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I've been thinking a lot about this lately. What does it really mean to be educated? A lot of people go around saying they're educated...e.g. I went to this or that university...got an advanced degrees in this, that, or the other thing, I wrote my thesis on such and such....and so on. But---really---what does being educated truly mean? Does it only mean having a a slip of paper from "accredited" university which proves that you attended a few dozen classes and achieved a good enough grade point average and enough credits to graduate according to that institution's criteria? Presumably, if you have a college education, you're literate, can do basic math, and possess reasonable analytical abilities, right? But I know many college-educated people lacking in one or more of these. Surely you do, too.
Or, is being educated mean that you have (through either schooling or hands-on experience) the required skills to join the work force? And maybe...just maybe...you have a fighting chance at a decent salary and standard of living for X amount of years? But in exchange, you contribute your life energy and mind to the corporate profit machine? The corporate profit machine probably thinks so.
Or is being educated something entirely different? What about the bushmen of the Kalahari? Surely, their education and hands-on learning helps them survive, hunt, gather and sustain themselves in what is sometimes a harsh living environment. I think it is fair to say they, too, are educated and competent for survival in their environment--even if they don't have a college degree.
Is being educated about being curious and motivated to seek truth and understanding of the world we live in...to genuinely seek common ground and build a society where all members can thrive? If so, then why do so many so-called educated people lack the disposition to keep learning and striving for creating societies and communities that offer a decent life for everyone?
I would love to hear your personal views on this topic. Honestly, I am not that interested in reading a bunch of links from the internet about education. I am genuinely interested in hearing your personal view, not a regurgitated piece found on the www.
My parents, as most people who lived in rural areas of their generation, only had an 8th grade education. Yet, both were voracious readers, very knowledgeable about history and current events and had excellent practical skills in business, math and everyday living. My dad was a published poet and my mom frequently wrote long letters to friends and relatives that were as well written as poetry.
In fact, it was quite common for us to be discussing current events, or science, or history or politics at family gatherings and my parents would be more articulate and have far more general knowledge than their college education grandchildren on those topics.
To me, being well educated means having a thirst for knowledge and continuing to want to quench that thirst in all areas.
IMHO, you do not need to have a college degree to well educated. Many college graduates are well educated but some are not.
Being educated it tied to the knowledge you have gained. One thing to note is that the bar for being educated is constantly moving. It's not as if once you are educated, you are always educated. You become partially educated and must close the gap.
Being educated it tied to the knowledge you have gained. One thing to note is that the bar for being educated is constantly moving. It's not as if once you are educated, you are always educated. You become partially educated and must close the gap.
There is no gap. It's an asymptotic approach.
Except in my alternate universe where the more I learn, the less I know.
when a man from a poor neighborhood no longer is willing to murder you for not paying him enough respect (insufficient kow tow) or because he has assumed that you are descendant of slave master.
It means functioning effectively in the world. The broader the definition of the world - your village, a corporation or school or government agency, a city, a country, several countries on several continents - the broader your education is. The more effectively you function in whatever world you choose, the deeper your education is.
It has nothing to do with universities, jobs, or salaries.
To be educated means to be able to think critically and independently, but not to be so bull-headed that you refuse to learn from someone who has more expertise. It means being able to do a variety of things, such as cook a meal, fix a flat tire, change a diaper, plant a tree, douse a fire. It's being able to multi-task. As Larry Siegal said above, it's also about functioning effectively in your world.
I sometimes chuckle at some of the young folks just graduating college nowadays. They are not yet "educated", they are just beginning. Education is a lifetime endeavor.
"Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned." Mark Twain
Also claimed and accepted he said 'I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.'
I turned on the tv recently and learned ... education is a commodity, learning optional but not required, degree included either way.
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... education is a commodity, learning optional but not required, degree included either way.
