Saturday, May 3, 2008 ; 4:01 PM
Many years ago, the psychologist Walter Mischel conducted an experiment at a preschool on the Stanford University campus. He gathered a group of four-year-old- kids around a table with an assortment of marshmallows in the middle. Mischel told them he had to leave the room for a few minutes. If they could wait until he got back, he would give them 2 marshmallows. If they couldn't wait, then they could have one marshmallow right then. One marshmallow right now, or two later. That was the deal. He then left the room.
- A few of the kids couldn't resist and ate a marshmallow the second he left.
- Some lasted for a few minutes before they gave in.
- Others smelled their marshmallows.
- One kid even began licking his.
- A few kids were determined to resist the temptation and wait. So they covered their eyes, put their heads down, sang to themselves, played games, hid in the corner, or even tried to fall asleep.
Quitting school might be compared to eating the marshmallow now. That juicy marshmallow tastes really good. And dropping out of school may taste delicious at first too. For example, I can immediately start making more money to buy things, apartment... And I also get rid of the headache of homework and grades.
On the other hand, by dropping out now, I'm sacrificing two marshmallows later. And that's a poor trade-off. The two marshmallows later show up down the road in the form of stronger skills, a better-paying job, a nicer car, more opportunities to help others, and a greater appreciation of everything around me.
I guess I want to finish my last 6 months in ITE and have some LifeSkills courses after my NS (:
