Elitism is a horrible thing
Hi,
Bit about myself.
I went to a selective grammar school (one where you had to do the 11+ ) and witnessed some of the most disgusting elitism I have heard. I would say aspects of it are very reminiscent of some people here on TSR.
It was so bad that some of the teachers were in on it as well. They would make regular jokes about the lower ranked universities and big up our egos about how we were in the top 10% of students.
It really got to a few kids head. They would copy the way the teachers acted. If you dare mention going to a non RG (russell group) university, they would laugh at you.
The environment was ruthless to be frank. It was a whole bunch of boys brainwashed into thinking Oxbridge + Imperial + LSE+ UCL is a first class ticket to being rich.
Career paths were narrow as well. You either did Medicine, Law, Finance/Economics or Engineering. Medicine so you could boost your ego about being a doctor. Law so you could get into a magic circle firm. Finance to basically work in IB (investment banking) and engineering to either work in a top firm or again work in IB.
I didn't do so well at A Level, and that really hit me hard. I ended up going to a non RG uni, where I met a lot more normal and down to earth people. The drive wasn't there in a lot of them, but they seemed happy in what they studied.
I've now just finished my masters in a RG uni, with a lot of internationals, they are pretty friendly as well. But I don't sense that elitism I saw at secondary school.
It's a dangerous thing, brainwashing kids at a young age to look down on underprivileged members of society.
I feel lucky I didn't get A*A*A* at A Level, I think I would have become a horrible person right now. The ego would have got to me and I would be behaving like a lot of these elitists on TSR.
Sorry for the long post. Just something I noticed in school and really came to hit me after university.
Bit about myself.
I went to a selective grammar school (one where you had to do the 11+ ) and witnessed some of the most disgusting elitism I have heard. I would say aspects of it are very reminiscent of some people here on TSR.
It was so bad that some of the teachers were in on it as well. They would make regular jokes about the lower ranked universities and big up our egos about how we were in the top 10% of students.
It really got to a few kids head. They would copy the way the teachers acted. If you dare mention going to a non RG (russell group) university, they would laugh at you.
The environment was ruthless to be frank. It was a whole bunch of boys brainwashed into thinking Oxbridge + Imperial + LSE+ UCL is a first class ticket to being rich.
Career paths were narrow as well. You either did Medicine, Law, Finance/Economics or Engineering. Medicine so you could boost your ego about being a doctor. Law so you could get into a magic circle firm. Finance to basically work in IB (investment banking) and engineering to either work in a top firm or again work in IB.
I didn't do so well at A Level, and that really hit me hard. I ended up going to a non RG uni, where I met a lot more normal and down to earth people. The drive wasn't there in a lot of them, but they seemed happy in what they studied.
I've now just finished my masters in a RG uni, with a lot of internationals, they are pretty friendly as well. But I don't sense that elitism I saw at secondary school.
It's a dangerous thing, brainwashing kids at a young age to look down on underprivileged members of society.
I feel lucky I didn't get A*A*A* at A Level, I think I would have become a horrible person right now. The ego would have got to me and I would be behaving like a lot of these elitists on TSR.
Sorry for the long post. Just something I noticed in school and really came to hit me after university.
Scroll to see replies
Yes you are right in a lot of ways. I am very glad it has taught you a very valuable lesson. I have also met people who think they elite because they are at university. It's happening at the bottom end too. It is a shame that top university get slated for their behaviour where as agriculture university colleges are behaving the same way. Don't let the establishment bother you or anyone else. We all trying to strive for the best. It should be personal achievements and be happy about it and remember not to gloat. This is a general message response.
Original post by Rust5Red
Yes you are right in a lot of ways. I am very glad it has taught you a very valuable lesson. I have also met people who think they elite because they are at university. It's happening at the bottom end too. It is a shame that top university get slated for their behaviour where as agriculture university colleges are behaving the same way. Don't let the establishment bother you or anyone else. We all trying to strive for the best. It should be personal achievements and be happy about it and remember not to gloat. This is a general message response.
What shocked me the most that the teachers were in on it as well. I would go as far saying they encouraged it as well.
Even the teachers hired in my secondary school were RG graduates. You could see the new teachers having studied at Kings/Oxbridge/UCL/Manchester etc. So I think the mentality passes on to the students from them.
There was this one teacher in particular, who was a real nasty one. He would constantly boast about his education and how our school only hired the best. You also had the usual daily, you guys are the captains of industry drilling by him. What was worse was he had his favourites, the top of the class kids ofcourse, he would give them such an ego boost. I don't even know if that guy should be allowed to be near kids with his attitude to the rest of the world.
Boo mother****er hoo.
That's life and you have to get over it. Just for the record, many people get A*s at A-level and turn out just fine. Look at me
That's life and you have to get over it. Just for the record, many people get A*s at A-level and turn out just fine. Look at me
Original post by bittr n swt
Boo mother****er hoo.
