Does education matter?

[Gabriella Laurence 301887]

"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune."

Jim Rohn

[craig1977 573]

Education isn't intelligence. Some of the least educated people I know are the most intelligent. I agree with others who say personality is most important. Don't let the little people get you down!

[castle 38816]

I've met university graduates who are literally as dumb as a bucket of nails, and some people with a basic high school diploma (or sometimes not even that) who are intelligent, witty, articulate, etc. Sure the university graduates have what one might call "book smarts", but I think "book smarts" counts for very little in the grand scheme of things. The best school out there is the school of hard knocks. Life experience is worth more than a thousand text books.

 

As long as someone is friendly and interesting (funny helps too) then they're a winner in my book :)

[Phaedrus 209521]

+1 on pretty much everything everyone else said. I haven't met very many people who judge others based on their level of education. Those I have met who do this have generally been dispensed with pretty quickly :)

 

As it happens, I was fortunate enough to get a pretty good formal education... but that's due in large part to good choice of parents and the way I happen to be inclined (I'm a horrible nerd at heart :) ). I'm certainly not going to judge others who were less lucky at birth, or whose talents lie in spheres other than the purely academic, or who simply chose to walk a different road.

 

Finally, here's a picture of two college drop-outs. Clearly they'll never achieve anything worth... oh, wait...

 

[oscarthegrouch 400]

Peachy, I find that people who try to highlight their education or test people tend to miss the point about education. If someone needs to rely on a degree or some lettering behind their name to prove something, they're probably lacking in some department. What is learned in university these days tends to assist in your ability to grasp new information and use it, not teach you the definitive answer to all of lifes questions. This can also be learned through life experience, and can be learned better that way my most pepople. People who rely on a degree miss this point and think it makes them smart...and sadly the opposite it usually true for these types. Unfortunately, where I work is very degree oriented and people whose IQ wouldn't break the century mark strut around with dual masters or PhDs like a peacock tail while denigrating those without. I have a university education and prefer the company of those who have learned life lessons, not necessarily stats 101; they're more intelligent and actually know things through experience. Be proud of your life experience, you're better for it.

 

Additional Comments:

I am, however, horrified at my typos:D

[Cara Silver 32412]

I have two degrees. In this economy, that makes me an idiot. There is no point in being skilled in an area no one cares about. Degrees don't make you smarter- they make you irrelevant to most employers :)

 

Happy Easter to me.

 

xoxoxoxo AM

[O'Cahla 4352]

As has been stated so many times before here, formal education does not make a person. There are SOOOOO many more types of intelligence, and some of the MOST highly educated people I've met have very little practical intelligence or smarts. In short, they don't function very well in the real world at all. As long as you strive for self betterment, be it through books or experience, the world should have nothing but a profound respect for all you have accomplished on whatever path you take. Who you are and what made you who you are, are as much a part of an intense connection as much as great great looks and deep sensuality. Each person is a complete package to be unwrapped and discovered.

[rdymango 673]

What?!?! People test you during your session with them?? That is messed up! That just makes me want to slap some sense into people. If someone wants to test for intelligence, maybe they should be signing up for Mensa, or a Trivial Pursuit fan club. I could give a rat's ass about how educated an sp or mp is. I care about personality and being able to have fun conversation. Strip Trivial Pursuit perhaps? Now that I could get on board with!

[Guest]

I choose the topic of education because I truly believe that I do not stand alone. Like Julie wild had stated there are common misconceptions and biased opinions about people without a higher education. I'm sure that if it doesn't bug you it's not a big deal. I totally agree with Nicole Vaughn. This is an issue to me so people pick up on it and use it to make me feel badly. I would rather not see anyone who feeds off of anyone's insecurities. I will automatically put people like this on my blacklist. It is interesting to read the many posts about this topic. Reading these posts have opened my eyes to the ignorance people use to bring other people down. I don't need to explain myself to anyone anyways.

[Areez 11906]

As many before me has said and echoed in their reply about education.. I firmly believe that education does not make one person smart. Experience and attitude goes far more to enhance your life.

 

Each day there is person out there that spent thousands of dollars for school purposes.. I often ask myself .. Why? Spending 20-30 thousands of dollars to have that piece of paper with a gold seal.

 

I have been lucky as i always had the choice of what i would like to do in life. Having finished two college programs, both in technical field, I could say in some cases it does help. But its not always related.

 

Trying to put a value on someone based on their education is morally wrong. to whom that does this... I think they require education themself... maybe to broaden their perspective.

