posted November 06, 2004 01:51 PM         

However, I do believe that my seven years of life experience before college is really what makes the difference in what I am getting out of my education today...

Just a thought!

Carissa

posted November 29, 2004 03:32 AM         

I've always believed that college was a big rip off. Sure you learn things. But I can do that on my own. And you arent guaranteed a job after you get out, but you are guaranteed to owe a huge sum of cash to the school. Colleges and Universities are Big Buisness. You are also stuck learning things a certain way, not on your own, not creativly. I dont like other people molding my brain. I'd rather teach myself and there is a big wide world out there to learn from. I think of it as "home schooling mySelf."

I eventually gave into the mindset that had been preached to me for years and years that I wouldnt get anywhere without some form of "higher education". Now I'm kicking myself because I have a huge debt to pay off and although I left with a 4.0 GPA - I barely learned a thing from that school!! They just wanted my money. The school was a joke. So I got out before it was too late and I buried myself alive in debt. Why didnt I just listen to what I had always told myself? That you DON'T need to go to college to "make it" in life. It was always a Knowing inside of me. And I still believe it to be true.

I've learned more from the "school of life" and "hard knocks" than I ever wouldve having taken a different route. Somehow I'm still alive after years of drug and alcohol abuse, depression, homelessness, you name it. And taking a deep look at it all I see the beauty of it. It has made me who I am today and I wouldnt change anything. I'm so glad I never took the "easy roads". Every choice I have made has made me who I am today and I dont regret a thing. I think of how differnt I would be if I took different, some might say "better", paths and I thank God I didnt. I've learned so much. Only after youve been to the darkest depths is when you can rise to see the brightest light.

I'll eventually be self employed this is something I've always known inside as well. And you dont need a "piece of paper" to make that happen. I just have to pick which idea I want to do. I'm an artist and I dont need a school to tell me that.

To me the best schooling you'll ever get is not one you have to pay for. Yes, either way you'll "pay" in some way, but who are you paying? I'd rather pay myself. I think having a high SQ (Spiritual Quotient) is a far greater thing to have than a high IQ.

"Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
-Albert Einstein

"Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it."
-Albert Einstein

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
-Albert Einstein

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."
-Albert Einstein

posted November 30, 2004 01:09 PM         

Sorry Randall, I know, sometimes I produce that, very, same reaction; the unsure giggles...? Thank you sesame, being one, sometimes, I give myself that reaction!!

26Taurus, I wanted to say, Thank Goodness, for people like you! The ol' ' School of Hard Knocks ' makes for an individual, I think. This is not to say that some have not attended both! In my educational experience, the bottom line was all about who you associated and surrounded yourself with. I had a math teacher, in my sophmore year, that deliberatly, showcased my lack of understanding. She had made up her mind about WHO I was, based on WHAT I wore/appeared to be. Truth be told, I had only one other person in the ' clicke ' that I ran with and, we are still the closest of friends. Though I come off as very timid, because I am extremely shy, I have always had a, very, strong sense of self. I do not mean ' self centered '. I have always been honest about myself and, with myself. Everyday, there are new lessons to be learned, I felt school was a way of keeping me divided, seperate from my ' peers ' but, not as an individual....? Sorry, is that my Gemini showing again? I hope I'm making some sort of sense. Anyway, I guess my point is that, only you can be the ' judge and jury ' about how your life unfolds. I have learned that, when you look from the outside and, pass judgement on or, about others, soon it is you, that looks outside from the same place that, once, you had convicted. How do you plead? ...... I admitt, I am guilty of it, however, I am going to err, many times. It is in my decisions that follow where the lessons that guide me, bring me closer to personal understanding. For me, Life is the trial, I am the judge but,.... also the charged...?

K, I hope that comes across as I intended!....

Thank You 26Taurus, for BEing!

posted December 01, 2004 01:45 PM         

quote:

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26Taurus, I wanted to say, Thank Goodness, for people like you!

---

posted December 01, 2004 10:38 PM         

It's weird, I was just thinking about you today Sparkle. All you've been through and what a truly special person you are. You really are, and I hope you realize that. Too bad we dont live near each other so we could get together. I love LindaLand. So many beautiful individuals here......and everywhere for that matter.

posted December 04, 2004 09:55 AM         

It's just about time for me to swallow my pride and admit defeat when it comes to university. Although I do look back with fondness on my Associates Degree, which I received from the local community college. I look at my honor society membership, remember the speech I made as valedictorian after having been out of school for *cough cough* a few years. Now here I am, 6 months later, failing at this new system of education. Some education. I learned so much more at county college than I have anywhere. I miss it. And I feel like I've let down those professors/mentors I loved.