That's life and you have to get over it. Just for the record, many people get A*s at A-level and turn out just fine. Look at me
That's life and you have to get over it. Just for the record, many people get A*s at A-level and turn out just fine. Look at me
But seriously though, is there any need for this at all? It's just so rude and unnecessary. He isn't looking for sympathy. For me, this is a really cool insight into a grammar school for someone like me who didn't attend one, and confirmed my suspicions of what they're really like. Just stop being so rude.
Original post by ldsbabe
But seriously though, is there any need for this at all? It's just so rude and unnecessary. He isn't looking for sympathy. For me, this is a really cool insight into a grammar school for someone like me who didn't attend one, and confirmed my suspicions of what they're really like. Just stop being so rude.
Haha. It's called a reality check. If you want to get far in life in the top jobs you can't be on Mr Nice Guy mode.
I wasn't rude
Original post by bittr n swt
Haha. It's called a reality check. If you want to get far in life in the top jobs you can't be on Mr Nice Guy mode.
I wasn't rude
I wasn't rude
Yes you were. You were facetious and it wasn't necessary.
Original post by bittr n swt
Haha. It's called a reality check. If you want to get far in life in the top jobs you can't be on Mr Nice Guy mode.
I wasn't rude
I wasn't rude
Yeah you were rude. There's no such thing as a reality check, it's a buzzword people use when they're rude to other and get called out on it.
Original post by godd
What shocked me the most that the teachers were in on it as well. I would go as far saying they encouraged it as well.
Even the teachers hired in my secondary school were RG graduates. You could see the new teachers having studied at Kings/Oxbridge/UCL/Manchester etc. So I think the mentality passes on to the students from them.
There was this one teacher in particular, who was a real nasty one. He would constantly boast about his education and how our school only hired the best. You also had the usual daily, you guys are the captains of industry drilling by him. What was worse was he had his favourites, the top of the class kids ofcourse, he would give them such an ego boost. I don't even know if that guy should be allowed to be near kids with his attitude to the rest of the world.
Even the teachers hired in my secondary school were RG graduates. You could see the new teachers having studied at Kings/Oxbridge/UCL/Manchester etc. So I think the mentality passes on to the students from them.
There was this one teacher in particular, who was a real nasty one. He would constantly boast about his education and how our school only hired the best. You also had the usual daily, you guys are the captains of industry drilling by him. What was worse was he had his favourites, the top of the class kids ofcourse, he would give them such an ego boost. I don't even know if that guy should be allowed to be near kids with his attitude to the rest of the world.
That kind of attitude is poisonous.
The notion that the school you attend plays a major role in what uni you end up in absolute nonsense.
Take me, I went to a rather subpar state school for both GCSEs and A levels and now Im at Kings. Another guy at our school did really well at A level and got into Cambridge. I'd like to meet that teacher and give him a good talking to
I'd also like to tell him this
"The circumstances of ones birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are." - Mewtwo, first Pokemon movie
Yeah, I'm quoting Pokemon, what of it?
Original post by Tench
That kind of attitude is poisonous.
The notion that the school you attend plays a major role in what uni you end up in absolute nonsense.
Take me, I went to a rather subpar state school for both GCSEs and A levels and now Im at Kings. Another guy at our school did really well at A level and got into Cambridge. I'd like to meet that teacher and give him a good talking to
I'd also like to tell him this
"The circumstances of ones birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are." - Mewtwo, first Pokemon movie
Yeah, I'm quoting Pokemon, what of it?
The notion that the school you attend plays a major role in what uni you end up in absolute nonsense.
Take me, I went to a rather subpar state school for both GCSEs and A levels and now Im at Kings. Another guy at our school did really well at A level and got into Cambridge. I'd like to meet that teacher and give him a good talking to
I'd also like to tell him this
"The circumstances of ones birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are." - Mewtwo, first Pokemon movie
Yeah, I'm quoting Pokemon, what of it?
Haha, nice quote.
But wasn't Mewtwo the evil one?
Original post by godd
Haha, nice quote.
But wasn't Mewtwo the evil one?
But wasn't Mewtwo the evil one?
*Spoilers follow for Pokemon: The First Movie,*
Mew fought Mewtwo, Mewtwo kills Ash (sortof) by turning him into stone. Mew then saves him or something (My memory on it is rusty, I watched this when I was 5). Mewtwo then realises that just because he was created by humans to be a killing machine, doesn't mean that he should actually be. At which point, Mewtwo leaves the human population alone.
