“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”—Nelson Mandela
For many students, school has started or will be starting soon. This is amidst sometimes heated discussion about the cost of education (a college diploma/degree) and student loan forgiveness. The discussion of education finances is often futile without some discussion on that an education is and is not.
Sadly, a diploma is considered an “education.” However, it is nothing more than a certificate of completion—a document. An education can come without any formal program of completion. Indeed, an education is never truly completed. The diploma simply indicates that one has followed a prescribed path to a predetermined milestone. Many are more educated having never completed high school or stepped foot on a college campus. Reading can open many doors to self-education (and should be a part of one’s continued education).
So, why a formal education? Well, many will tell us that a college education is a must. Why it is a must is often poorly articulated, and such advice often leads one to simply pursue a diploma and universities to offer worthless degrees (hence contributing to the immense burden of college debt). Formal education must prepare us for our purposeful place in society. It must prepare us to think critically and creatively. Education need not teach us to simply regurgitate information. Of course, with present technology (i.e., the Internet in our pockets) we can access almost anything in mere seconds. Education teaches us to process this information—to discern information.
Education is not checking a series of boxes. It is not getting As on all the exams. It is not “earning” a high school diploma. It is not a bachelor’s degree. It is not a master’s degree. It is not a “terminal degree” (e.g., Ph.D.). If anything, each earned degree should open a door showing us how little we really know.
Our systems of formal education need to be reformed—from kindergarten to doctoral programs (including medicine). We can’t simply pass on students to the next level and/or lesson the standards for completion. Often, we educators hear phrases like “equity” and “privilege” as cause for making diplomas and degrees more accessible. In the process, we have created many “worthless” degrees (I know this is subjective and believe that any degree can be valuable in the right hands—but that is an education and not merely a degree) and a debt crisis in the process. We have distorted the end goal. Access to a degree is confused with access to an education. These are not one in the same.
I have been verbally attacked by academic colleagues for using phrases such as “academic rigor.” This, apparently, is a sign of my “privilege.” Undoubtedly privilege (which is just a word for “opportunity” that is used by those who love to virtue signal) has created disparities in education levels. We need to rectify these disparities. Equity, however, does not mean lowering standards (I, personally, find such a suggestion as “-ist” [insert whatever term for marginalizing you wish] as can be). Equity in education is, to me, like teaching one to swim. It is not throwing them in the water and saying “swim.” It is not simply handing out certificates because one showed up to swim class. It is (as an educator) getting in the water with the students. It is letting them struggle but being there to keep them from drowning until they can swim. (Note the student who has learned to swim still has mastery to accomplish. Some may go on to be the next Michael Phelps. Some may simply get stronger and better every time they get in a pool. Others may, sadly, soon go on to never use the skill.)
Diplomas do not “change the world.” An education, however, does.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!