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the education problem

by Odahh
14 replies
hello ,

street smarts vrs book smarts has always been one of the topic in the success forums ..

so i was just reading this exchange Tickld Mobile - Spread Laughter and Cure Boredom

so this guy is upset because he basically spent a lot of his time and a bunch of money he will be paying back for the rest 30 years .. for a piece of papper he was told would help him get jobs ..but so far has done him no good .

and the professor write back .. that i will quote

"Education is a dialogue between teacher and students, student and student, academy and the world. We focus on qualitative measures of meaning, purpose, relationship, art, thought, and belief. We value person and life as who we are, not what we do. Our goal is to shape the way we think, looking beyond the superficial gains of power and influence to see consequences and effects on the meaning of being human. Education acts as a check and balance system to political and corporate greed and corruption. Education strives for greater equality as it measures success by ideas and expression rather than method and production. It fosters intelligent leadership through critical thinking. It demands self-reflection as a motivation to evaluate and change, and offers a spectrum of knowledge that becomes a laser of invention and creativity. "

ok as i think the professor just said .. that college isn't there to teach you productive skills or methods to be productive .. if you can break down why he thinks people go to college .. .

so basically the education system in the US is k-12 preparing youth for college while teaching them no useful life skills .. and another 4-8 years teaching them something else..so that they can get into a company that will hopefully train them with some marketable skill .

i believe there is value in higher education .. if you are going to build on skill you already have ..and to plug into and develop a network ..which up untill recently it was hard to do without going to college .

At this point the there are better thing about 70 percent of those going to college can do with their time and money .
#education #problem
  • Profile picture of the author Thunderbolt75201
    The main problem is the IQ...
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  • Profile picture of the author David Mcalorum
    I agree with this. For example, my best friend has a music degree
    and wants to be a music teacher. But whenever he sings, I literally
    cringe! It seriously sounds like S*IT to me.

    Where as I have no music degree, but have been on the radio since
    I was 11 years old.

    There is a huge difference between educational knowledge,
    and applied knowledge, or as I like to call it... experienced knowledge.

    Moral of the story is take what you learn and f'in do something with it!
    Otherwise it won't serve you worth s*it.
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  • Profile picture of the author sevemichaelml3
    Yes I agree and the RIO is far to come yet.
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  • Profile picture of the author coluden
    The trouble with education (formal college education) is that there are only a few fields in which you absolutely must get it (brain surgery, etc.). Those who already have it, in fields where it is not necessary, try to sell those who want to work with/for them, that they must have it to qualify to work with/for them. That is not true. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and others have proven that the "A" students often end up working for the "B", and "C" students anyway, and moreover, you can build huge businesses without a college degree. Like Henry Ford, you simply have to find people who are bright and skilled to help you. You may build it faster and with fewer mistakes if you are formally trained, but you definitely can do these things without college degrees. Go to collegedropoutshalloffame.com if you doubt me.

    Universities perpetuate the myth that you must have this 'piece of paper' in order to qualify for jobs because they are in the business of selling those pieces of paper to population that is already brain-washed by parents and others, into believing they must do so. If I was selling cable tv service, you should expect my ads to extol the glories of having Cable TV service, not just plain old broadcast TV.

    Most college degrees are desired for posterity, but are not necessary for life and productivity. What is needed is the discipline to study and the knowledge of how to buy education properly. People buy packages of education known as bachelors and masters degrees because it lends credibility to them and their institutions, but may add very little substance to their volume of applicable knowledge and to their reservoir of skills.

    You can become an expert in most fields by reading and thoroughly understanding 5 good books on the subjects.

    Just my two-cents worth.
    Anthony
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  • Profile picture of the author tobyjensen
    I think I found math and reading to be incredibly useful life skills. Otherwise how could I get on here and tell you about how awesome they are?

    My point is not to defend the useless things in education (if there are any) but to point out how much faster I got at reading and math when I took a class. Higher education (including self education) is all about this in spirit and in fact to some degree.

    Going to college opens more doors than it closes but it is not for everyone.

    To really get to the point here. It is all about being able to produce in the real world what you learned in class. That is the key. A classroom environment can only start to do that with labs. Then it is on to your internship. From there the gap is being bridged by coaches, mentors, and on the job training. The practicality of it. The culture of each individual workplace is difficult to experience in college.

