You've Got To Be Stupid Not To Go To College, Right?
Aug 24 '00
Due to a case of chromosomal serendipity, I was born with a high IQ. My IQ is not a result of hard work or extended studying, it is a genetic trait encouraged by a few environmental circumstances, namely encouraging parents. Having no learning disabilities to make things difficult, I learned to read early on. A book of some sort has been my constant lifelong companion.
My mother and father were members of the first generation in their respective families to graduate from college. My brother and sister are both honors graduates of the University of North Carolina. A constant desire to learn is a family trait. The value of education is emphasized for its intrinsic value. Education is not stressed as the means to achieving the American consumer’s dream. No one in my immediate family is poor…any more. We all know how to work hard. Many well educated folks never learn to do that.
More Boring Autobiographical Stuff
Quickly, I graduated from high school with great grades in classes I liked and horrible grades in classes I didn’t. Based on a high SAT score, I was accepted to college. Due to the tragedy of teen pregnancy (my Mother’s words) and a sudden need to earn a living, I went into the military instead of college. Leaving the military with a good case of incipient alcoholism, I went into law enforcement for most of the next decade.
I got straightened out, dealt with a couple of other (mental) medical problems and bought a computer. Discovering that I had a natural aptitude for most things computer related cushioned my exit from law enforcement. A combination of technology skills and the ability to write complete sentences continues to pay my mortgage to this day.
Generational Attitudes
The son who was the result of the “tragedy of teen pregnancy” is now a high school senior. Chromosomal serendipity smiled on him too, to an even greater extent than it did on me. However, like me, he has been no educational over-achiever. He’s managed to escape his own teenage tragedy, but he wants to join the military anyway. He may never go to college. That doesn’t keep me awake at night. I couldn’t be prouder. No matter what, he’s always going to be smart.
His sister on the other hand is dead set on attending medical school. She has the grades to get there. Thanks to my Mom’s husband, a physician himself, the means for her to achieve that goal are available. I couldn’t be prouder.
Conclusion
A college education is a great thing. It opens doors that might otherwise have remained closed. It is not, however, a sign of a superior character. It is not a magical denominator of superior intellect. It is something worked for and earned, just like a lot of other things. The new police commissioner of New York didn’t even graduate from high school! Now he’s got the top local police job in the world.
A love of learning is fostered by a post-secondary education but there are other ways to learn. In the high-tech world, information changes so rapidly that removing yourself from the job market for four years may not be a wise decision..
Entrepreneurs need lots of smarts and lots of luck. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of businessmen without degrees rising to the top of the food chain. Look at Dave Thomas and Bill Gates.
The ability to make more money than another person should not be the over-riding motivator in life. I encourage my kids to follow their own star. Hard work and a personally developed way of looking at the world will take them where they want to go, whether it’s to college or not. Learn by doing.
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Epinions.com ID:
amerpie
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Member: Lou Plummer
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Reviews written: 176
Trusted by: 154 members
About Me:
Stop the war. Bring the troops home now!
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