Over-Education: The Education Vaccination

Why does it seem like people 18-25 take to education like a woodchipper to a tree? It goes it, gets clusterfucked all to hell, then is expelled with as loud and violent a force as is ever seen. It blows out with little direction, and even less discretion.

College students seem to feel that they must use any information given to them at every opportunity, regardless of the extent of knowledge they have on any given subject, or generally even regardless of it's relevence. It seems like a desparation to prove what they "know" about the world around them, which can be just fine... but...

Only when they can take correction well. What they don't seem to understand is that the education system is far from flawless. They are learning what has been chosen for them to learn, and in some cases, even what has been altered or manipulated.

The problem that arises is "over-education." People who take the education they receive (generally from college) and place it far higher than it should be placed, or give it an inappropriate level of solidity. Never should book-education take priority over proven experience-education, but that's the rut that many businesses seem happy to jump into.

Another issue with over-education is a social and character detriment. It's appearance is one of arrogance, self-indulgence, and even seem to borderline on delusions of grandeur. Why is this?

What has caused such a spike in over-education? Why can the youth not seem to understand that education has to be taken as idea, theory, opinion, etc?

Now, obviously, this excludes certain sciences and math for the most part, but this is primarily in reference to literature, philosophy, history, psychology, etc. Social sciences, studies, and interpretation.

I want to know why this has become such a problem.

Unfortunately our education system doesn't include courses in modesty or decency. I think the most important lessons to be learned are critical thinking and ignorance. The first being the ability to take in information from differing sources, opposing sources, and forming your own opinion. The second lesson, ignorance, should be a corollary of education. Ever hear the saying "The more you know, the more you realize just how much more you don't know?" How about "The wisest man knows that he knows nothing?"

If students learned these two lessons it'd go a long way to addressing your complaints.

I can agree with that. I actually recall now that during my middle and high school years, the administration had sent people in to let us know that the general scores in critical thinking had turned abysmal, and from around 6th grade on, we had ridiculous exercises in critical thinking.

Of course, what grade school administration deems to be "critical thinking" means that we had more story problems in every subject.

I think it would be an incredible improvement to introduce a course into high school and even college curriculums for "Character Fortification and Social Etiquette." Sections of such a course to include:

Why Certain Morals Aid Social and Societal Growth
The Difference Between Social Etiquette and Political Correctedness
Maintaining Individuality In A Globalized World
Appropriating Emotions You Never Thought You Had
The Age of Reason: Promiscuity, Hedonism, and Over-Education
Biases In Education: Your Professors Are People, Too

I believe it boils down to the issue that while many facts are objective, the task of assimilating them into your own understanding is wholly subjective. What you are told is not necessarily what you will learn, but it is what you are graded upon. A rote education system becomes a stagnant one rather quickly, and our system is a rote system of education.

This would really depend on the quality of individual educators, which varies greatly.

Nocturne of Vladimir Jazz, where did the big, bad college graduates touch you?

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Exhibit A.

The fact that they are rich spoiled college kids probably has a lot to do with it too. The arrogant rich. An old guy once told me to never be humble before arrogance and never be arrogant before humbleness.

I disagree. Ignorance is not limited to one's income tax bracket.

Over-education? I'm sorry, I thought the problem in this country was LACK of education.

Here's the little secret with higher education that we ALL (those of us who went) bought into. They indoctrinate you into believing that for 40K and upwards when all said and done you'll be able to find a nice paying job, be respected, and probably retire early. sounds like one of those snake oil sales on tv after hours doesn't it, where you know they're peddling bullshit. College is no different. They dupe you. I graduated Summa Cum Laude and I work at... it's so humiliating I'm not even going to tell you all WHERE I work. That's how humiliating it is, and I'm pushing 30. I thought I was the only one until my co-workers started telling similar stories.

College degrees are no different than leeches curing diseases. It's an enormous scam kids so SNAP OUT OF IT. It will leave you with nothing except a legacy of bad debt.

Yeah, if you majored in business, sociology, philosophy, or only got a bachelor's in any science, psychology, foreign language, math, or art/music. There's a fuckton of majors that are not worth taking if you're not going for a PhD. And even then you have to play your cards right, can't land a good job if the market sucks, even with a PhD in a field.

True but the value of a business major can vary wildly from one university to the next.

You got it, but the professors in those fields are better at mind manipulation than Hitler. My alma mater called the other day wanting money and I let those fucks HAVE an EARFULL instead.

So.... you repeated what beck said.

The great wisdom in all my posts NEEDS repeated.

Notice I didn't mention engineering. As far as I know, you will make cash with that degree if you have as much as a co-op before you graduate.

I don't think you see his point. Education is a good thing, yes. More is technically better, yes. However, if you have all the resources in the world yet don't know where to take the first step or understand how to apply them in a meaningful way, they are worthless to you.

