Is education the answer to all our problems?
Nowadays the question has turned on itâs head.
Education seems to be the problem not the solution.
Education is defined as the âprocess of receiving or giving systematic instruction, specifically at a school or universityâ.
No doubt thereâs a rigid, ancient and stubborn process to the way we are taught which needs to change. No one is the same so why should we be taught the same way?
No matter how many times I say it, I will say it again, testing is one of the worst ways to gauge performance and knowledge. And no, Iâm not just saying that because Iâm a horrible test taker. Students are taught to do well on a test not learn. Information goes in one ear out the other. Since most students have hacked the system and solely study for grades, they cram and memorize all the information just for the test. This is not only a waste of time and energy, but their hard earned parentâs money down the drain as well!
When we think of education, it starts in the classroom not in the lab, office or field yet when we get into the real world, we realize school didnât prepare us for most things in the first place.
Now donât get me wrong, school teaches us hidden skills we never thought we needed in the first place. These are naturally learned through daily interactions, activities, assignments, delegation of tasks, scheduling, etc. without a dedicated class. We enhance our soft and non-cognitive skills to help prepare us for the real world. EQ is vital for communication, to become a supportive team member and overall become the best leader you can be.
No doubt school is important on many realms but for the parentâs wallet and studentâs future how well does it really prepare us?
As a female striving to break the gender gap in the STEM and financial field for women and de-stigmatize personal finance, this has been the toughest challenge Iâve embarked on thus far because the education system is set in their ways. Convincing teachers to adopt new subjects in their curriculum is harder than scaling my startup and running this blog. Itâs painstakingly annoying to wrap my head around this ancient system of learning.
What Counts?
Education comes in different forms and is defined differently by everyone. I personally donât believe itâs the end all be all.
There are countless successful leaders and celebrities in this world whoâve amassed an incredible living without a degree due to sheer luck and timing. If we were all educated properly in a âsystematic wayâ and went to the same $70k private school pampered with prime nutrition, supportive parents, health care, access to tech and resources, transportation and a top-rated Kindergarten problems would still exist no matter what.
Considering the education system is stubborn in implementing more modern relevant subjects pertaining to wellbeing, personal finances, mental health and networking, itâs difficult to predict if itâs the answer to any problems since it doesnât cover much of what real problems exist upon.
Wealth = Knowledge?
No doubt thereâs a direct correlation between a personâs wealth and wealth of knowledge. They come hand in hand and itâs much easier to progress in this segregated unequal competitive world when you know what youâre talking about.
I believe education shouldnât be related to a systematic educational approach at an institution. Even the name suggests itâs prison. Rather a personâs wealth of knowledge is ultimately gained in a variety of ways including in research, experience, questions posed, interaction, experimentation and others.
The great equalizer suggests that we would all be equal if we were all taught the same but that cannot be the case. There are far more factors and indicators from a childâs upbringing to the books they read outside of school that determine where theyâll be. Sticking to the institution a child attends and how wealthy the parentâs are is shallow and dangerous to rely on because life doesnât always work in oneâs favor.
The crux is in the mindset, what one puts into the experience, what they are willing and hoping to get out, how many calculated risks they take and what learnings they uncover outside of the walls.
Education is not a solution to eradicting poverty, increasing water supply in Nigeria or reducing Chinese threats on democracy. It can help influence and increase the amount of leaders and influencers with more people educated based on principles but when it comes to solving these catastrophic problems that have been in existence for centuries, itâs not impossible but extremely difficult since it requires a new out of the box thinking. If we used more of our brains, we would solve bigger problems. No matter how large of a donation.
Education is what separates the rich from the poor. The more money you have, the better your child will do on a test. Americans spent half a billion on college prep this year alone. From counselors to private tutors, group sessions, mock tests, premium courses, you name it, the Western World is used to paying a big price for education due to their high hopes but arenât guaranteed especially since many factors, not controlled by parents, come into play.
Although parenting style and the way a child was raised are strong factors indicating where a child may go and end up based on what their family hopes them to do or what they did themselves, thereâs never a guarantee especially if the child wants something different.
With the slow and delayed abolishment of standardized tests from century old billion dollar institutions, schools are finally realizing a studentâs performance on a test rarely has any indication on how they will perform at school and beyond.
Same thing within a job.
Where one goes to school has little to no relevance on how they perform in the job.
Why such a stark difference?
Itâs a completely new environment, the students are older, they arenât beholden to a classroom, are learning in a different way and most importantly, there are no tests beyond school. Itâs all practice and performance. Hence the title: I practice law, practice medicine, etc.
Parents send their children to prestigious overrated schools believing the more expensive something is, the better it must be. As someone who went to one of the most expensive high schools in the country and Iâm sure you can attest to this with overpriced items youâve boughten, this isnât always the case.
Less can be more. Whatâs expensive isnât always better especially when you have to put in the work to see the results anyway. In my graduating class I found dozens of kids spoon-feed their life plan by their parents. Raising their child to be a replica of them was their sole goal. This is socially detrimental for childrenâs futures and not always a great deal on parentâs wallets as the U.S. total student total debt stands at $1.2 trillion.
As companies such as Google and Tesla, ironically one of the most competitive firms donât require a degree and instead prefer proof of concept, work and relevance for the job such as hacking their way through the system, this proves that hard workers arenât just college graduates and they can get a lot done without a degree holding them back. In this digital transformation era, thereâs no excuse. Everything can be learned online practically for free.
Bottom Line
Everyone has their own reasoning towards education and Iâm not one to persuade you into making a certain decision. Itâs extremely personalized and depends on your living situation, location, aspirations, career trajectory, intended path and the one and only, finances.
As a daughter of immigrant parents, higher education is something we all agree is the most secure, exciting and worthwhile part of growing up. With free tuition and incredible people in the most amazing city in the world at NYU, how could I not miss out on this worthwhile rapid experience? Plus due to covid, I was fortunate enough to get back 30+ extra hours of my time and learn more outside of the classroom at home for the past 16 months.
School is the safest most reliable steady path towards the future and thereâs nothing wrong with that. Majority of successful entrepreneurs to entertainers have in fact obtained the 4 year degree. Was it worth it? Who knows!
But the one thing that is guaranteed is that no one can take that degree away from you. Itâs what you make out of it that counts and you have that in your control. School canât babysit all their students. Millions of fresh graduates each year skeptically jump into the workforce with crossed fingers pondering if their $80k tuition, sleepless nights and A+ in their geology class was worth it.
In America, the wealthiest nation in the world, we see direct correlations between income growth for men and women comparing high school degree, college degrees and graduate or professional degrees. Thereâs a widening disparity in income between those with different levels of academic achievement.
But what worked in grandmaâs age isnât guaranteed to work for you.
The world is evolving and as tuition and the job markets fluctuate and roles vanish, we need to be critical as âreal worldâ thinkers and put on our outside of the classroom thinking caps on. We need to evaluate ourselves differently and banish the money taboo.
Thereâs no such thing as 100% job security and at the end of the day, education is just another business.
Focus on what you believe is best for you, not your neighbor, your mom or your best friend because no one will live your life and have to deal with the decisions you make.
Whatever choice you pursue, remember to never stop learning nor rely on an institution to a spouse to keep you financially afloat.