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Some context: First, I most definitely do not think I'm God's gift to man. Ive seen kids with skills leagues ahead of my own who are true masters, my skills in

by ZenJosh 15y ago

Some context: First, I most definitely do not think I'm God's gift to man. Ive seen kids with skills leagues ahead of my own who are true masters, my skills in comparison are basic. Before I started the assessment, I asked for the mark scheme to make sure my project hit the criteria for a passing grade. We weren't asked to build in powerpoint, but most opted to do so for lack of a better option. I asked if it would be a good idea to build an iPhone app for the assessment and the teacher of my class said "Sure if you can, give it a shot". I have no idea when the teacher became aware that the project would fail but at no point was a concern raised with me until final marking. I didn't build a complex project 'just to be different', I instead thought "Well here's an opportunity to learn to do something I didn't know how to do before". Id been developing web things for a while but hadn't dipped into native code up until that point

politician 15y ago
The problem isn't that you did a far better job than the drones you go to class with, or that the teacher doesn't really actually know the material they're required to teach, or that the politics of the system dictate that a marking scheme exists that is as unimaginative as it is explicit. No, the problem is that as an autodidact 16 year old in a government run public school, you have a very limited if nonexistent ability to discover that fact. Take solace in this F, and know that you have a disfunction that public schools and universities are mostly ill-equipped to handle -- the ability to learn for yourself. Take patio11's advice: don't spend your awesome points on tasks that are ultimately unimportant. Or as some dudes from way back said, "don't give your pearls to swine lest they trample it and then turn on you."
- droithomme 15y ago
  My limited understanding of reading his story is that he has since graduated, emigrated to the United States because of his observation that doing awesome things is not tolerated in his homeland, released apps, and has just recently gotten VC funding and is going to Startup School.
- pjscott 15y ago
  > Take patio11's advice: don't spend your awesome points on tasks that are ultimately unimportant. Or as some dudes from way back said, "don't give your pearls to swine lest they trample it and then turn on you." Isn't that exactly what he did? Instead of wasting time on a crap project that wouldn't teach him anything, he decided to learn something new and interesting. Combine that with the ability to shrug off the occasional poor grade from a clueless teacher, and you've got a powerful combination for winning school.

by ZenJosh 15y ago

politician 15y ago

The problem isn't that you did a far better job than the drones you go to class with, or that the teacher doesn't really actually know the material they're required to teach, or that the politics of the system dictate that a marking scheme exists that is as unimaginative as it is explicit. No, the problem is that as an autodidact 16 year old in a government run public school, you have a very limited if nonexistent ability to discover that fact. Take solace in this F, and know that you have a disfunction that public schools and universities are mostly ill-equipped to handle -- the ability to learn for yourself. Take patio11's advice: don't spend your awesome points on tasks that are ultimately unimportant. Or as some dudes from way back said, "don't give your pearls to swine lest they trample it and then turn on you."

droithomme 15y ago
My limited understanding of reading his story is that he has since graduated, emigrated to the United States because of his observation that doing awesome things is not tolerated in his homeland, released apps, and has just recently gotten VC funding and is going to Startup School.
pjscott 15y ago
> Take patio11's advice: don't spend your awesome points on tasks that are ultimately unimportant. Or as some dudes from way back said, "don't give your pearls to swine lest they trample it and then turn on you." Isn't that exactly what he did? Instead of wasting time on a crap project that wouldn't teach him anything, he decided to learn something new and interesting. Combine that with the ability to shrug off the occasional poor grade from a clueless teacher, and you've got a powerful combination for winning school.