Okay, where to begin? Let’s start with the overall concept and then work our way down to the finer points.
Our capitalist society encourages/values individual success and pushes us from day one to be our individual best. (I can only speak of American society since I know that other societies have different approaches and ideas of what constitutes success and how one should go about achieving such success) My point here is to attempt to illustrate just how messed up this process is by reflecting on my personal experience as it has occurred throughout various stages in my life.
Sometimes I just get a little sick and tired of being a 10 Percenter in a world of 90 Percenters! But, unfortunately, being a 10 Percenter, I cannot just throw in the towel and join the 90 Percenters, it is virtually impossible.
You see, the world is made up of two kinds of people: those who have, throughout their lives, through one way or another, taken the necessary actions associated with doing well and being the best and have integrated these concepts into their actual “self” and then there are the rest of the people who get in the way. (Trust me - you will understand more as you read on.)
Think back… try to remember when you were a young child and (this will seem natural and like no big deal at first… but stay with me here) and as you began to discover and develop your personal skills, your family (generally) and society as a whole encouraged you to do your best… to be the best (sometimes it was a loving “be the best you can be” and sometimes it might have been a demanding “be the best – period!)
This starts very young (even before we become aware of it) as proud parents compare “success stories” of their infants and toddlers progress in walking/talking/potty training etc. Success and being “better than the rest” is highly stressed from day one.
Now, for some of you (in fact, about 90 percent of you) this whole Introduction and the following Examples and the ultimate Conclusion may not ring true with your life experience … that is to be expected. In truth, this message is aimed more so at a specific 10 percent of the population for whom this “theory” holds true.
Note: I am not ragging on actual people here and in no way mean to offend, alienate, or place blame upon the 90 Percenters. I am more concerned with the way in which society creates this situation/issue/problem and just how messed up it is. Also note that a great deal of this theory is based on my own experience and although I have found great support and corroboration for my hypothesis from others in the community (and granted there may be quite a bias there, since this corroboration has come from people whom I would consider to be fellow 10 Percenters) I in no way, shape, or form claim to speak for all of the 10 Percenters in our society. I also admit, that in the "big, grand, overall picture of the world and universe," I myself may fall into the 90 Percenter category – but again, this theory comes from my experience and regardless of which category I fall into, the theory still stands unaffected. I will however, from here on out, refer to myself as a 10 Percenter and in so doing will also refer to the 10 Percenter population as “we”. The 90 Percenters may at times be referred to as “they” but please understand that I am not attempting to forge an “us/them” division here, (society has already done that). I must, however, use this terminology to begin with in order to support my final argument for change and overall integration.
And here we go back into the theory…
Now, even if you don’t remember the pressure to succeed and be the best as a young child that is fine. My theory is based more on school and the educational system anyways.
As children in school, we are pressured by parents and family, teachers and the school systems to meet certain standards for evaluation. Before we encounter such things as GPA’s or even A,B,C,D,F grades, we begin with S’s and U’s. Remember those Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory evaluations taken home via Grade or Report Cards for our caregivers to review and reward, punish, or be indifferent to - whichever the situation may be. This is where the separation begins. We are not at the 10/90 split yet… just a simple 50/50, Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory, good/bad. We learn to strive for that first 50, the Satisfactory and good 50 from the beginnings of our educational careers.
From there, the simple 50/50 becomes more complex and oftentimes distorted as to the true scale. Grades of A,B,C,D,F are added to the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. We are taught (incorrectly) that good students get A’s while bad students get F’s. The truth is good students get C’s (after all a C is supposed to represent “average” or what is to be expected) while A’s are for exceptional performance – well above average. As a child, I believed that A’s not C’s were expected as the symbol of “what was to be expected” and so I worked very hard at earning my A’s (because, in this frame of mind, anything below an A is “below average,” when in actuality that’s really what the C’s are for). Oh, did I cry when I got a C in Handwriting in the 3rd Grade. I was so devastated and disappointed in myself I cried all the way home and kept crying until I gave my Report Card to my mother, who didn't punish me at all (as I had expected for performing so far below average).
So, the A,B,C,D,F system takes our initial 50/50 separation and now has a greater division along the lines of 20/20/20/20/20. We still have no GPA’s… merely an average grade.
And then there are the tests. I know a lot about these tests since we moved quite often as I was growing up. I actually attended 9 schools during my K-12 education (one school for kindergarten, one for first grade, another for second. I split 3rd grade between two schools, actually remained at one school for 4th and 5th, had a new one for 6th, another new one for 7th and 8th, and finally finished off 9th thru 12th at one school). At every new school I attended I always had to take “the test” – the one that measures your skill/knowledge level so they know you meet their standards for the grade you are supposed to be in. I never had any problems with the tests. In fact, after taking the 3rd grade test, the school wanted me to skip right up to 4th. (My mom and I discussed it and I didn’t really want to – so I didn’t.) So anyways, there were those kinds of tests.
