Response to Why You Never Truly Leave High School

In the article Why You Never Truly Leave High School, Jenifer Senior refers to studies that correlate makers in high school to success later in life. Height, weight and attractiveness measurements in high school supposedly have a relatively direct correlation with post-adolescent behavior and accomplishments. However, it seems that these biological markers are less inherent qualities and more of a Rorschach of the individuals mental states.

One of the markers for success with males is their height at age 16. For some inexplicable reason boys view height and size (without being overweight) as "bigger is better." The guys who are physically larger and taller  feel more confident and superior, to an extent, towards his peers. This confidence and visceral sense of superiority enables these students to achieve more inspiring more self-confidence, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy a continual upward spiral. The eventual size of guys is almost negligible because the sense of self developed during the most impressionable years, high school, sets the tone for later on. Needless to say, the confidence that catalyzes success and achievement can stem for a variety of different sources besides inherent size. Competency is perhaps more important than innate size.

Another indicator for the future is body weight in high school. Weight, especially for high school students, is a reflection of eating habits and other life style choices. It is not inconceivable that those who establish healthy eating habits and high school will likely retain those healthy habits later in life whole those do not establish beneficial ways of looking at health and food will have trouble developing them later in life. It seems fairly reasonable that those who are of a healthy weight and make a conscious effort to take care of themselves would have higher self-esteem than that of their overweight counterpart.

Lastly, attractiveness, has had direct correlation with success. However I find the concept misleading. The quality of attractiveness is not just the inherent bone structure and physical attributes written into a person's DNA. Activeness, to a certain extent, is about how individuals take care and then present themselves. Do they stay fit and in shape? Do they wash their face helping to minimize acne? Did the wear braces to straighten their teeth? Do they brush their hair every day? Do they value how they come across to others? Do they wear sweats all they time? These questions and aspects of the appearance have nothing to do with innate qualities and more about habitual routines. People who value their appearance and put in the effort to make themselves look nice and presentable is perhaps more indicative of success than a person's bone structure.

Topic of Choice

When the people think of how experts in science came to learn the crucial material relevant to their subject, most would assume that these scientific geniuses learned the majority of the material through some sort of formalized schooling. However, one of the most, if not the most, renowned scientist,  Albert Einstein, had an extremely variable and not completely successful experience with school. The lack of attention given to other “unnecessary” subjects such as English, history and the arts were replaced with an intense rapture for how the world works. His inherent desire to understand everything around him in combination with a few serendipitous opportunities allowed Einstein to develop the educational background that enabled the formulation of his theories.

Coming from a family of non-observant Jews, Albert Einstein was surprisingly enrolled in a devout Catholic elementary school for the beginning half of elementary school.  Once it became clear to the teachers of the Catholic elementary school and his parents of his unusual aptitude towards mathematics, Albert Einstein transferred to the Luitpold Gymnasium primary school. He enjoyed his time at Luitpold, but Einstein’s intense interest in the strange phenomenons of the earth stemmed from an entirely different source,  Max Talmud. Talmud, a poor Jewish medical student from Poland, living with the Einstein family with when Albert was 10,  introduced the 10 year old Albert Einstein to some of the more innovative scientific and mathematical books of his time. Fascinated by the topics covered in these books, Einstein streamlined his academic focus towards only the math and sciences.

During the early 1900s, Germany and the rest of Europe was in political chaos, which in turn had a continual disrupting and entropic force upon Einstein’s education. Moving away from Germany, throughout Italy and then finally settling down in Switzerland, Einstein did not spend the majority of his pre-teen years studying for exam finals. When he finally attended secondary school, Einstein struggled academically, so much so that the school threatened to expel him due to his numerous failures.  Achieving fabulous marks (grades) in mathematics and science, Einstein paid no attention to the humanities, subjects he believed to be frivolous. Somehow, he managed to graduate secondary school and attend a university. Following a finishing his degree at the university and a brief teaching stint, Einstein worked at Swiss patent office, reviewing all the patent applications pertaining to electromagnetic devices. This allowed him access to the cutting edge innovations and discoveries of the time, inspiring many of his thought experiments. The combination of these occurrences in his education enabled Einstein to become the forefront scientist of his time.