Nina+Ray+RP+Post+1

1. **Presentation of research findings** 2. **The pursuit of new knowledge** 3. **Background & early knowledge** 4. **The rationale**
 * I can't decide if I want to write a position paper, or an informative explanation paper. For one thing, I have a lot to learn about the way funds and investments determine what we learn in school, and as a result determine what people think is important for a child to learn in 12 years.
 * On the other hand, I know I have a bias, and thus a point that I'll subconsciously try to prove. It's not clear-cut, but it exists. Perhaps I'll have an informative explanation with a conclusion that delivers an argument.
 * I'm not sure. Is there a way to combine different genres of this paper?
 * __What is the correlation between success in school vs. success as an adult? //Is// there a correlation?__
 * Regarding the American public school system as a whole, what is its overall purpose for students in the mandatory 12 years of schooling?
 * How do funds, investments, corporations, and politics influence what and how certain subjects are taught in school?
 * Speaking from personal experience, I've noticed that the older we get, the more we have to be able to grapple with the real world. But the more we have to grapple with the real world, the more I'm noticing that standardized tests didn't do much to determine whether a genius would be, well, a genius. Rather, the passion and love for learning is what guided these people to be successful in their adulthood.
 * I read this really cool piece on Medium that talks about generalized v. specialized societies and how this directly relates to the way our school curriculum functions.
 * High school has taught me a lot of things. It's really forced me to reevaluate how I see myself and how I see my peers. So, as a result of that, I'm really interested in how we determine what //is// intelligence, and how it's linked to success. Really, I want to understand why we've been socialized to believe in certain stigmas about succeeding in school and how it subsequently is an example of our capability to demonstrate intelligence. That's a mouthful, but, I want to understand why kids who fail in school are so looked down upon, especially when we have to consider the mental, emotional, physical, and financial factors that are often overlooked in this equation.
 * I mean, I'm obviously coming into the paper with a bias, but I want to be able to step back and see the big picture. I'm hoping to find legitimate links to how success in school defines our success in life, if there even is a link, and if our definition of success can be so tangible.
 * Actually, because of all these inquiries, I'm worried that this paper will go on for ages. So I'll have to figure out how to shorten the flow of ideas.
 * I guess at the end of writing this paper, I don't want to come away with something trivial. There are very serious problems with regard to our schooling system and I want to understand how to solve it.