Ask it Early
Ask it Early: Is College Worth It?
August 14, 2009 7:15 AM
Ray Martin shares his formula on how much you should or shouldn't spend on education.
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"The society that scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."
Yeah, a lot of our current problems can be traced to egotistical CEOs who are so convinced of their own abilities that they can't see they're actually about as competent as a house plant. But a bunch of notches below those CEOs there ARE still a lot of us who spent time and money going to college where we DID learn to think and write(*) clearly as well as make what we hope are rational decisions in life. Moreover we can and do use those abilities to adapt to changes in the workplace by being unafraid to learn new skills. In fact, some of us can even train ourselves in new methodologies because of the flexibility that our college educations gave us.
On the other hand, America is also a society where millions of people can't even do simple arithmetic, understand basic science, or have any familiarity with different political systems. That's in part why this country is still arguing over whether the Bible is a science textbook or whether Medicare is "socialism" while the EU, Asia, and even India are busily preparing to have our lunch (and maybe dinner, too).
Bottom line, I don't care whether a person is digging a ditch or designing a computer. We need to be willing to work hard, work accurately, and stand proudly behind the results. Consider the Golden Gate Bridge as just one example. Would that icon have ever been built, let alone stood securely for decades if not for the combined efforts of a lot of college-grad engineers who accurately designed it AND the guys who safely pulled wires and riveted plates to construct it? Clearly we need both plumbers and philosophers.
(*) Please note I have made a very strong effort to avoid any comments regarding the importance of grammar and punctuation to clear communication...