I absolutely love this guy; his opinions on education speak to my soul. He’s funny too.
I’ve finished my art class now and, although I have definitely passed, I won’t have achieved the grade I’m fairly sure I’m capable of. It is possible that I am mistaken and I’m actually rubbish and deserve the grade I got, but I suspect that what actually happened was that they tried to force me to work in the way they think art should be done rather than the way that produces my best work. I’ve done ok and, probably, as well as I could under their system, but I still think I could have done more if I’d had more freedom. The best marks were not given for producing the best art, they were given for most closely following the prescribed path.
This course has been about moving from a job I do to the one I am. This experience could convince me that I am not talented enough to do that job and cause me to give up. It won’t, because I’m damned stubborn and, perhaps, a little arrogant. If I wasn’t though, teaching like this could easily trample my dreams, so maybe a little arrogance can be a good thing now and then? Self-belief doesn’t always translate into success but success is virtually impossible without it.
