Wednesday, January 8, 2025
The future will be about competence more than certificates or college. Certain professions which impact the public health and safety will require government approvals. We want doctors who have passed certain requirements, one would think. (Though it’s interesting to note that neither a potential Supreme Court Justice nor a potential Speaker of the House need be a lawyer or a member of the House!) Airlines are moving toward hiring pilots without college degrees, because the important aspect of the job is the ability to fly planes, not to discuss Kant or dissect frogs.
However, that doesn’t mean people don’t need educations. High school dropouts have been huge successes and college graduates have often wound up only with a diploma and no solid prospects. Education is knowledge of the world around you, of history, geography, art, language, finances, politics, civics, and relationships. We can gain these through travels, self-study, the friends we chose, the places we work, what we read, watch, and listen to.
The danger is in attending college and not becoming educated, as well as dropping out of school and not compensating for lacking education.Polarization is the result of people not willing to entertain any attempt at education beyond their own views and beyond confirming what they think they already know.
And look where that’s gotten us.