PSST! Wanna Know a Secret?: Getting Smarter, Making More Money Things They Forgot To Teach You in School

PSST!

Wanna Know a Secret?

Getting Smarter, Making More Money

Things They Forgot To Teach You in School

by J Clark

Published by BluewaterPress LLC at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 J Clark

The contents of this book regarding the accuracy of events, people and places depicted; permissions to use all previously published materials; all are the sole responsibility of the author, who assumes all liability for the contents of this book.

All rights reserved. Except for fair use, educational purposes, and short excerpts for editorial reviews in journals, magazines, or web sites, no part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

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Contents

Introduction

A note for the parents

The argument for staying in school

Chapter 1 – The schools may have failed you

Chapter 2 – Self-assessment

Chapter 3 – Choices

Chapter 4 – The cool apartment (pad, crib, or place)

Chapter 5 – Your grocery bill and clothes

Chapter 6 – Your budget

Chapter 7 – Now that you have a budget, you need a job

Chapter 8 – Got to have wheels

Chapter 9 – You have to save

Chapter 10 – Credit and credit cards

Chapter 11 – Identity Theft

Chapter 12 – Do you want to get a job or start a career?

Chapter 13 – Are you ready for college?

Chapter 14 – The military option

Chapter 15 – Leadership & Attitude

Chapter 16 – The big bucks

Chapter 17 – Keep your nose clean; you must have integrity

Introduction

For the last 26 years, I have enjoyed teaching young people on the college level. Before that, I taught all kinds of people how to fly. My graduate degree is a master of aeronautical science with a specialization in aviation education. While in the Navy, one of the billets I held was that of the squadron training officer, a position in which I was responsible for keeping track of and planning the training of everyone in the unit. Making complex things seem simple for those who do not quite understand fascinates me, along with the process of teaching itself.

I have also been observant, trying to understand why things happen the way they do with our newest and latest generations. The children of friends have been a curious study. Some have really impressed me. Wherever they fall on the scale, today’s youth are a very interesting and diverse group.

I have concerns for our young people. In my position, I have had the chance to work with some of the brightest and gifted of students. In public, I have come across many young people who are very bright, but unfortunately, they are not getting a fair deal when it comes to education. Schools are overcrowded, teachers overtasked, and there are too many disruptive troublemakers in many classrooms. Consequently, learning is degraded in such environments.

The truly gifted will find success. They are the doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, and scientists of the future. They get it. Those who don’t get it are the timid children with good intellect, but who are too quiet to make their voices heard.

This book is for them.

In many cases, I see their potential, but sometimes it is hidden, sometimes hidden deep. Of these young people, I also see their reluctance to do things in the accepted ways of the past. I can see they get it, but not quite. I am also aware of their enthusiasm for learning, coupled with a sincere desire to figure out life—on their terms.

Our youth, as us kids did in the past, tend to reject the ideas, methods, and the ways of previous generations. It is common in nature, to reject the ideas of the parents. I soon discovered it was easier to listen and follow the instructions of the older folk and swim with the flow, rather than fight the current.

One thing I have seen in our educational system is that many students are taught to read in a way that destroys almost all potential for reading enjoyment. Some teachers make students read material the students dislike. In such cases, the lesson reinforced is the idea that reading is boring—instead of the concept that reading is an exciting adventure from which one can learn much. Reading, for those who mastered it, is an exciting adventure from the first page of a book, to the last. Sadly, many of our youth today rarely read more than a couple of paragraphs at a time—and then, only while on the Internet.

On occasion, I have come across youngsters who really remind me of my younger self. I find I want to help those young people, to give them a few ideas, to let them know about some of the secrets I have discovered along the way. I also know that if I say something outright, there is a good chance they will reject the idea out of hand right away. Young people, when presented a new idea or information, must feel some form of ownership of that idea. To this end, I will just let them discover this little book—maybe it will be left somewhere by someone concerned for their future. Then they can actually decide whether to read it or not.

Students need to know that those who read will develop ideas that will help them become successful. It is, as pointed out in later pages, their choice.

I want to thank many people who have influenced me along my path. There were many teachers, friends, peers, flight instructors, doctors, lawyers—all who eventually became my friends and contributed much to this energy called my life.

First, I wish to thank my wife, Ardis, for her continued support and excellent proofreading skills. I also need to thank Mike Holoman, for contributing ideas and catching errors in the original manuscript.

Then, there is my Uncle Buddy, Marcus M. Woodham, Jr. He gave me great guidance throughout much of my life.

And of course, my mom, Elizabeth Vadella Woodham Clark, who gave me an inquisitive mind, taught my sister, two brothers, and me how to read, introduced us to logic, and helped with many word problems.

A note for the Parents

This is an important book for your children. This is especially true if you want to help your children succeed beyond high school. You may define their success as graduation from high school. Or you might think success only comes with a college degree. Maybe you have a completely different concept of success; still, the question becomes, where are they going after graduation?

Take a look at your children, a truly objective look. What do you see? Are you content with your children merely graduating from high school and getting into the workforce? Do you want them to attend college? Do you want them to enter a professional field? Can you see them creating their own business, becoming successful, and happy?

When discussing the education of our children, there’s something a few parents realize more than others. Our educational system is broken. There is much literature written about the system that explains the existence of two systems: one in the rural and suburban areas, the other in the inner cities. Unfortunately, both systems are broken. One more so than the other.

Martin L. Gross, author of The Conspiracy of Ignorance: The Failure of American Public Schools, (Harper Perennial; 1st edition, September 5, 2000), makes an interesting observation. A major problem with the American school system is that academic success in our schools today is being reported as the result of grade inflation and the replacement of competition by elevated self-esteem.

Indeed, many schools have rejected the idea of competition. In a phrase, the school system has eliminated motivation from the educational equation in America. Unfortunately, some students are becoming accustomed to