Why is Education So Important?

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While getting ready to write today's tip I was interrupted by a phone call from my youngest daughter, Shawna. And while I love talking with her my first thought was how she had really called at a bad time.

However that thought quickly left my mind because, as usual, my daughter made me think.

You see, Shawna has always been a thought provoking person. As a preschooler she was always asking questions like:

• Why is the sky blue?
• Why is the grass green?
• Why does the sun look yellow?

Then as she got older she started asking questions about the things she learned in school like:

• Why does 4 + 4 = 8?
• Why are to, too and two all pronounced the same but have different meanings and different spellings?
• Who makes up these rules?

Now as a parent I was both happy and flustered by my daughter's questions. You see, I was happy because I knew it was the people who asked "why" who were the creators of all the technology and art we have today. However I was also flustered because I knew I couldn't always answer her questions.

And when I was flustered I looked to the education system to provide the answers to her questions. Now I can't speak about all the educational systems throughout the world however I can say that the one we have in the U.S. was a big disappointment.

How did the educational system disappoint me?

Going back to Shawna's days in elementary school she was accepted into the "Gifted and Talented" program. (That's where they put the fast learners on a fast-track learning system.) Before I signed the consent form for her placement I interviewed the teachers to find out what being in this program meant.

It meant the kids would be learning the same things as everyone else, only faster. That sounded fine until I asked, "What happens when a child asks a question?" and the answer was, "We don't allow questions."

A further discussion revealed that being on the fast-track simply meant that a child could absorb the material quickly so they could cover more. There was no time for questions, explanations or discussions.

Needless to say, Shawna didn't like being on the fast-track and we requested her removal during the first week. While there were many times she was board in the regular class the teachers did allow questions and tried to explain things.

Now while I am disappointed in our educational system I also know that it has failed for many people. People who are extremely bright and full of question; people who are full of ideas and creativity have no place in our public school system.

Have you ever wondered why some school dropouts became self-made billionaires? Maybe it wasn't because they were too dumb for school. Maybe it was because our form of formal education was too dumb for them. Ever hear of Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, Subhash Chandra Goel, Michael Dell, Paul Allen or Sir Richard Branson? (Sorry, I couldn't find any female self-made billionaires so if you know of any please leave a comment and share.)

Going back to my discussion with Shawna, today she asked the question, "Why do people want their kids to go to college and yet they hold a college education against most people?"

So I went to YahooAnswers to find the answer. And sure enough, a couple of years ago someone asked the question, "Why is an education so important?" and here are most of the reasons:

• "we need education to get jobs to get money to live"
• "$$$ is the answer"
• "It is important to employers, they feel that if you have an education you have perseverance and you are trainable."
• "make more money"

Yet for the same question we also get this answer:

• "We have been conditioned to respect institutions of higher learning as the be all, end all, of knowledge. Ever heard of an educated idiot? You can spend 5 years at Yale and come out with no common sense whatsoever, but be a whiz in what a book teaches about physics.
  . . .
  It's all about money nowadays anyhow."

Now I don't agree with those who answered the question on YahooAnswers. Here's a short video with the answer I do agree with. (You only need to watch the first half to see my answer since the second half is a bad version of some outtakes.)

Unfortunately here's what's going on in some of our higher educational institutions. You may want to keep your cursor close to the pause button so you can stop the video to read some of the writing on the walls and chairs.

Looks like getting a higher education is a waste of money for many since these kids are board with it.

As for what's wrong with our educational system, here's a video by Ken Robinson I think everyone should watch. And while the video is a little long, Sir Robinson is a great public speaker and I think you'll find his talk both enlightening and entertaining.

Now no matter what you do on or off-line and no matter whether you dropped out of school or got a college degree, a good education is important if you want to succeed because a good education will give you the knowledge of how to do things. And a good education can come from both formal institutions and everyday life and experiences. The important thing to remember is that education is important not because of what you learn to do, it's important because of what you can do. A good education teaches you to think for yourself and to use your creative mind to make the world a better place to live.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. BTW Shawna is not a school dropout. Hopefully next year she will have completed her dissertation and have her PhD in Cultural Anthropology. Alas, anthropology is not among the highest paying fields but at least she still has her common sense and she really enjoys what she's doing.

Please leave a comment if you agree or disagree that internet marketing requires knowing how to do things and creativity.

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