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Questioning the value of education

Posted on Mar 01, 2010 in Opinion

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 Tuition costs vary from school to school, but how much is education worth? No one can argue that education is important — especially now when the economy is tossing out people left and right. The question is how important is it?

Some students feel they should attend class every day on time, ready to absorb every word. They sit in the front row with their recorder and newly sharpened number two pencil, eager to learn.

Others do it because they do not want to feel like they are losing money. They invest a lot of money in whether they pass or fail, and it would not be worth it if they paid $500, $700, or even $1,000 and did not do well.

There are also the students who do not care whether they learn anything or not. The most important thing to them is coming to class, passing and getting their degree. They may not be the typical overachiever, but at least they do go to class.

At the bottom of the totem pole are the students who treat school like a hobby. They constantly skip and usually only show up on test days. It is always magical to see how many students instantly appear in class that have never been there since the first day.

The importance of education differs among each of these types students. But which student is correct? Actually, all of them are in there own way.

If the studious one is in class taking notes verbatim and doing all of the assignments, then they are putting themselves on the right track. However, if they are spending so much time studying that they are not getting involved in other activities, those grades might not mean as much as they originally thought. Most employers love a shining resume, but it does not do any good if the student was not well rounded — they appear to lack character.

So many careers depend more on internships and fellowships to measure a student’s experience these days.

Depending on the career, the job experience can be more important than the student’s GPA. With that experience and a degree, they can find a great job. Hands-on experience is key.

This goes back to the old saying “it’s not what you know, but who you know.” Networking with internships and other activities are more important than ever for students.

The same person who skips class may be a hard worker at an important internship, and they may have a leg up on the person who attended class every day. It may not happen often, but it could.

It is not that one student is better than another is. It is just a difference of opinion on how much they value their collegiate education over experience education. All of the above students can be successful if they just remember to budget their time.

 

Email: jessica_trammell@ymail.com