Cornell NYC Tech
A journalist for a NYC daily interviews a young
man who has been to a “genius school” for the last two years both about his
experience at the school and about his views on the future of education in NYC generally…
Journalist : So, Ryan, could you tell us how you
managed to get a place at this school for high-flyers?!
Ryan : Ok, well, two years ago, this
dude from the NYC Department of Education came to my school and suggested I
pass a kind of IQ test. He said that he had been told about my good school
results, and that if I scored well at the test I could be accepted in a school
for so-called geniuses.
Journalist : And how is life in this high school
for the brightest and best!? Is it so different from an ordinary school?
Ryan : It’s pretty much the same if you
look just at the timetable. The main difference would be that the lessons
themselves are much more in-depth. Every kid in the school has a higher level
of knowledge than ordinary children…
Journalist : What do you think about the
Bloomberg administration’s initiatives to improve the educational system of
NYC, starting with expensive new buildings?
Ryan : It is great for students and for
New Yorkers generally! Bloomberg launched this program because NYC is in
competition with other US cities. Even though some people think it is a waste
of money, I am 100% in favour of these
ambitious educational projects because young people are the future of society.
Journalist : Have you a particular
“hothousing” project in mind?
Ryan : Yeah, the Cornell Tech. I would love to
go there! Students will have access to the latest technology for their IT
research projects. You know, by supporting elite schools, NYC will have the
best “brains” on its side. This intellectual elite will then contribute by helping
NYC to be even more competitive at both national and international levels. Our
city will become more attractive, modern, beautiful even… It will be more
environmentally friendly, and interconnected. It will also then attract even
more bright people searching for research facilities. We will make NYC a
reference for academic and business success! Investing in a better education
system is investing in the future, right?
Journalist: What do you think of all the
architectural gimmickry of the Tech?
Ryan:
If you think about it, isn’t New York built on ambition, on the idea of
progress? Just look at its architecture! The skyscrapers and all those
amazingly original buildings like the Guggenheim all symbolize a people
building – literally – a brighter future for themselves. Our landmark buildings
are all these crazy futuristic constructions! At the time they were “wow!” and
they still are “wow”! (Pause) Our cultural heritage, I think, is excellence,
hard work and ambition, and the products of that, including social peace and
justice, a multicultural world city, great new ideas, movies, Jazz, Warhol, and all the rest, even Lady Gaga! And the physical environment of our metropolis is the biggest
and most amazing and alive and world-famous proof of who and what we are, of where
we have come from, of what New Yorkers have in common! The buildings that our
ancestors built were not just for themselves but also for us, their
descendants, too.
Journalist: So, for you, the Tech and other
initiatives like it are not a waste of time and money then?!
Ryan: We must do the same as they did, create great buildings for our
own present and for our City’s future. In fact, we have to create our
children’s cultural heritage! We must have the same ambition as our forefathers
and pass that need for ambition on to our kids, so, all the more reason today
to construct a research facility that is futuristic, using all the latest
architectural and environmental innovations, not just trendy gadgets and such,
but a building that will quickly become a landmark, a real reference… In effect, an excellent
building that houses excellence! A building that is the future, both
inside and out!
