How Much Education Is Enough?

How much education is enough? There is not one education system in the world that doesn’t have at least one flaw. There is also not one education in the world that does leave one in years of debt. Society demands education for everyone up to high school so everyone may be educated properly and be literate. I am not saying education is a bad thing and this is neither my main point. I digress so forgive me.

I am sure everyone hates school for one reason or another if it isn’t hate then it must be irritation or wariness they feel at some point. When young, we don’t understand why we must go to school and why we must sit here for hours listening to the teacher drone. When we grow old enough to understand why, we start to question how much education is sufficient enough for us to move through this life. I always wondered that myself. I cannot speak for anyone else but ever since I was a child I questioned how much education is enough for one person. I think about how in history, many great men, women were self-educated and required only a minimal of ten years of less of educating from a governess, their own parents, or their own studying.

In history going back thousands of years if we may, doctors or physicians they were called only had to find an acclaimed doctor in the region and become their disciple, and they would be taught all that was required to save the lives of others. Doctors, scholars, military men, recorded endless knowledge and that knowledge of men down so the next generation can learn from them. That’s the type of society I find admirable and fascinating if I were able to live in such a time. It was a rapid way of learning and you either understood it or not. There was no one to go through books with you slowly, it all relied on your own self-discipline and mindset.

Back on topic- I feel going up to high school is more than enough for education. I’ve felt many of the things in high school didn’t differ that much from my last two or three years of middle school. By the time you finish high school, you already hold more than enough knowledge, common sense, and a strong foundation. You already have the skill and knowledge of math, history, English, music, art, etc. If you wanted become a doctor, lawyer, or whatever field, there are a ton of reference books, old textbooks online, how-to-books, that can supply you with more than enough knowledge.

The problem I feel is that with the power of technology and all the distractions of society right now so different from history. Young people get easily distracted or lose interest if they are not forced to sit in a classroom environment or they don’t feel obligated to finish educating themselves and let it drag out. While if you are forced to take college courses, you are under the pressure to pass them or it’s a waste of money.

Some of us just need that pressure and fear in order to get a degree done which is sad. But I strongly believe there is no occupation that cannot be self-taught. There is no occupation that requires you to get a degree in order to be skilled in it. Sadly, society requires you to have a degree (a proof that you are qualified/certified for the job), which is just unnecessary.

I speak from my own experience as a writer and given I majored in creative writing. I wouldn’t say it was a complete waste of time in college. I met good people and got some good feedback from peers about my writing that helped perfect my style. However, other than that I felt some courses were unnecessary and a waste of time and money. As a writer, most of what I learned by the time I finished high school was enough. The letter I wrote to the 9/11 families in elementary school got praised and aroused attention from even the school principle. I had already even gotten two pieces of poetry published in my high school literary journal. What I already knew and what I picked up from through books and reading was more than enough.

A degree is nothing more than a fancy paper that stands as evidence that you completed it and certified. Is that piece of paper really that important? I can say there is someone out there with a high school diploma who is able to do an even better job than that with a degree if they self-taught themselves on the exact same things.

There are resources everywhere, people willing to give advice and help everywhere. You just reach out and hopefully you will find. The problem with professionals now is that many have huge egos are unwilling to offer advice and help many of the times to strangers and people who have no stand in society whatsoever. Where has the nature of extending out a helpful hand gone in many of us?

College is not needed and only leaves you in debt if you relied on financial aid or loans to get through how many years of school you went through. As like myself, I am still trying to pay off loans from school. I sometimes ask myself what was the point when I knew I was already sufficient enough with the knowledge and skilled I held.

I emphasize that I am not trying to persuade people to not go and get a degree. Do as you please for I merely stated my own opinion.