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Some friends and I were recently talking about the benefits of a college education beyond the diploma that qualifies us for certain jobs. We wondered, “Did going to college really make us smarter?” “Would we be better people for having gone to college even if we decided to not use our degree?”
I know we live in a world where a college education is important. The more education we have the more likely we are to get a better job and make more money, but aren’t there jobs that require a college education that an intelligent person could just be “trained” to do rather than going through all the college filler, yet, that’s just not usually how it works.
I’m not saying a person doesn’t learn anything in college, but isn’t there a lot of fluff that could be left off and still achieve the same goal? Once we reach college age, it’s no longer a developmental process like moving from kindergarten to grade 12 and adding skills as we are able to comprehend them, but it’s just “more information” so to speak.
I know a guy who graduated with a degree in education when he was 22. For whatever reason, he decided to run the family farm instead. Now in his 40s, he has decided to get a teaching job. I’m sure he can handle it, because he is an intelligent guy, but do I think he knows any more about teaching than a paraeducator with a high school diploma who has worked in a school for 20 years. No I do not. His diploma, however, says yes.
I realize there are professions that couldn’t be mastered with a little training, like doctors, but I think there are others that could.
I know that’s just the way things work and I’m not saying people should not go to college. I suppose a college degree does show that a person is dedicated to something and perhaps more disciplined, but is it all it’s cracked up to be beyond the diploma?
I have a masters degree and a good job in that field, by the way, so this isn’t coming from someone who is bitter about having not gone to college. I guess I’m just questioning the process and its true benefits.
I know we live in a world where a college education is important. The more education we have the more likely we are to get a better job and make more money, but aren’t there jobs that require a college education that an intelligent person could just be “trained” to do rather than going through all the college filler, yet, that’s just not usually how it works.
I’m not saying a person doesn’t learn anything in college, but isn’t there a lot of fluff that could be left off and still achieve the same goal? Once we reach college age, it’s no longer a developmental process like moving from kindergarten to grade 12 and adding skills as we are able to comprehend them, but it’s just “more information” so to speak.
I know a guy who graduated with a degree in education when he was 22. For whatever reason, he decided to run the family farm instead. Now in his 40s, he has decided to get a teaching job. I’m sure he can handle it, because he is an intelligent guy, but do I think he knows any more about teaching than a paraeducator with a high school diploma who has worked in a school for 20 years. No I do not. His diploma, however, says yes.
I realize there are professions that couldn’t be mastered with a little training, like doctors, but I think there are others that could.
I know that’s just the way things work and I’m not saying people should not go to college. I suppose a college degree does show that a person is dedicated to something and perhaps more disciplined, but is it all it’s cracked up to be beyond the diploma?
I have a masters degree and a good job in that field, by the way, so this isn’t coming from someone who is bitter about having not gone to college. I guess I’m just questioning the process and its true benefits.