 

Anyhow, morning ramble with the coffee... :)

[fortunateone 156618]

My education got me a couple of opportunities that were not given to others who were working at the same locations. In both situations, it was my opinion that those others should have gotten the position not myself, because they had the actual hands on experience that would have been much more of benefit to the job and the company. But those people didn't have some piece of paper so they didn't. Ridiculous. Companies prefer to hire outsiders with the diplomas, rather than promote more qualified applicants who've shown years of loyalty and ability, which is just wrong.

 

 

I have no idea why you have encountered clients that want to quiz you on your education. It is incredibly rude of them, and I think that if they'd done that with me, then turn around and book another appt, I would pass lol. Maybe they want to feel superior, maybe they just want to prove an assumption that all sps are sps because they don't have degrees, and therefore can't do anything else. It is insulting whether you have one or not, to have people assume we are incapable of doing anything else.

 

It is also insulting for them to suggest that having one makes one person superior over another. Some people don't do well in school settings. A large number of high IQ people do not do well in school settings. School can be incredibly boring if you are bright or advanced.

 

There are all kinds of ways to be smart. One way is not insult the person you want to get intimate with.

 

 

My dad was the smartest person I know, and his last formal schooling was grade 9. He read all the time, everything, 'smart' books lol. History, politics, biographies, etc. He was over 50 when he got his GED, and in the meantime, further education in his field (a trade, not a degree) There isn't anything wrong with not having a diploma or degree, or not attending university if it is not your path. There are many ways to learn and grow and contribute and participate, in the world. All you need to do, with clients, is be able to hold your own in conversations, and I would hope that quantum physics or Shakespeare isn't part of general chit chat during a massage or even dinner.

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

Having an advanced level of education only proves that you can learn. People learn in different ways and as a former industrial trainer you soon learn that people learn by different ways. The formal part is one, but a lot of people do not show the common sense that alot of of people learn by doing and observing how things are done and catch on right away. Others learn by making mistakes and then learning form them. Formal education can be an asset sometimes but they are harder to train because they can be very inflexible and will not adapt as quickly as someone who has learned the more practical approach. Give me someone with good common sense over those who are highly educated and set in their ways and not open to change.

[mrgreen760 37785]

I do like smart women. That being said there is book smart and there is life smart. And who am I to judge? If you are open to it you can learn something from every single person you meet no matter their background, education or profession.

 

Heck, I've risen to the top of a couple companies in completely different indusrtries with a Grade 12 education. Some stick their nose up at my lack of formal education and when they do....I just smile and cash their cheque :)

 

Peace

MG

 

Got hired today in an senior excutive position for an industry that represents my third distinct and different career. Pretty cool! My Grade 12 has served me well. All kidding aside, I've been adaptable, open to change and at 58 still willing and eager to learn.

 

Peace

MG

[spud271 47779]

Got hired today in an senior excutive position for an industry that represents my third distinct and different career. Pretty cool! My Grade 12 has served me well. All kidding aside, I've been adaptable, open to change and at 58 still willing and eager to learn.

 

Peace

MG

 

Congratulations sir! Good luck with your new career!!! :D

[mrgreen760 37785]

Congratulations sir! Good luck with your new career!!! :D

 

Thanks :) Happy Easter!

 

Peace

MG

[Guest ****ven]

As an individual who has spent the last 10 years of my life wallowing away in post-secondary institutions I have met a lot of "well-educated individuals". This being said, just because of this does not mean that they are intelligent good people.

 

A lot of academics are pretentious jerkfaces. I may be speaking with a bias...

 

Either way I never judge people based on the pieces of paper that they may or may not hold.

[Secrets of Victoria 7208]

I am in full agreement here. I've been turned away because I have 'too much education' or been told that I don't have enough practical experience in my field. Unfortunately, I need both the education and the practical experience in order to be hired. I have both.

 

Education does not make me any more intellectual than anyone else on here by any means, just means I was dumb enough to pay for it all, lol!

 

Some of the most fascinating people I ever met had no formal education to speak of. They read lots, watched world current events and could put the so-called intellect to shame.

 

Education should never have to be a part of what we do as sp's, with the exception of honing our craft and educating ourselves on what our clients needs are.

Almost every sp that I have met can carry on a conversation with the best of them, and there have been some that couldn't carry a conversation if it had handles.