Mewtwos story, even in game, is pretty messed up for a kids game. He's formed by Team Rocket to be a savage beast and ends up killing all the scientists that made him (hence the abandoned Pokemon Mansion)
I would rep but it's not letting me 
and yeah that's basically my school, so fixed on one thing they forget there's more than one kind of people out there...
and yeah that's basically my school, so fixed on one thing they forget there's more than one kind of people out there...Original post by chocolatesauce
I would rep but it's not letting me and yeah that's basically my school, so fixed on one thing they forget there's more than one kind of people out there...
and yeah that's basically my school, so fixed on one thing they forget there's more than one kind of people out there...Don't worry, I'm not here to collect rep.
It's just a real point I want to get across to as many people as I can on this forum.
I feel that if you truly don't have any set backs in your life, you end up thinking you are god at the end of the day. One ego boost leads to another and so you practically think you are too good for the world. I've seen this happen to many people in my old school.
And what worries me more is that the world happily accepts these kind of people with open arms. The man most likely to be PM is the straight A student who has done PPE at Oxford. Now I'm not saying all straight A students are bad, but if you get ones with ego problems in such high positions in government, it affects the rest of us.
Original post by godd
Don't worry, I'm not here to collect rep.
It's just a real point I want to get across to as many people as I can on this forum.
I feel that if you truly don't have any set backs in your life, you end up thinking you are god at the end of the day. One ego boost leads to another and so you practically think you are too good for the world. I've seen this happen to many people in my old school.
And what worries me more is that the world happily accepts these kind of people with open arms. The man most likely to be PM is the straight A student who has done PPE at Oxford. Now I'm not saying all straight A students are bad, but if you get ones with ego problems in such high positions in government, it affects the rest of us.
It's just a real point I want to get across to as many people as I can on this forum.
I feel that if you truly don't have any set backs in your life, you end up thinking you are god at the end of the day. One ego boost leads to another and so you practically think you are too good for the world. I've seen this happen to many people in my old school.
And what worries me more is that the world happily accepts these kind of people with open arms. The man most likely to be PM is the straight A student who has done PPE at Oxford. Now I'm not saying all straight A students are bad, but if you get ones with ego problems in such high positions in government, it affects the rest of us.
Hmmm yeah I get what you're saying, I've seen teachers reflect this. One time they were like "if we see any of you girls at the high street with your boyfriends we will come and ask which school he goes to, remember girls only grammar school boys"
Set backs are important, I guess that's how you learn and improve.
It's all politics, the system has so many faults. Michael Gove was saying hes sending his daughter to a grammar school and not anything private and fancy yet the school she is going to is one of the best and actually it used to be a private school with the facilities still standing.
Down to earth people for the win. I honestly don't understand all those people that are purely out for themselves... What really annoys me is when some think they are above everyone else, and so treat everyone with disdain. TSR can be quite bad when it comes to elitism.
I did a BTEC and go to a non Russell Group uni (albeit partly through choice) after going to a private school. A lot of the people I have met in these average institutions are brilliant, good people.
More than I can say for the private school which I went to; and the self absorbed pretentious people I have met along the way.
I did a BTEC and go to a non Russell Group uni (albeit partly through choice) after going to a private school. A lot of the people I have met in these average institutions are brilliant, good people.
More than I can say for the private school which I went to; and the self absorbed pretentious people I have met along the way.
Yeah, trouble is - if you think it's trouble - this stuff works. Those who are taught to expect a certain standard for themselves - such as getting into a top 10 uni - given adequate resources, often do. I went to a secondary school that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. There was no emphasis on excellence, no competitive spirit, constant caving in to the lowest common denominator - everyone suffered for it.
Whilst competitiveness can be taken to dangerous extremes, I generally think it's a good idea to get young people demanding and expecting something of themselves. That will only happen if you create the right mindset for them, and that's something that many subpar state schools can't even get close to acheiving.
Elitism, I feel, is a byproduct of this mindset. I'm not saying for a second it should be encouraged. What I am saying, however, is that I'd have preferred to have gone to a secondary school where people joked about ex-polys, than one where people left feeling like they didn't stand a chance at success.
Please at least take a moment to appreciate the fact that even though you might not like your schooling now, you'll probably think a little differently about it in a few years. There are worse things for young people than oneupmanship.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Whilst competitiveness can be taken to dangerous extremes, I generally think it's a good idea to get young people demanding and expecting something of themselves. That will only happen if you create the right mindset for them, and that's something that many subpar state schools can't even get close to acheiving.
Elitism, I feel, is a byproduct of this mindset. I'm not saying for a second it should be encouraged. What I am saying, however, is that I'd have preferred to have gone to a secondary school where people joked about ex-polys, than one where people left feeling like they didn't stand a chance at success.
Please at least take a moment to appreciate the fact that even though you might not like your schooling now, you'll probably think a little differently about it in a few years. There are worse things for young people than oneupmanship.
Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 9 years ago)
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