Beliefs and mindsets have always existed in cultures, families, and institution

Beliefs and mindsets have always existed in cultures, families, and institution

Beliefs and mindsets have always existed in cultures, families, and institutions. In my case, I was raised understanding and only believing that it is only through education that I could achieve the American dream. Looking at every successful individual in our society, they were doctors, engineers, or lawyers. As such, it came down to me that I should only concentrate on school in order to achieve my dreams in life. The only way I could make into the top one percent of the country would be through education up to the higher institutions of learning. My siblings had also been put through school, and therefore it was the only norm in our house. My parents and the people in my community believed that the single key to success in life was education, and that is what would open doors to a better life. The constant pressure from the community and parents pushed me to study even if I felt otherwise. From a young age, I had been a person who is good with the hand, and I know how to design things, draw, and to build. In my culture, leaving school to pursue an occupation in things that involve out of school experience and just creativity was like a taboo. Subsequently, it was hard for me to develop my talent for drawing, building, and modeling materials such as houses, furniture, and other household equipment. A lot of things informed my belief that formal education was the only way to achieve the American dream. The aspects that shaped my belief include the media, education, culture, and parents through constant reminders to take formal education seriously because it was the only way out.

The first people who influenced my belief that education was the only key were my parents. My parents are working with my mother, a teacher, and my father, a nurse in a local school and hospital, respectively. They are, therefore, the real epitome of education and where it can land you after you have studied hard. My parents always struggled to put all my siblings through the belief that they would go a step higher than them and become doctors or engineers. The dream has always been built by the fact that my parents have always quoted professionals such as Dr. Ben Carson as the biggest achievers of the American education system. My parents have had a particular belief that anyone who has not gone through the school system is a failure and does not deserve to be their child. They always insisted that even if I wanted to be an artist, I would have to go to school first then use the art to complement my professional career. The belief had been cultivated in them from their parents, who also got it from our lineage and earlier generations. Therefore it has become something like a custom in our family. The belief was also supported by the fact that my older siblings were performing well in their schoolwork and were making my parents really proud. However, I challenged my parents by telling them that most people have become very successful through artwork and are extremely successful. The modern society needs creativity to make it out because it is a talent that nowadays stands out. The schools are bloated with students fighting for the limited resources and job opportunities that it needs one to be a little bit creative to stand out among the rest.

Culture has also helped in cultivating the belief that education is the only way to be successful. In our community, people look at a family with a child who has not gone to school as a failed one. Culture has also demanded that prestige is only acquired through education. Culture has, therefore, ensuring that even students with low academic capabilities but higher artistic capabilities are still stuck in school trying to get their papers to live up to community standards. In my culture, the parents trusted the decision making of the teachers and would, therefore, take anything the teachers said as the law. Therefore the more the teachers tell my parents that I had room for improvement in-class activities, the more they listened to them than to me who wanted to explore other arts. I have always believed that art courses are also competent and can spur someone to the very top of the ladder in terms of success. The cultural experiences have, therefore, also had a lot of influence on how people around me view formal education and why they hold it in high regard and not as much as in the case of art courses.

Both education and the media have played the same role in building the belief that formal education is the real definition of the American dream. The media has been at the forefront in promoting the top professional jobs in the country, thereby making it look like if you are not a doctor, engineer, or lawyer, then you are a failure. Further, most professionals are the ones that get invites to talk about their jobs, which a lot of times might lead to denying the other people a chance to show that everyone can be successful in their way. The media has also promoted programs that seek for general literacy of the people. Additionally, most television programs involving children have them stating their dreams, and most such dreams are about professional careers. On the other hand, education has its basics, which begin with allowing the children to choose their careers. The students are given targets to work towards, and in most cases, it is always the significant professions that demand students to work hard in mathematics and sciences. However, I believe that success can also be found in other artistic courses which have proven that they are also a sure way to success. As society modernizes, there is a need to diversify through creative ideas that can open more fields of employment for people.

In conclusion, there are a lot of aspects that influence a belief, and such can be media, family, culture, and education. People have always believed that school opens ways to all doors but, at the same time, has relegated some artistic careers that do not get so much attention. The belief has been entrenched in the communities so much that it has gotten so much harder for other careers to gain the recognition they deserve. I believe that the belief about formal education is misguided, especially in the modern globe, where everything needs creative solutions rather than theoretical applications. Thus I think that the mindset about formal education should change to allow institutions to develop other courses that would help other children who are not academically strong to get to be successful in life.