[thechat] The Story They All Got Wrong

[Erik Mattheis]

On Saturday, March 1, 2003, at 06:23  PM, Lachlan Cannon wrote:
> but in my opinion it's
> written in such a way as to make people believe that there is no link
> at
> all.

Don't see where you get that ... from a paragraph about halfway
through, they not only acknowledge the correlation, but speculate on
causalities other than what the report claimed.

<cite>
"They are ignoring--just as the Census Bureau is ignoring--the powerful
possibility that the correlation exists mainly because smart people
tend to want more education, and smart people are what employers keep
looking for: workers who catch on fast, are easy to train, and don't
screw up. Many employers have used college degrees as a proxy for
intelligence."
</cite>

Like ... think about it: lots of us here haven't had one stitch of
formal education regarding computer anything, far less web
design/development ... I'll raise my hand: I wouldn't have even had
access to a computer during college if I hadn't have been a DJ and able
to use the station's - no computer lab time for Philosophy/Religion
majors.

Sure, my critical thinking skills are certainly better because I went
to college ... but indeed, I would not be surprised if I'd be making
_more_ money if my critical thinking skills had not been sharpened
enough to realize I'm happier working for myself than for someone else.

>  What is up with the American higher education system anyway? Hasn't
> any President thought that making it easier for people to put their
> kids
> through college would make them popular?

There have indeed been several relatively recent improvements in types
of ways parents can save money for their kid's education ... and yeah,
getting a higher education in the US _is_ expensive: but you get what
you pay for ... you don't see too many people from the US getting
medical degrees in India, or Americans going to Syria to get a degree
in Civil Engineering.

I do have a friend considering going to Essex because it's the only
place you can get into graduate school without taking the GRE, which
he's got a phobia about.
-----------------------
Erik Mattheis
GoZz Digital
<http://goZz.com/>
Flash and ColdFusion Development
Minneapolis, MN
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