Originally Posted by Chris F
Early America school system ( after the war about the time of Jefferson)actually took only the best of the best and the others were required to become trade apprentices. So Preachers, doctors, lawyers were hand picked and the rest were sent to shop class. Just imagine if we did that today. Kids who were bright and could excel were pushed. Kids who were Kardashians were sent to learn a career. The public school system today is severely flawed. This is why other countries beat us in science, math, etc etc.
I believe most kids in those days were home-schooled as well, not processed through a government-run public school system like cattle.
Ben Franklin was also a self-taught writer. So there is something to be said for ambition.
I think parents need to instill in their kids an intrinsic motivation for achievement. Simply upping the pay scale of certain jobs only creates extrinsic motivation.
For those who might not be familiar with the differences. When someone is extrinsically motivated to do something, then they are only doing it to receive some kind of external reward (like a big paycheck). When they are intrinsically motivated, they do it because they love it and the satisfaction they get from the action itself is all the reward they need.