The perception nowadays is that in order to be successful you have to have an education (or a piece of paper). In childhood our parents instill in us that we have to go to college in order to make money and have a successful career. Throughout our public school career we are pressured with questions such as "what do you want to be when you grow up?". The truth is that yes, education does help in getting a job, but there are also plenty of other successful job opportunities that do not require any sort of education. I think it is us that really decides what education is, and at this moment we have decided that education is a ticket to a better life.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Taylor Gillie
When people ask you "What does it mean to be educated?", the first thing you normally think about is school; going to school and or having some sort of college degree is what is classified as an education in today's society. I think that yes being educated means that you go to school in the sense of the word, but I also think that people can be smart or wise without having an education. An education, to me, is simple a piece of paper that says you graduated from high school, or from some sort of higher education facility. Getting an education means going to class and simply passing them, whereas learning involves actually comprehending the topics presented in such classes. If you don't take advantage of the learning opportunities during your "education" then yes you are still educated, but not any smarter or wiser than the day you stepped foot there.
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I thought it was cool how you pointed out that education isn't always synonymous with intelligence. My parents come from very different educational backgrounds: my mom has a bachelor's degree and my Dad only took a few college level classes for fun. Even though my Mom technically is more educated, I consider both of my parents to be equally smart, so I completely agree that there should be more emphasis placed on the importance of learning as opposed to being educated. I also like how you defined education as a "ticket to a better life." Growing up my parents actually stressed the importance of finding out what I like to do because as my Dad put it, "you don't want to be stuck doing something you hate." For my family education is definitely a ticket, however, it's seen as a ticket to more options as opposed to a successful career.
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