Educational Ramblings Toward a Better Job and Life
A recent post from Money, Matter, and More Musings discusses the idea that Education is a Great Economic Leveler. Basically, the idea is that children from disparate economic backgrounds, if given the same educational opportunities, have similar future opportunities for financial and career success. My wife is a public school teacher in a nationally-recognized school district and one of the reasons for the district’s success is the economic diversity amidst the student population. With this economic diversity comes cultural diversity, which introduces the children to new ideas and creates a better overall learning environment. I don’t have any hard statistics on the career achievements of the children from wealthy families versus those from poor families, but I think it is safe to say that the education they received helped to close an “opportunity gap” that was far greater for their parents’ generation. In that sense, education is a great economic leveler.
At the college level, the concept is a bit more complex. Is a college education worth the cost of tuition, which for a low-income individual will probably require years of debt and student loan repayments? I think in most cases it is, but I think it is a common misconception that you must attend a notable school to receive a great education. To paraphrase a great line from Good Will Hunting, “you can get a $150,000 education for $1.50 in late fees from the public library.” While that may be an exaggeration, there is much truth in that statement.
Your education is what you make of it. An education that will produce career and financial rewards is not always financially expensive, but it always requires effort. An education that will produce an enriched and fulfilling life requires even greater effort, and is often free.
Comments
2 Responses to “Educational Ramblings Toward a Better Job and Life”
Leave a Reply
Thanks for mentioning the article.
I perfectly agree with you when you say “but I think it is a common misconception that you must attend a notable school to receive a great education” …I haven’t mentioned it on my blog ever…but my brother had received admission to one of Stanford’s top engineering programs, but financially, it was just out of his/our reach..with or without education loans
…Ultimately, he joined a public university and completed his Masters degree from there. Now he has no student loans, and an awesome job …both of which were not guaranteed by Stanford education. 
So I say amen to ” Your education is what you make of it “.
Golbguru – that’s a great story about your brother and one that is probably not as common as it should be. We rarely fully utilize the resources that are available to us in any given situation and many opportunities are missed as a result.
I really enjoy your blog and will continue to visit regularly.
Mick