Worse still is when your overabundant 'knowledge' turns you into an insufferable, arrogant ass. Not YOU personally mind you, but generally speaking.

And I'll do you one better. If you "know people" I don't care if your overall QPA is a 2.3, you might very well be CEO or President of the United States someday. If you have a 3.8 and know nobody, welcome to retail baby.

The only three bachelor's degrees worth pursuing if you're out paying for a "for real" career are:

Engineering
Computer Applications
Biology with a Pre-Med concentration

Otherwise, go find a job, any job. You're just WASTING a ton of money otherwise.

Actually I'd add "any major" with a pre-med concentration, OTHER than biology. People who major in biology to get to med school are retarded unless they've got a crapton of other things going for them. Biology is the generic, can't-possibly-stand-out-from-the-rest major when applying to med school.

Well, all things aside, it was a financial BLUNDER of epic proportions for me. I hope those mouthpieces rot in hell for lying through their teeth with perfect smiles to us. But I hate myself more for being naive enough to fall for the bullshit.

While I do agree that North America's obsession with post-secondary education has produced a glut of students and caused a serious accreditation climb where a Bachelor has become the High School diploma of 30 years ago and the Master's has become the Bachelor. As well this explosion of demand has created serious debt issues for students as they take out student loans to mount the accreditation climb and come out behind in the end with a mortgage sized loan after getting a B.A. But I don't think it's all bad that more people are getting an education, it just needs to be better managed and regulated. B.A programs should be harder to get into, so 200,000 Sociology Majors don't get churned out a year. A B.A can be an important stepping stone and have many uses, but the value is lower when so many get it from schools of questionable quality. More respect and value given to trades would be help as well. A kid getting a trade and apprenticeship as a plumber for five years is as worthy as someone grinding out a degree in Chemistry.

It seems as well that business has off loaded a lot of the training and education they use to provide onto the post secondary system. 40 years ago a High School diploma and some years of hard work on the job training would lead to a management role, now it's often a 4 year bachlor from Business School to even get you in the door.


From personal experience I highly value my Liberal Arts undergrad and my Master's Degree. The B.A challenged me and provided me a set of skills that however indirect are still helping me in my career today. And the Master's was a challenge and life experience that I would never trade in.

Networking and who you know is important, but only opens door, to truly establish a career you need to have the tools too. And you don't always have to be well connected through family or whatever, any good student form any background that utilizes networking opportunitys like internships and working with profs outside of the class can get ahead of those that just put their nose in books.

But good old fashioned nepotism is great too. It would be just plain stupid not to use it if you have it! IMHO! And in that way George W. was no dummy! An idol to any drunken fool with a history of poor choices and a well connected family!

I greatly value all that I learned. I did graduate with a 3.82, but at the same time, while take alot of pride in the knowledge I gained, it didn't equal $ at all as I was told by Dean after professor all through the joyride.

And those "go to hell letters" get me everytime. "you're overqualified" or "you lack the necessary experience" What a crock. It's all cronyism in America. If you know someone, that degree will take you places, if you don't, it looks great on your wall. In this country, yeah you can come in get a nice internship and have a great career if you're going for pharmaceuticals, medical practice, engineering or architecture but aside from that, you better pray that you know someone from the elite to get somewhere with that piece of paper.

Change your name to Herbert Von Hamerswell IV and than people will think you are the elite.



Besides America is the great melting pot! You have no class system! Don't be a whiny bitch! Do the Horitio Alger thing and pull yourself up by your bootstraps like I have!

You read waaaay too many of our travel brochures. This country reeks with class systems. They're just better disguised than those of European-like nobility.

Indeed. I am too deeply ingrained in the mosaic of equality that is Canada, where we are all equals and have no elites. I'm surprised I never picked up on any U.S class issues during my almost 4 years at Princeton.

Everyone seemed to be the same class to me?

Yep, step outside Princeton and you'll see just how DIVERSE a class system this country has and you only really count with your B.A. degree if you're in the top couple tiers. America is FAR from a land of "equals". In fact, I'd argue we're still one of the most unequal countries on the planet. Every once in a while somebody breaks through the class membrane, but not very often. Most end in the same class of people where they started.

Statistically, this is not borne out, strictly economically speaking. A larger portion of the population spends some time in the top 20% than in most, if not all other countries. Likewise a larger portion of population that starts in the top 20% spend time in the lowest quintile than in most if not all other countries.

These stats as of 1995, but I doubt things have changed THAT drastically in 15 years.

My point wasn't to express that over-education was more of a problem than lack of education, I never said that. I'm talking strictly about the over-educated.

To be honest, I find the under-educated courteous to be far more tolerable than the over-educated twats.