One thing have learned in all my years on this planet is that, most of the time, but not all the time, the folks who disparage education (as we see in this and other threads) are among the less educated. And for the record, my son is a West Point grad, and he was respected for his leadership from day 1.
One reason why degreed people in general (and those from prestigious universities in particular) are put in high positions is because doing so represents low risk to the decision makers. -If someone from a state college crashes & burns as the CEO of a business, the Board of Directors is in trouble -If someone from a prestigious university crashes & burns as the CEO of a business, the Board of Directors can always say "But he was top of his class at Princeton!" Being degreed from such institutions is not evidence of superiority or even basic competence, it's sometimes just buying the brand name rather than the generic, with no way (or effort made) to measure any difference in quality.
No one is disparaging education, we are saying that merely attending a 4 year institution is evidence of nothing more than the fact you attended a 4 year institution. It can mean more (and it often may), but certainly not all of the time. If you want to hear educated people disparage education, listen to employers these days bemoan the product being produced by most of our colleges and universities.
lol - you say one thing then make a disparaging statement that directly contradicts it. Nice try, but no. Certainly not every person with a college education is an all star, but at least they showed the perseverance to get the task done, and proved that they acquired a certain body of knowledge. That in itself is more than "evidence of nothing more" etc.
And I disagree with that statement. I worked full time while going to night classes to slug my way through community college, while [some] others were partying on mom & dad's dime for 4 years. I take strong exception to "showing perseverance to getting the task done." You can't make that as a universal statement. And again, employer's say that the work ethic among today's grads is horribly lacking, so there was no such quality in [many of] those people in the first place.
I watched a documentary a few years ago where it was stated that the only difficulty in graduating from an Ivy League school is getting in. Pretty much everyone who is accepted graduates, and acceptance has more to do with who your parents are, how much money they have, and the power of their influence. Mostly, it's a way of assigning credentials to the elite.
Sorry, but you can disagree and take all the exception you want, but fact is they stuck it out and graduated. The ones I saw that were "partying on mom & dad's dime" didn't make it to Sophomore status, let alone graduation day. And do you think that your own efforts merely showed "evidence of nothing more than the fact you attended a 4 year institution"? Did you not learn anything of value during that time that you wouldn't have learned otherwise?
@Al Amoling My friend Charlie has a MASTERS DEGREE in ENGINEERING, yet if he gets a flat tire, he is lost. Frank
I don't see anyone disparaging education. What I do see are some who seem to confuse a degree with education. There are multiple paths to getting an education, not all of which need or warrant a college degree. What smart managers look for are people with a keen interest in, understanding of and ambition for the type of work a job requires. If there's a degree in there somewhere, well OK.
Back in the 70s I was working for a company that sold our services to other companies. We had a contract with Polaroid to design and install a new payroll system to replace a system that couldn't keep up with their expansion. It was a 2 year project and one of our team members who had been doing this kind of work for quire a long time was offered a job at Polaroid as we neared completion. He was willing to take the job but was rejected when he decided that he didn't want to go to college(they put a degree requirement on the job).
My first job while going to college was with the research division of an aero-space company. The division had about 40 PHDs with expertise in various aspects of space travel. They were a mix of people from various highly respected colleges/universities in all parts of the world. They were for the most part very likable people who dealt with us peons collegially. The head of the division was Arthur Kantrovitz
I dunno. One poster said "A diploma proves you can pass tests" and later said "and will say it again: A degree doesn't mean or prove anything except that you can pass tests." Sounds pretty disparaging to me. btw, passing a test is evidence of having mastery of the topic being tested. Those who don't have the mastery don't pass the test. And what I also learned was the the "people with a keen interest in, understanding" etc, had a degree in what I was hiring for.
Case in point - my son oversees a medium sized food processing company, and became aware that a neighbor (a young man) was out of work and being evicted from his apartment. My son said to him, my company is hiring production staff, starting pay is $16 an hour plus overtime and full benefits. The reply was "uh, no thanks. Sounds like hard work". And the neighbor is moving back in with his mother. True, $16/hour is not major money, but it is at least pay the rent money. But that's the America we live in.