Month: August 2022

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”—Dr. Martin Luther King

As we debate the cost of a college education, we should likewise address the cost of being uneducated. (I believe what we are really discussing is the cost of a diploma, because education is not part of the discussion.) We must also discuss what exactly is an “education.” It is not, as many would have us believe, a college degree (or degrees). Having a Ph.D. does not make me educated, per se. It simply means that the revelation of my ignorance is more focused on a particular discipline. Not having a college diploma does not make one “uneducated.” (Some of the brightest people I know have little more than a high school degree, and many of the most ignorant—and close-minded—people I know have doctorates.)

Despite what we are being told, it is not the diploma that is necessary for success. Rather, it is the education that helps us succeed. It is like the classic joke: “What do you call a physician who had a C average in medical school?—‘Doctor’.” I don’t particularly wish to have that doctor providing me with medical advice. In addition, if my car breaks down, I prefer to take it to a trained and experienced mechanic rather than Googling “how-to.” That mechanic may not have a degree (in the academic sense), but they are far more educated in automotive function than I am.

Education goes beyond simply knowledge (and certainly beyond checking the boxes of university or state-determined high school requirements). It is, as Dr. King suggests, the ability to think intensely and critically. It is to include character with knowledge. The goal of education should be independence (therefore schools must be inclusive and why simply passing students along is not acceptable). Effective education develops a maturing society rather than a dependent society.

The growing costs of higher education are (apart from necessary technological increases) largely due the cost of an uneducation. Not educating in K-12 and trying to make up for our lack of preparedness by stacking on additional (often irrelevant) degrees is what is costing society.

Change comes from criticizing the status quo. “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire” (William Butler Yeats). Are we willing to allow out worldview to be disrupted by allowing it to be challenged?

As an educator and as one who hopes for a better world, I prefer the student who challenges what I am teaching over the one who can repeat what I have taught. As such, I hope our focus to turn from diplomas back to education.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, You cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation.”—Plato

We want success—Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social—but we (most) often don’t want to put in the effort. We want to be wealthy—we play the lottery. We want to be fit—we look for supplements and hacks. We want to be healthy—we look to pharmaceuticals before assessing the lifestyle that made us unhealthy. Success—Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social prosperity (well-centeredness)—however, comes only commitment and consistent effort. Growth comes only with proper cultivation. We must sow the correct seed, feed, water, and tend to the inevitable weeds and parasites.

We must have a growth-mindset and apply ourselves unceasingly to being better today than we were yesterday. The alternative is decline–death (Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social).

Choose to:

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Discontent is the first necessity of progress.”—Thomas A. Edison

Progress (i.e., growth) begins only when we become discontent with the status quo. Growth—Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and/or Social—requires that we act. Once we determine that we are on the wrong path (and not until—until we are discontent) we can discuss words like “commitment,” “consistency,” and “determination” (determination = commitment + consistency). We can determine the course of action (i.e., plan our progressive overload) such that our discontent turns to progress that leads to a growth mindset. With a growth mindset discontent that in born in dissatisfaction become the discontent that fuels desire and continued progress.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!