Earlier quoted context omitted.
This, 100%. I couldn’t agree more. I’m currently a Software Engineering undergrad in Europe and, at least by my personal experience, the whole education system just focuses on preparing people to pass an exam, not to properly learn a subject. IMHO, the problem starts when the students get used to memorizing and repeating sample exercises which involve 0 creativity and then graduate and get an actual job.
What I said shouldn’t really be taken as an advice. If you think that getting good scores will open doors for you, and you are in need of those, then, by all means, work hard to get good scores. What many people like me do not realize is that learning something properly is among the material luxuries. You can only afford to do this if you do not have socio-economic disadvantages (like most people need jobs straight o…
As I've understood that part of myself, I've had to regularly and actively push myself out of my comfort zones (studied neuroscience in grad school, then became a software engineer and have worked at startups for the majority of my career, founded a couple of tiny ones that went nowhere with some friends too) and still need to as a mid-30s adult today. It's much easier now with a steady income, but seeing my friends who had more stable homes take risks that I'd never be able to stomach or recover from really imprinted how important financial stability is to a child growing up.
Hopefully despite all this, I can raise my own kid in a stable environment that allows them to learn and grow without worrying about their life being completely ruined if they don't make perfect grades or don't follow obvious well-trod paths in life.