    I am so glad I already know math when I sit down to run my budget from my income to just focus on what is going to work. If I had to learn math, how to read, set priorities, and achieve life goals . . . well, that is a little overwhelming.
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    Toby Jensen - Invest in what works this time

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  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    toby .. the key here is practical ..applicable skills that will make someone more productive .

    as for bill gate and mark zuckerburg .. they dropped out of Harvard which meant they where also smart enough to get in .

    and they where ahead of most on what they where doing when they did .

    most education is more about indoctrination and conditioning than the development of skills that will make someone productive ..
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  • Profile picture of the author John Jonas Phil VA
    My sister and I worked in the academe fresh out of college for a year. Once we started working in "the real world" we realized how unprepared we were for the workplace despite our degrees and "working" in the university.

    I think this is because the academe and business both have different systems and metric by which they measure success and progress. Both systems need each other and should work together but they still haven't found a way to adapt to each other's needs.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zarathustra333
    I believe street smarts trumps degrees. I have a big fancy law degree and I'm an attorney but I see, on a daily basis, insanely intelligent people who have never stepped foot in a college classroom. I also see, on a daily basis, insanely stupid attorneys who couldn't find the ground if they were lying on it ass up.

    It's more the person than the degree. It just so happens, many intelligent people naturally seek out degrees to begin with. Why? Because intelligent people constantly are looking for ways to increase their knowledge. That's how they got smart, and it's how they'll keep getting smarter.

    A degree is just shorthand for me to understand that they're open to learning and subsequently, they *MIGHT* have some intelligence. It's a long way from a guarantee as we all know plenty of people with degrees who aren't worth their weight in mud.

    Overall though, having a degree is nothing terribly impressive these days. Really, anyone can get them. It's somewhat akin to prison. If you do the time, you'll get the degree. Universities are so cash hungry these days it's quite rare that they'll expel you for bad grades alone. Too manky flunkers is just bad for business. Which is what most colleges are these days, a business. As a consequence, it's easier to earn degrees than ever before. It's still a nice feat to accomplish but my jaw never drops to the floor. I do try and give the benefit of the doubt though.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zarathustra333
    As a side note, vocational schools should be more prevalent as some people have previously stated.

    The problem is so many students these days don't think about what value they can provide for others, but what they can do for themselves. They see school as a means to expand their hobby or interest, erroneously believing it's a career. Going $150,000 into debt to major in "History of European Folklore" just spells disaster.

    Also, for some reason many people feel compelled to have a college degree more so than ever. I highly suspect it's due to social pressure. Everyone's friends go to college and someone who probably really shouldn't go feels like they'd be missing out on a life experience but are really just setting themselves up for a lifetime of serious debt.
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    • Profile picture of the author Odahh
      Originally Posted by Zarathustra333 View Post

      As a side note, vocational schools should be more prevalent as some people have previously stated.

      The problem is so many students these days don't think about what value they can provide for others, but what they can do for themselves. They see school as a means to expand their hobby or interest, erroneously believing it's a career. Going $150,000 into debt to major in "History of European Folklore" just spells disaster.

      Also, for some reason many people feel compelled to have a college degree more so than ever. I highly suspect it's due to social pressure. Everyone's friends go to college and someone who probably really shouldn't go feels like they'd be missing out on a life experience but are really just setting themselves up for a lifetime of serious debt.
      the education system that was set up by the industrialists..to turn poor farmers into compliant interchangeable workers .. then after the 70's the turn was away from teaching any type of usful non academic skills ..so home economics and woodshop ..and as we shifted to a more financial based economy.. no changes where made to education on money.

      so the inverse conditioning and marketing of education was if you didn't get to college..expect to be poor ..and the only purpose of k-12 has been to imprison young people to keep them out of the work force ..and prepare some for college .

      is there any clue why the country is the way it is when most people have not been trained that they are supposed to provide value and produce something ..but that they are supposed to do time for money so they can consume .
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Book smarts rock WHEN you put em into use, via street smarts. Whatever you enjoy most I say, but for me, putting knowledge into action, and acting before I knew what the hell I was doing lol, created my dream life.
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  • Profile picture of the author arjch
    In brief:-
    You need both with good education you cant explore and without exploring you cant achieve. Both are connected !
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    • Profile picture of the author Odahh
      Originally Posted by arjch View Post

      In brief:-
      You need both with good education you cant explore and without exploring you cant achieve. Both are connected !
      get educated.. but do not limit it to a class room education .

      if you are not activly making yourself more valuable..or improving your skills ..you are falling behind what you could be
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  • Profile picture of the author joesfortune
    I cannot understand why there is going to be an argument whether to get education or not. If a guy can make it in life without a college education, then fine. It doesn't mean, however, that everybody can do the same.
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    Joseph M. Dabon
    Blogger and freelance writer. I belong to Ezine's Expert Author, Diamond, level. Visit me at
    http://withinyouisyoursuccess.com/

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