Then there were the grade school tests to determine which students qualified as “gifted and talented” and got to take special classes in programs like Horizons and participate in events such as the Olympics of the Mind. (Think me a nerd if you like… these were things that I did – and these things aided in my development as a 10 Percenter.)
There was another kind of test too. Do you remember the national tests that were administered right around Junior High time that measured math, verbal, abstract, and reading comprehension skills and the results came on like these big sheets of paper with graphs showing the average national scores for each category and showed where you placed in relation to that. It even placed you in a specific national percentile. This is where we start approaching the 10/90 split.
I consistently scored in the 99th percentile in most categories (I still have the results in a box in my closet if you question my honesty) and no less that the 97th in my “weaker” areas. Well, all of us who scored within that Top 10 (90-99th) percentile were rewarded with Honors and Advanced Placement courses. I (and others students from this area) even participated in programs/courses at the local University – mind you… we were only in the 7th grade.
In Junior High we were also introduced to the National Junior Honor Society. This was followed in High School by the (no longer Junior) National Honor Society. High School also brought with it a much greater emphasis on GPA’s and Class Ranking. The division has come down to this .001 (tiny fraction) of a difference in GPA that decides one's place in the overall Class Rank. Now, we know the reward of being Number 1 is the honor of being class Valedictorian, followed by Number 2 as Salutatorian. Beyond that, your actual number does not matter; it becomes an issue of Top 10 or Top Ten Percent. You know you’ve heard it before… (to be said with great pride and gloating) “She graduated Top 10 at (insert institution here).”
Looking back, I now see where a lot of my frustration comes from. This frustration is a result of wanting to do things well, the best, the right (A = only average) way, the proper way, etc. Unfortunately, much of what one does cannot be done alone and therefore we work and depend on others to do their respective duties and to come through on their promises/obligations. This type of cooperation and teamwork looks great on paper, until you set it in action in the real world and the ideas, visions, and efforts of the 10 Percenters unavoidably become reliant on the work (in some way) of the 90 Percenters (after all, there are obviously more 90 Percenters out there than 10 Percenters.)
In my childhood training to develop my abilities as a 10 Percenter, I was educated alongside other 10 Percenters in the Honors and Advanced Placement courses and even earlier than that with the separation of students in Horizons and those who attended the Olympics of the Mind. 10 Percenters were raised in a 10 Percenter world. All was well. We all soared above our pre-determined potential and kept up with one another while challenging others to do the same with us.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch… the 90 Percenters got whatever it was they got while we were gone.
So, for years, things continued like this… 10 percent of students preparing for one kind of world while the massive 90 percent prepared for another. Then we all enter “the real world” together. 10 Percenters hit a massive 90 Percent wall of resistance not experienced in their Utopian 10 Percent world. So, here we are, high/over-achievers, fast movers and shakers with superior training in all things creative and inventive living in the land of the 90 Percent majority.
Now, the range from one to 90 percent is huge, and so the personalities, skills, attitudes, and behaviors of all who are the 90 Percenter category reflect that range appropriately. As a 10 Percenter, I do things a certain way and have developed expectations (which is never a good thing in cases like this) over time of what consists of proper etiquette, so to speak, especially in the business world. The problem is, that (as stated earlier) I cannot do this alone, and therefore, I must rely on 90 Percenters for things that I do not have access to. When the 90 Percenters do not respond in a 10 Percent manner it is very frustrating and at times can make one slightly upset/angry. It is at these times that I wish I could just be a 90 Percenter and not feel the weight of responsibility I was trained to carry during my childhood training as a future 10 Percenter. I wish I could just mosey through life, letting the 10 Percenters handle the hard stuff while I reap the same rewards because we are after all “a team.” But no, I can’t do that due to the guilt I would feel for not only letting others down, but for not doing things “right and proper” and thus failing to reach my full potential.
This was supposed to be a short rant about my frustration with other people not carrying their own weight or for not being professional when necessary and how I get worked up over trying to meet a 10 Percent standard with a 90 Percent team. In addition, I planned on unveiling my plan to eradicate this issue in our society, but this has gone on long enough for now.
There is much more to be said and many arguments to be made for and against this theory, but this is a blog, not an Argumentative Paper for school… and odds are, only 10 percent of you will even be aware of the absence of such things.
So.....
Here’s to the 10 Percenters… and may we overcome the obstacles of the 90 Percenter world!
~harvestorm
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