How important is education?

[ticking]

Lolol

 

[spemat]

it depends... I went to college and have a bachelor's in international relations as well as German literature and it was a waste to me one is a science degree International relations so I have options if I go that route. However, the skills I chose to pick up in the 5 major changes I went through helped a lot. I learned Spanish, French and Italian and was able to nail all of my SAT II tests but I kicked in someone's door and beat them up to steal my pound of weed that was stolen from me (they didn't find the weed but I was 16 and they let me stay out because I had a great GPA and could sing well and made the school look good) and I found the jail time that I did to be quite educational about street smarts, society and taught me how to really grow some balls that I missed out on being sheltered. Mental hospital trips were educational to me. I already spoke German and Farsi and all I do now is tutor German grad students. I think it depends on the purpose. I personally think those social science or liberal arts majors are worthless but some people like them Engineering or Medicine are good careers if you want that kind of job. Trades are good if you can handle them. I was a licensed cosmetologist until I had a manic episode and couldn't tolerate my bosses anymore. Being male isn't too great there. I have ADHD and really can't stand the monotony of too much too long. I am thinking of doing something else already, like body piercing. I worked in a bakery at one point and was a cake decorator. I think I spent a lot of time in college in these liberal arts classes, initially and I was sick of the semester long extended papers that basically stated, "I am a white male and I am evil". I feel like I got a lot out of it but the classes were unbearable. I learned a lot about IT and Website development and also law classes so I was able to break up those classes that were miserable but I decided to switch the psych major because it was useless. If you go for fine arts or women's studies or 17th century Russian literature or something, don't expect to have much luck at a job or long career that pays well. If I choose to move to Germany for good, my family there has money and would pay my debt but they own a solar panel manufacturing company and I would be an indentured slave to them and I don't like the idea of that. I get career burnout quick. Bad case of ADHD.... lol

My mistakes luckily aren't looked down on due to the age factor but I couldn't do some jobs with that part of my history.

 

[VitamaN]

Well reading and writing are imperative to just get by...
but so much of the "history" I learned in school = LIES. Education is terrible when its all misinformation .
If miseducation isn't a word, it should be.
If I was trying to control people, I'd want most of them to be dumb. Close their minds and give me the key. So education would be very important to me and my informants and strategists but not my minions .

 

[Brandon1991]

Well said man. I am smart but, I have no discipline and poor self control. I dropped out of highschool
and got into drugs. I'm 23 and i am capable of getting an education. I don't know what my problem
is.. I'm not going anywhere in life watching youtube pranks and listening to music all day.
I am mentally lazy.. And I put forth little effort.. I was thinking about JobCorps or something
to give me some direction. Most people i talk to on a daily basis don't discuss topics like this.
It feels good to discuss these issues rather than just ignore them. Glad I found the site.

 

[Journyman16]

Schools aren't designed to create thinkers or creative people, they are designed to mould everyone into a common model, to teach them to listen to Authority and to be obedient little workers/soldiers/public servants.

You have only to look back and see who promoted the current system to realise it sure ain't for OUR benefit.

The model used came from Prussia, who'd just had their arses handed to them by Napoleon. They made a system designed to give them soldiers who could take orders and the USA got the system from them and the rest of the western world followed. If you're interested, have a read of Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt, ex-policy advisor in Education to Ronald Reagan - site is http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/ and you can download The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America for free.

Another good one to read is John Taylor Gatto, site is http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/ - seems to be under development so not sure where the link is for his main book, but you can download it free also - it's The Underground History of American Education.

Note I am not picking on the Americans here - the same system is being used almost everywhere there is compulsory state-run education. It took decades for the proponents of the system to 'sell' the American public on it and the methods they used to do so are an education in corruption all by themselves.

Being proud of being educated is a bit like saying "I'm a really good prisoner" and it takes major effort and courage to be able to step out of the programming and learn to think. Having a goal of being a good earner/consumer isn't that hot when you realise you've been trained into seeing conformity as something worthwhile.

 

[vincubus]

To the OP.

i was reading on uni level at age 10. I have read massive mounds of books. i learn something new everyday-from one source or another; a child, book, other adult, observation, reflection.

if a person stops learning, they are dead-or should be

 

[vincubus]

J-man, once again you are on target re prussia, mann, gotto etc.

we spend many years being indoctrinated, and some of us spend the rest of our lives defeating that indoctrination

 

[malakaix]

Well said man. I am smart but, I have no discipline and poor self control. I dropped out of highschool
and got into drugs. I'm 23 and i am capable of getting an education. I don't know what my problem
is.. .

