Comments on: NY Teacher of the Year Against School http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/ Chinese, Linguistics, Science, Cultural Observations and whatever else I feel like writing about Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:36:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: heilyn http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/comment-page-1/#comment-54171 heilyn Tue, 15 May 2007 00:43:15 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/#comment-54171 Im in 6TH grade,and I think that is true that they put a lot of pressure ous so that we can get a good job but at the and most of ous will get mad leave home and end up working at Mcdonal's Im in 6TH grade,and I think that is true that they put a lot of pressure ous so that we can get a good job but at the and most of ous will get mad leave home and end up working at Mcdonal’s

]]> By: Thomas O'Neill http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/comment-page-1/#comment-3420 Thomas O'Neill Wed, 21 Jun 2006 18:10:01 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/#comment-3420 Haha! Yeah, well there are a frickin LOT of crazy round pegs, and most of them don't know their ass from a hole in the ground (and incidentally, I hear a lot of them post comments on pages like Digg). Finding that one crazy round peg that will change your company and humanity forever (for the good) is kind of like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Besides, some of the crazy ones also decide to get higher degrees and titles and such. What it comes right down to is experience. If a crazy guy has a ton of experience in what you're trying to do, then go get him. If he just has a ton of crazy ideas and knows nothing about what you're doing, then go for the guy with the degree; at least that guy took a class and read a book about what you're doing. Haha! Yeah, well there are a frickin LOT of crazy round pegs, and most of them don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground (and incidentally, I hear a lot of them post comments on pages like Digg). Finding that one crazy round peg that will change your company and humanity forever (for the good) is kind of like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Besides, some of the crazy ones also decide to get higher degrees and titles and such. What it comes right down to is experience. If a crazy guy has a ton of experience in what you’re trying to do, then go get him. If he just has a ton of crazy ideas and knows nothing about what you’re doing, then go for the guy with the degree; at least that guy took a class and read a book about what you’re doing.

]]> By: Mark http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/comment-page-1/#comment-3384 Mark Wed, 21 Jun 2006 10:01:11 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/#comment-3384 I can understand where you're coming from, and I agree that <i>most</i> large companies value people who will fall into step. Google's not a good example, though. It's true they've hired a lot of PHDs, but they've also actively recruited and hired people with no degrees at all, such as Chris DiBona, and many others with unrelated degrees, such as Adam Bosworth (who has a degree in history). Google can hire just about anybody, and they often <b>do</b> hire guys who've said said “fuck the system”, and gone their own way. So did Apple, when they were in that position. Check out this <a href="http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/graphics/movies/Think-Different.mov" rel="nofollow">video</a> with their recruiting pitch: <blockquote>"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them, because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." </blockquote> Couldn't it be more than a co-incidence that Apple and Google are exciting companies that have changed (or are changing) the world and that Matt's company is in the dreary tape drive business? No offense Matt; <i>you're</i> not one of the square pegs. I can understand where you’re coming from, and I agree that most large companies value people who will fall into step. Google’s not a good example, though. It’s true they’ve hired a lot of PHDs, but they’ve also actively recruited and hired people with no degrees at all, such as Chris DiBona, and many others with unrelated degrees, such as Adam Bosworth (who has a degree in history). Google can hire just about anybody, and they often do hire guys who’ve said said “fuck the system”, and gone their own way.

So did Apple, when they were in that position. Check out this video with their recruiting pitch:

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them, because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”

Couldn’t it be more than a co-incidence that Apple and Google are exciting companies that have changed (or are changing) the world and that Matt’s company is in the dreary tape drive business?
No offense Matt; you’re not one of the square pegs.

]]> By: Thomas O'Neill http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/comment-page-1/#comment-3377 Thomas O'Neill Wed, 21 Jun 2006 06:26:25 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/#comment-3377 My take is that schooling, degrees, and titles aren't really supposed to prove how intelligent or skilled you are, but rather, they are to show people that you're hard working and willing to put up with loads of bs and beaurocracy, which is really the kind of person that every big organization is looking for. And really, can you blame them? A company like Google could have any employee they wanted. Why should they choose a highly-intelligent and skilled guy who said "fuck the system" over a highly-intelligent and skilled guy who did his time, put in the work, and got a Masters or PhD? Degrees are just one more way for people to distinguish themselves from others who might just be as useful or maybe even more so. Sure, it's just a check in the box, but for anyone who's ever tried something like say online dating, every single one of those little checks makes a big difference in making a match. (For the record, I have never tried online dating... not that there's anything wrong with that.) I should also say that I'm mostly playing devil's advocate, since almost every single rant in my life has been against public institutions like public schools and the military. My take is that schooling, degrees, and titles aren’t really supposed to prove how intelligent or skilled you are, but rather, they are to show people that you’re hard working and willing to put up with loads of bs and beaurocracy, which is really the kind of person that every big organization is looking for. And really, can you blame them? A company like Google could have any employee they wanted. Why should they choose a highly-intelligent and skilled guy who said “fuck the system” over a highly-intelligent and skilled guy who did his time, put in the work, and got a Masters or PhD? Degrees are just one more way for people to distinguish themselves from others who might just be as useful or maybe even more so. Sure, it’s just a check in the box, but for anyone who’s ever tried something like say online dating, every single one of those little checks makes a big difference in making a match. (For the record, I have never tried online dating… not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

I should also say that I’m mostly playing devil’s advocate, since almost every single rant in my life has been against public institutions like public schools and the military.

]]> By: Matt Ball http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/comment-page-1/#comment-3365 Matt Ball Wed, 21 Jun 2006 04:00:28 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2006/ny-teacher-of-the-year-against-school/#comment-3365 I've seen the same kind of education discrimination in many of the organizations I belong to. In these organizations, it's common practice to print the titles of the members, which creates a subtle form of discrimination because it's possible to separate the 'Dr.'s from the 'Mr.'s or 'Mrs's. In cryptography, it is basically a requirement to have a PhD before anyone would ever consider calling you a cryptographer, even though someone without a PhD could still be a good cryptographic expert. At my company, it is basically not possible to be an 'engineer' without a bachelor's degree. Otherwise, the best you can be is a 'technician'. I’ve seen the same kind of education discrimination in many of the organizations I belong to. In these organizations, it’s common practice to print the titles of the members, which creates a subtle form of discrimination because it’s possible to separate the ‘Dr.’s from the ‘Mr.’s or ‘Mrs’s. In cryptography, it is basically a requirement to have a PhD before anyone would ever consider calling you a cryptographer, even though someone without a PhD could still be a good cryptographic expert. At my company, it is basically not possible to be an ‘engineer’ without a bachelor’s degree. Otherwise, the best you can be is a ‘technician’.

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