch up in college by taking a lot of remedial classes. I suppose that if you cheated your way through undergrad, you could make it into grad school illiterate... but universities that fail to catch this should have their accreditation revoked.

As far as intelligence goes, there are many theories about the various types of intelligence and how they can be measured. All that I know is that I felt "smarter" when I have been intellectually stimulated. I personally believe that people can increase or decrease their intelligence—depending on stimulation. The right kind of education can do this, but you don't need to go to an institution... just read books. Go to a library, research, exercise your brain.




I agree that most public education is a joke. I have taught in a public high school for 7 years, and I think that 75% of a students day is not focused on learning. That being said, most people learn basic reading and basic math from public education. Most of the dropouts that I now work with lack those two basic skills. Without basic math and reading skills, they are very unemployable.

[catfeathers]

I don't understand why you would equate occupation with intelligence. There is nothing keeping coal miners from being very intelligent.

I know there's nothing keeping a miner from being intelligent but some people think that they only went into the mines because they couldn't do anything else. These days it takes quite a bit of training to get a job in the mines. I'm proud my grandfather was a coal miner. He also loved to tinker with things. My oldest takes after him in that way.

My dad went to college and was a physics major, he's very intelligent too but in a different way than my grandfather was.

[Saint Vitus]

It all depends on the type of education. Public education is a joke. I didn't learn anything from high school. In fact, I had to play catch up in college by taking a lot of remedial classes. I suppose that if you cheated your way through undergrad, you could make it into grad school illiterate... but universities that fail to catch this should have their accreditation revoked.

As far as intelligence goes, there are many theories about the various types of intelligence and how they can be measured. All that I know is that I felt "smarter" when I have been intellectually stimulated. I personally believe that people can increase or decrease their intelligence—depending on stimulation. The right kind of education can do this, but you don't need to go to an institution... just read books. Go to a library, research, exercise your brain.




I agree that most public education is a joke. I have taught in a public high school for 7 years, and I think that 75% of a students day is not focused on learning. That being said, most people learn basic reading and basic math from public education. Most of the dropouts that I now work with lack those two basic skills. Without basic math and reading skills, they are very unemployable. Also, I do not agree with IQ as being the best measure of intelligence. I once worked with a supposedly 75 IQ student who could tell me almost everything about Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, the Carthaginians, etc. He knew more about ancient history than anyone I knew, yet he was supposedly borderline retarded.

[Dr.3D]

I don't understand why you would equate occupation with intelligence. There is nothing keeping coal miners from being very intelligent.
Some folks think smart people go to college and the dumber ones do jobs where no college education is required. They don't realize there are smart people out there who couldn't afford to go to college or possibly they don't understand those other jobs have to be done and for some reason people who have spent money on a college education don't seem to want to do them.

When I was doing plumbing, we used to say our motto was, "Your shit is our bread and butter." Those college educated folks can't seem to do their own plumbing.

[fr33]

I teach 16-24 year old drop outs at a U.S. Forest Service Job Corps. I am going to respectfully disagree with Jaden Smith.

I'm going to disrespectfully disagree with you because you are teaching people to join a system that should not exist.

[Saint Vitus]

Well I have already resigned, my last day is October 1st. I don't really like working for the federal government when I am philosophically opposed to it. However, Ron Paul was a huge supporter of Job Corps. There are several sources online that document speeches where he espoused the merits of Job Corps.

http://archives.republicans.edlabor.house.gov/archive/hearings/107th/fc/members32801/paul.htm



"My experience has convinced me Job Corps is one of the best uses of federal job training and education funds." - Ron Paul

He was also a member of the "Friends of Job Corps" Caucus.
http://www.njcaweb.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=99398

[heavenlyboy34]

I agree that most public education is a joke. I have taught in a public high school for 7 years, and I think that 75% of a students day is not focused on learning. That being said, most people learn basic reading and basic math from public education. Most of the dropouts that I now work with lack those two basic skills. Without basic math and reading skills, they are very unemployable.
Srsly? I learned to read at home and was reading to my peers in school while they were still learning. I thought more people than not taught reading and 'rithmetics at home. :confused:

[Saint Vitus]

Srsly? I learned to read at home and was reading to my peers in school while they were still learning. I thought more people than not taught reading and 'rithmetics at home. :confused:

If you have good parents, then that is true. Most of the people that I teach did not.

[fr33]

Well I have already resigned, my last day is October 1st. I don't really like working for the federal government when I am philosophically opposed to it. However, Ron Paul was a huge supporter of Job Corps. There are several sources online that document speeches where he espoused the merits of Job Corps.

http://archives.republicans.edlabor.house.gov/archive/hearings/107th/fc/members32801/paul.htm



"My experience has convinced me Job Corps is one of the best uses of federal job training and education funds." - Ron Paul

He was also a member of the "Friends of Job Corps" Caucus.
http://www.njcaweb.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=99398

Yeah I'm not trying to bash you personally but when you're promoting the nations the biggest govt land grab while calling it education, then you're part of the same problem as the public school system. (My wife works at a public school btw) The system churns out statists who do not question whether what they are doing is just.

[Saint Vitus]

Yeah I'm not trying to bash you personally but when you're promoting the nations the biggest govt land grab while calling it education, then you're part of the same problem as the public school system. (My wife works at a public school btw) The system churns out statists who do not question whether what they are doing is just.


Just to be clear, I am not a proponent of public education. Yes, I have been a public education teacher, but I definitely think private education is a better alternative. However, if the choice is between public education or no education like this thread insinuated, then I do think that public education can teach some basic reading and math skills. I have worked with students who dropped out and were not home schooled or privately educated, and they are much worse off than people who were publicly educated.

Edit: Also, I'm kind of buzzed right now, and I'm not an English teacher, so please don't nitpick my grammar.

[puppetmaster]

People who defend public education are part of the problem.

Private education is paramount...home school your offspring...you might learn something

[BuddyRey]

The only things they taught me in high school were...

1. How great socialism is,
2. How Abe Lincoln was the greatest President ever,
3. How, if you say you can add or multiply fractions in your head, you're probably just cheating,
4. Why punishment for the misdeeds of one student must be doled out, not only to the individual offender, but to the entire classroom (collectivism),
5. How Herbert Hoover was an extreme laissez-faire libertarian who caused the Great Depression, and how the sage wisdom of the "moderate" Franklin D. Roosevelt ended it.

Wanna hear the real kicker?

I went to a private, Christian high school!

Jaden Smith is right on the f***in' money, and sounds far more articulate than most of the incoherent rabble churned out by the American (via Prussia) school system.

[Reason]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/jaden-smith-calls-drop-school-20278485

[FloralScent]

Some of us can only dream of moving to the backwoods of Appalachia. :(

I moved from there...dumb.

[Woods]

Just because he's privileged doesn't make him wrong.Good point. The statement is wrong on its face.