I was wandering around Sydney on a Sunday afternoon, and there were street performers and such all around. One was starting his show off, cracking whips over lit torches to sort of get attention and draw people in.
Standing a few rows back was a little boy watching the performance with rapt attention. He was probably about three years old, a little blond cutie. His Grama (I think) came up behind him and leaned over to give him some advice.
What she said was something along these lines, "If you don't go to school and get an education and then go on to get a good job, this is what you'll end up doing." she sounded absolutely horrified, as though that would be the worst possible outcome for his life. She just kept going on and on about it.
I don't think the kid was even paying attention. He kept leaning away as though she was annoying him, and he just wanted to pay attention to the street performer. Judging by the attention the kid was paying his Grama, and the attention he was paying the performer, I feel like he would prefer the option of becoming a street performer to that of getting an education and a 'good job'.
Really though, what makes a job good? Is it the amount of money you make, or is it the amount of joy you make? From what I've seen of street performers, they are happier than the average person in their average jobs. They may not make much, they depend on the tips that come from the people who watch their performances. But the money doesn't matter to them so much.
If I had a kid/grandkid/some kid I was giving advice to, I would tell them to get an education. I'd tell them to learn what they need to know to do the thing that makes them happy. Learn the 3 Rs as you need to in order to get by in life, but you don't need to get a degree unless it will help you be happy in your life. I would prefer to have the people I care about happy than to have them make heaps of money. Of course, if you can make money while doing what you like, that's always a bonus...
Standing a few rows back was a little boy watching the performance with rapt attention. He was probably about three years old, a little blond cutie. His Grama (I think) came up behind him and leaned over to give him some advice.
I don't think the kid was even paying attention. He kept leaning away as though she was annoying him, and he just wanted to pay attention to the street performer. Judging by the attention the kid was paying his Grama, and the attention he was paying the performer, I feel like he would prefer the option of becoming a street performer to that of getting an education and a 'good job'.
Really though, what makes a job good? Is it the amount of money you make, or is it the amount of joy you make? From what I've seen of street performers, they are happier than the average person in their average jobs. They may not make much, they depend on the tips that come from the people who watch their performances. But the money doesn't matter to them so much.
If I had a kid/grandkid/some kid I was giving advice to, I would tell them to get an education. I'd tell them to learn what they need to know to do the thing that makes them happy. Learn the 3 Rs as you need to in order to get by in life, but you don't need to get a degree unless it will help you be happy in your life. I would prefer to have the people I care about happy than to have them make heaps of money. Of course, if you can make money while doing what you like, that's always a bonus...
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