Similar, 25 and no higher education. It's not beyond me and i'm sure i could do it but the issue is motivation. I was teaching myself programming, web design, 3D mapping and modelling when i was 14 for fun, also started building computers around this age.. at present i read tons on sociology, philosophy and psychology.. admittedly video games in my later teenage years and to a greater extent drug use impacted me and my self-discipline took a hit.

But i have zero interest in pursuing the above in an academic environment.. i read and learn about it for myself to help cultivate and deepen my understanding of my self in relation to my environment.

I can't follow through on something unless im personally invested, i need to feel passionate or driven.. higher education has never ignited either of that in me. At present im working full-time doing unskilled work with the intention of saving over the course of two years to invest into a business idea that i feel very strongly about. First time in my life i've actually found something i feel passionate about.. weather it works out or not is another story, but im willing to work my ass off and give up a lot of my free time and money for it..

I work with a 32 year old doing unskilled labour, he has a masters in accounting.. but he hasn't been working in the field for 5 years, he earns better money working this job and another side job.

I had an ex-girlfriend who was finishing her degree in business and marketing, had done language studies and could speak fluent German.. and was pursuing further education at a prestigious business and technology university; i can't express how inferior this made me feel and it really brought the question of education into the spotlight for me.. and i battled with it for a long time, im still on the fence about it..

IM not ruling education out.. i might go back at 30+ if that's where i'm at in life, i know im intelligent enough to do it.. but it's all about what's driving me.

 

[balea]

I never thought a day would come when we would be discussing the importance of education and yet, here we are.

Education is important people. Enough said.

 

[maxade]

Education overrated

 

[Journyman16]

I never thought a day would come when we would be discussing the importance of education and yet, here we are.
Education is important people. Enough said.

Only true if you mean Education, not schooling. Very few people come out of schooling educated. Trained... yes. Obedient... yes. Compliant... yes. Consumers... yes. Educated... NO.

 

[Journyman16]

What people think of us only matters because we are programmed to always seek approval, to always conform to what is expected and to make sure those around us 'obey the rules' as well. People who want to break out of the pattern have to fight their way through an almost solid wall of disapproval before they break through some intangible level and suddenly THEY are the new Authority.

The opposite case might happen as well... What are you doing?" "Carpentry." "whereabouts?" "At Uni." Then see their faces. :D Would YOU buy a house built by someone who learned how to do it at Uni?

If you wish to do Medicine it makes sense to get the regular training in it, but you should also be aware of the limitations of such training and educate yourself on the side. If you want to set up a business, you're better off just doing it and teaching yourself things as you go - that 4 years you spend getting an MBA only qualifies you to work a corporate job and you will still have to set up your own business and learn the ropes.

And as an added bonus, if it happens like you say and their faces change, you've just elarned a valuable lesson about who to let near your kids. :D

 

[Junction]

Education is about pursuing something that you are really passionate about to the point you're willing to take out loans and bend yourself backwards to study it until achieving a fraction of your potential. I say a fraction, because you learn the most outside of school. School can equip you with the tools you need to teach yourself further and really specialize in a craft, but the polishing through trial and error of those skills occurs out of school.

Then there is the other element: what you study and where you go to school might very well determine your social circle. If you go to school you will end up in a circle of people that is similarly educated and has that in common with you. 50% of college and 85% of grad school is about making those connections.

If you value these things, then education is definitely going to have a huge impact on your life.

 

[alasdairm]

Education is about...

ask 100 people what education is about and you'll get about 100 different answers. ask somebody when they are 18 and you'll get a different answer than when they're 40.

to me, education is about bettering oneself.

so many problems in this world are caused by hate and hate is often rooted in ignorance. education is a way of making the world a better place in the most local way possible.

alasdair

 

[Journyman16]

ask 100 people what education is about and you'll get about 100 different answers. ask somebody when they are 18 and you'll get a different answer than when they're 40.
to me, education is about bettering oneself.
so many problems in this world are caused by hate and hate is often rooted in ignorance. education is a way of making the world a better place in the most local way possible. alasdair

It's not half bad at solving the opulation problems either - higher education, less kids. :D I guess if you can't read there's lots more time for screwing. :D

 

[kaya_9]

If it furthers achieving your passion for your dreams in life...there's no reason for it not to be worth it. My job as a teacher of elementary/middle school kids that have learning disabilities-such as dyslexia-is to find what that dream or interest might be...True education is about the process of self-discovery and being willing to take risks to learn and achieve..Public school does not do this, and therefore so many people get to the age where they are considering what to do and don't know.

Some of the kids I work with are extremely mechanically oriented, artistic, and creative-but they don't have the strong academic piece because of their weaknesses. Again, this is where education fails kids. Education-as well as post-secondary- should be all about building achievements and strengthening weaknesses... then the rest will come with the drive.

Public is all about the test score..and this is where they will always fail. That's why I work at a private school-no government bullshit and teaching to a test.