So what do I do now? *shrug* I never want to stop learning. But college is just not best place for me to learn. How much longer can I put off "real life" and getting a "real job" for the sake of education? Would being a massage therapist (which I also went to school for and graduated with honors) who creatively writes in her spare time (A.A. in English/Writing, honors as well) be such a bad thing? Do I have to "know it all" and get GPAs of 4.0 to feel like I'm worthy of breath? I guess the real question is, why am I so afraid to just do that? I don't really know, but at this moment, I'm positively petrified of being a failure in any regard.

I just love to learn. But I have a sneaking suspicion, moreso after reading this thread, that college isn't about that at all.

posted December 14, 2004 08:11 PM         

"That'll be 50 grand plus parking permits, lab fees, books that you don't even open, gas money, car maintenence, general fees, gym membership and a 4 year supply of slim fast when you realize what you look like in the obligatory belly shirt. Please drive through. Good luck on finding a job."

Is there a chart placement for sarcasm?

Actually, I'm feeling pretty darn good tonight, just finished all my papers for this semester. Break out the carrot juice, it's time to par-tay! *does cabbage patch*

Ok, I look ridiculous. No more dancing.

And I'm going back next semester. Glutton for punishment? Or stubborn Taurus unwilling to admit defeat? You make the call!

And $1.25 for a drink is criminal. They should hang their heads in shame. Do they have pay toilets too? I wouldn't be surprised.

posted January 17, 2005 04:11 AM         

I personally believe that going to college, getting a degree, is very important. Why? Because college isn't supposed to teach you how many moons the earth has. It's an experience about getting along with people, working in groups, getting exposed to diversity, and some of the most educated and fascinating professors ever, its about going to new places and exploring new things, thinking outside of the box, learning to obey and respect authority while questioning society. The kinds of courses we have to take in college pretty much cover the whole spectrum. If it was not for college I would not know a LOT of important stuff. I would not know a LOT of important people mostly.

Through my university I am a board member of a business organization. Because I network with professionals (and professionals who hire really admire degrees usually) that's another big benefit I got from college. I have not graduated yet and have quite a few job offers. I don't mean to sound cocky but Ive kept my 4 at the ivy league not because of my hard work (oh no! lol). But because I learned how to 'charm' people, do and say the right things and the right time, as well as learn academic material. Perhaps what Im trying to say is that I learned mostly how to deal with all sorts of people, educated and uneducated, and how to be chamelion-like yet skilled enough to survive, in my opinion, anywhere in the world.

A few years ago I suffered severe depression as a victim of hate crime (sexual assault) as well as being jilted at the altar by my first bf. If it weren't for my education; those psychology classes, those good friends I made out of the colleagues and professors, and the rest of my practical education, I would never have made it to today.

The Albert Einstein quotes are well and good, but society needs to have structure, and the only reason that degrees provide any use is that they prove a yardstick. They cannot measure your intelligence or your propensity for hard work, or your ambition, but they can tell someone you're willing to invest time and money to learn and educate yourself. Thats a bigger statement than anything else. Think about it; you're willing to invest time and money to change yourself and your outlook on life. What that means is that you realize you do not know everything, and you want to be taught. And that is the key to learning; knowing that you know nothing, and entering the company of scholars.

Education, in degree form, has been around for a while. Even unformally, there were tiers and levels and labels that had started in monastic academies, etc. It was simply to distinguish someone based on their dedication to a field of study, and that cannot be replaced by any other thing.

Doing ones one thing without a degree , figuring ones own path, can be commendable, but if everyone were to do this, the world could come to chaos. Like I said, education provides structure and stability.

The job market may be difficult for educated professionals, but just because the degree is not helping them, that is probably not the one and only factor responsible. Its probably something else, such as lack of social networking, connections, personality to accompany the degree, etc. The degree HELPS you reach the point in life you want to go to, but you have to have it in a combination with other things. If you don't have the whole package, it doesn't mean that education harmed your chances. All it means is that you couldn't figure out what the package was that was needed most then.

So far as financial stability goes, I think that the statistics for what a Harvard MBA makes fresh out of grad school pretty much speak for themselves...its true that that will not indicate long term success. But people tend to think they just teach you how to handle money and thats it. ....Wrong! You study endless cases and cases and do internships and study in close alliance with mentors. You form practical projects, launch them, gauge success..and finally you are sent with your degree, to help better the world. Think of it as boot camp.

posted February 04, 2005 08:13 PM         

Thought I'd update you guys on my continued struggle with formal education.

Due to lack of available money of any sort (savings, loans or scholarships) I had to drop out of college this semester. I'm still 3 semesters away from a bachelor's degree.

The saddest thing is, I could have taught most of the classes I had last semester. I seemed to know more about the subject matter than they did. And yes, I got all A's. Little good it does me now.

My wish is for the athletic department to have a wonderful winning year, since 96.4% of the athletes are attending college for free. And get free housing. And books.
(and we're not even talking Division I here)