Higher education has no merit in our work here, it does not make any of us better or worse than any other sp

[Athos 108589]

A lot of academics are egotistical intellectual snobs, who don't realize that except for the protection of the tenure system they would have been fired long ago. Many of them end up as university faculty precisely because they are so socially inept that they couldn't hold a job anywhere else. Which goes right back to the difference between book smart and almost any sort of smart that matters!

[parkershellby45 678]

There are many ways in which one gets an education, some of the most interesting and successful people have been self taught, the School of Hard Knocks is not to be under estimated in this world.

[magic-eh 630]

My opinion is : Education can show a level of maturity and discipline in order to finish what one starts, while seeking a level of person growth and purpose. It is nice to be intimate with one who can understand this charter trait on a personal level. It can add to ones appeal, for some overriding those who are not perfect bodily supermodels.

[Philander39 3705]

I find the issue of education and whether it shows intelligence is really a loosers game. As people noted previously, a piece of paper really doesn't mean you are smart. It does show you are capable of perserving and do what is needed to get that piece of paper. In my program in university, we had such a high drop-out/failure rate that our rallying cry was "The can't fail us all !!" There were times before our exams where it almost felt like we were in the trenches waiting for the whistle to blow sending us over the top. If you survived that it didn't mean you were smart just damn stubborn and definitely lucky.

 

Then there is the whole issue of what subjects you are considered to be intelligent. I know many people who are great with numbers but have know clue about what is going on in the world. Of course there are others who are the exact opposite. I know on certain subject matter I probably would be considered to be smart. But that is subject matter that I have spent my life studying and that my work is directed towards. I know I forgot a lot of things from my university days but I also know a lot of things that I would never have been taught in university.

 

Education/intelligence is such funny thing and it causes more problems then it is worth. If you need to feel good about yourself by making others feel dumb then that shows more about your character then anything else.

 

Of course, more likely the issue is the other person is trying to "help someone" by "teaching" them the subject matter. Unfortunately, not too many people can do this in a respectable way. Being a lowly Bachleor in Science among a large group of engineers and PhD's in science means I get lots of these "teaching moments". Intially it is rather insulting but over time and a few minor blow-ups, I learned most people are trying to be helpful and I usually give them the benefit of the doubt. I would recommend you do the same Peachy. Makes things easier for you and if the person is really trying to make you feel like a dummie they definitely will be doing a whole bunch of other things at the same time so they will be easy to spot.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

"All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" - Robert Fulghum

 

On the other hand -

 

[roamingguy 300291]

My opinion is : Education can show a level of maturity and discipline in order to finish what one starts, while seeking a level of person growth and purpose. It is nice to be intimate with one who can understand this charter trait on a personal level. It can add to ones appeal, for some overriding those who are not perfect bodily supermodels.

 

Sometimes one can't finish what one starts. A friend of mine had to quit high school. Did he lack maturity and discipline to finish what he started. No. He got his girlfriend pregnant, so he did what he considered the right thing to do...he married his girlfriend and went out in the working world to support his wife and child to be....that to me says much more about maturity, discipline and character than if he finished high school and forgot about his responsibilities to his girlfriend and child to be.

Education comes in all forms, but it says nothing about a person's character, maturity or discipline

RG

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

I once asked a human-resource exec about this: "Why do you require that applicants for certain positions have a degree, even when there's no technical need for it?" Her reply: The most important thing a degree shows is the applicant's discipline and commitment to sticking with the pursuit of a goal over a period of years.

 

It's against the (official) rules in today's world, but it used to be that it was a huge mark in a male career/job-applicant's favour if he were married. This also was considered to show the same desirable traits - maturity, a propensity to commitment and the long-term pursuit of a goal.

 

No one says there's "only" one way for a person to show a tendancy towards these traits. Humans are widely variable and adaptive creatures.

 

As far as getting along with other people in general - similar backgrounds and experiences (educational, geographical, social, etc) often (but of course not always) do help with making folks feel comfortable with each other.

[Athos 108589]

Sadly, perhaps, but educational achievement becomes a shortcut to judging these things. If you have 100 applicants for one position, it can be very difficult to judge life experience and relate it to qualifications, ability, maturity, etc. probably, education should be thought of as nothing more than a life experience, which as a society, we've allocated particular meaning.

 

As everyone has said, it doesn't equate with intelligence, but it does (again perhaps wrongly) often equate with opportunity. My father, who didn't get past grade 6 was a mathematical whiz and could probably have been an engineer. He could design, make, and fix almost anything. But, of course, he wasn't an engineer, but worked in a machine shop. And to be totally fair, without a professional engineering certification I'm not sure people in general would have wanted him designing bridges or electrical dams.