Work Smart AND Hard

I read such a good article today- I just have to share it with you. It is called 'How many are following the worst advice in the world' by Mark Rowe. In the article he talks about how our society is constantly selling the idea of higher education, and he explains that in doing so, we have come to the belief that one size fits all. But when has that ever been the case with anything? Nothing in this world is one size fits all because every person is different, and education is no exception. His idea is that we need to stop selling higher education and start selling a strong work ethic. Too many people these days are in debt from school and when they graduate they can't even find jobs that they were trained for. I myself know several people who have graduated from a major university but are not working in their studied fields because there were no jobs available for them. Just because you get a degree doesn't necessarily guarantee you a job, but that is the mindset that we have come to know.

Also, the whole selling education idea, has come to make people without degrees feel worthless or like they are second class citizens. Because if you don't have a degree, you must be stupid right? But the thing is is that we all have different talents. That's why society works so well. We can't all be doctors and lawyers. Who would fix our cars for us or grow our food for us? There HAS to be "blue collar" workers for everything to balance out.

I guess this article hit kind of close to home. I myself had to take out student loans to pay for college but ended up never finishing school. So I am in debt without a degree. I have referred to myself as a "dropout" before which honestly sounds like a "stupid person" term, but I do not consider myself as stupid. I am smart in my own ways, college just wasn't for me. If I could just take English classes than I would be back in a heartbeat, but math and science kick my butt. I hate taking those classes and I REALLY hate paying thousands of dollars to take subjects that I loathe completely. It wasn't worth it for me. I have never excelled in the scholarly world, even back in high school. But there are times when I feel like a big fat failure because I never got my bachelors degree. Mark Rowe's article definitely made me feel better about that.

I think this is a must read. Especially for teachers and parents. I think we should stop selling education and start selling a strong honest work ethic and gaining skills that are actually marketable. We need to teach our children that if they don't go to college, that it is okay, as long as they are working hard and doing the very best that they can. College is great. It really is. But it is not meant for everyone and we need to change our mindset that it is the ONLY path to success.

You can read the full article here (and please do, it's a good one).