“You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges"

[Gunter S]

was Will Hunting right?

YouTube - Good Will Hunting - Bar Scene

[Gusto]

You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges - Google Search

[Gunter S]

you mean that's from a movie?!?

[Gunter S]

bizzump to discuss the vast ramifications

[laska]

It's not really the content of the education that means so much, it's all the work you put in. Anyone can read an article about the Persian War, but it means a lot more to research 17 sources on the subject then write a ten-page paper. Anyone can pick up a book on geology, but it's a lot more meaningful to attend lectures, ask questions, do weekly labs and field work.

There are tonnes of other good reasons to go to university, too many to list here.

[Gunter S]

my take:

About the learning aspect itself, we have institutionalized it to death. We aren't teaching our people to educate themselves, but rather build lifelong dependency on a lecturer and a classroom. I know quite a few people who pulled the grades, but look at you funny if you 'read for pleasure'.

It reminds me of how you have all these layers of hierarchy in the Catholic Church, dispensing their rules and doctrine supposedly based on the Bible that hardly anyone reads for themselves, and people start believing their priests more than the good book.

First hand knowledge would put you so much further ahead of the game.

Do we really need to pay thousands in tuition to have someone coach you on how to read a textbook.

[Gunter S]

YouTube - Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall - part 2

[mojo]

Originally Posted by Gunter S

Do we really need to pay thousands in tuition to have someone coach you on how to read a textbook.

thats why that Baaaaaahhston boy was sweeping floors and not wearing a suit to work everyday. An education helps get you the job, but i agree, it is a shame that it has become soley about that. Not enough kids these days are in school because they enjoy it, it is only about the $ at the end of the tunnel.

[Gunter S]

video added

[ebbomega]

Bachelor degrees aren't about saying you can think better than someone.

They're about showing that you have the discipline and determination to actively study, by your own motivation, for four years (or reasonable facsimile).

[liquidblue]

IMO I think that the majority of the classes I have taken in university were unnecessary. However the point that ebbo makes is very true. Once you have work experience in your chosen field, that is what perspective employers look at, not where you got your degree from. Having a degree is like saying "hey I put up with a lot of shit and managed to get through it all".

In all fairness though some of the higher courses are quite useful, and push your thinking well beyond reading a simple history book. It all depends on the prof. If you have a prof that teaches class like grade school then the real value is debateable, but if the class is predominantly filled with active discussion there is tremendous value in that.

[laska]

Originally Posted by Gunter S

video added

Cool video, but Another Brick in the Wall is talking about the British education system, which still pumps students out along a conveyer-belt style system.

In North America we're lucky to have options (double majors, minors, lots of electives, part-time studies, etc.) so you don't really have to be "selling out to the man" to go to college.

[Gunter S]

Originally Posted by laska

Cool video, but Another Brick in the Wall is talking about the British education system, which still pumps students out along a conveyer-belt style system.

In North America we're lucky to have options (double majors, minors, lots of electives, part-time studies, etc.) so you don't really have to be "selling out to the man" to go to college.

school reminds me of when i was forced to take piano lessons as a kid, and hated every minute of it. the regime, the structure, the pace, the trying to impress someone else, etc.

told myself i would never touch a musical instrument again.

and finally 2 years ago i picked up the keyboard and now i rip it up!

my point? i've known people who pull the grades and what not, but as soon as the bell rings they mentally check out and talk about the next party or sitcom, and look weird at you if actually wanted to discuss what went on in class or if they find out you read for pleasue. you might as well be sitting in church.

to love or be successful at anything you gotta do it for its own sake. school seems to be an anathema to this

[laska]

^ I totally agree... same with work, as soon as I'm paid to do something I like, I become a clockwatcher.

[SEAN!]

for many professions a bachelor degree is a prerequisite to even start on the stuff you really need to know.

also you really do get out of it what you put into it..