Posts tagged importance of education
travels of reading part 1
Sep 7th
So.
This is part a rant about people who don’t take advantage of reading and part simply a plea for people to read as often as they can.
Let me begin with the traveling ‘thing’ I mention upfront.
I have been extremely fortunate in my life to have had the opportunity to travel the globe. And experience lots of things. And see a lot of different things.
But even with that.
I tend to believe books and reading have offered the best travels I have ever experienced. Yeah. I do love reading and I believe reading books really is like traveling.
Traveling to places. To thoughts. To others minds. To other types of thinking. To fresh ideas.
It is an absolute fact that everyone has the opportunity to see so many things through reading.
And imagine things with limitless boundaries.
And experience thinking and ideas and combinations of words that energize the mind and the heart and the soul.
Reading just gets you … well … thinking. Just thinking about things.
We all have found those moments in books when reading.
There are those moments when you actually traveled through a slice of someone ‘else’s life living it word by word.
As I typed that I remember I was fortunate to be given a proofers copy of The Horse Whisperer and asked my opinion. I know I gave it a great review.
And I believe it made me cry in the first 50 pages (which may be one of the most heart wrenching tangled emotional ‘stepping into a moment’ sections of a book I have ever encountered).
That is an example of traveling through someone else’s life experience.
You travel through their experience and feel it. In your gut. You live it. You get so close to the moment through the words you feel like you have traveled there.
I find the same (but different) feeling when I read The Economist.
Anyway.
Anyone who reads knows about the moments when you come across a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things that you’d thought and it was lurking in your own mind and it appears on a page articulated by by someone else, someone you’ve never met, maybe even someone long passed.
It’s as if someone has heard your thought and knew you couldn’t figure out a way to put it in words and has traveled to say “here it is, worry no more, for now you know what it is.”
And, of course, (because I am consistent on this issue and I am who I am) reading an easy path to knowledge.
Of course you can gain knowledge through experience, or discussion, or other paths … but reading is so freely available and simple that it can only be deemed a great failure to anyone who doesn’t encourage it as a core activity … if not privilege.
I do know I would like to see America become a place that’s proud of intellectual curiosity. But I fear too often intellectual curiosity is belittled by people whose idea of culture is determined by television or People-type magazines or internet blogs.
You would like to think that knowledge should be a lifelong goal and not something satisfied by high school mandatory reading lists or four years of college … but rather a lifetime of reading.
Here is the issue (ok. some issues).
Okay. Some statistics.
From bookstatistics.com:
- 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.
- 42% of college graduates never read another book.
- 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year.
- 70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
Ok.
Did you know that there are approximately 30 million adults in the U.S. who can’t read?
Yikes.
THAT last one sends a shiver down my spine.
While I would like to think most people would like to read (like I do) but I guess I also assume they can actually read.
But.
Look at number 2 on the list. 80% of families did not buy or read a book. 80 frickin’ percent.
Whew.
What happens to us (from childhood where we seem to have endless supplies of books to read)?
I do know that one of my favorite childhood memories is “reading” The Hobbit.
Ok. I didn’t read it. Our teacher read it to us in installments in elementary school in ‘reading time.’
Afterwards? I couldn’t wait to get my own hands on it.
Since then I have read it and the entire Lord of the Rings maybe 10 times. I have no idea at what age was my first time but it has to be very young. I remember being fascinated, excited and impatient waiting for the next chapter to unfold. I created pictures in my mind at each reading and the next day another picture would be drawn.
So.
I am not suggesting everyone love reading as much as I do.
But understanding what reading has to offer is important.
Not everyone can physically travel and books not only give someone an opportunity to travel anywhere in the ‘now’ but they give you an opportunity to travel through time … and see ideas past, present and future.
Look. I know reading books certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on becoming “smart.”
I’ve read some amazing stuff online, and I’ve read amazingly thought provoking newspaper articles (not in local papers but the NY Times or The Guardian). And I do think staying open to new media is a key sign of intellectual curiosity.
I don’t know.
In any case, I don’t know if people who don’t read lack intellectual curiosity. I think there can be other ways to satisfy intellectual curiosity (particularly in today’s web crazy world).
But I do think if you don’t read you can find yourself with a lack of ability to think in the abstract and the potential.
You may have heard the term “lifelong learning.”
Though learning begins when we are children education is truly a never ending process (and reading can play an important part of learning for everyone). Reading not only keeps us informed about the world around us but also provides intellectual stimulation and helps keep us mentally sharp.
Reading offers benefits not found in more “passive” media.
It gives the brain a much better workout than does watching television. When we watch TV, we take in the information in a passive way. But reading allows the mind to:
- pause, reflect, think
- operate more actively
- use intellect and emotion together
- develop a longer attention span.
Oh.
And on that last bullet point. To those of you who may say “I don’t have the attention span to read.” Well. There ain’t anyone out there who has a shorter attention span than I do. I have the attention span of a gnat. And still a book can suck me in to a place where it doesn’t become about ‘attention’ any more but rather ‘involvement.’
Ok.
Regardless of all my own personal ramblings on the greatness of reading there are some actual studies (if you doubt that this whole reading is traveling thing is really for you).
- Carnegie Mellon scientists discovered that the volume of brain white matter in the language area of the brain increased after study participants followed a six-month daily reading program. The Carnegie Mellon study proved that the brain structure can be improved by training poor readers to become better readers.
- In 2009, Mayo Clinic conducted a Study of Aging that offered some good news for middle-aged and senior adults. Reading a book and other cognitive activities could decrease the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
This says we should assume the brain is like a muscle. Studies prove that exercising it and stimulating it makes it stronger. Reading stimulates brain activity. Reading a variety of “things” (blogs, books, newspapers, etc.) challenges the brain to think in new directions and absorb new concepts and information.
And children?
Children benefit from reading on many levels. Parents actively stimulate their child’s brain by sharing a reading time with them. Interactive reading time creates a shared bond between parent and child along with provoking a child’s natural curiosity about the world and environment.
Giving a child a chance to ask questions, express an interest in a particular topic, and hear new vocabulary and ideas forms a positive impression on a child that lasts a lifetime. Children with poor reading skills have a tendency to feel more anxious and sad (that comes from a study but I lost the source).
Reading also means we are in more control of how we learn and absorb different ideas. We can skim over portions that interest us less, move backwards and forwards, reread and, as in my case, make notes or write spectacularly articulated things down.
Reading helps keep us oriented and engaged.
Science, history, biographies, self help, religion, philosophy … the list is really endless … all make our ‘world’ a little more ‘full’ (but it is a glass that can never actually be completely filled) with each book we read.
I left this to the end because people who haven’t really figured out how to enjoy reading don’t “get” this. But there is an amazing pleasure to sitting down with a good book. It’s kind of like traveling to anywhere in the world (imagined or real) without leaving the comfort of our own chair. We can visit a fantasy realm with JRR Tolkien, or the American West with Louis L’Amour, or solve a mystery with Sherlock Holmes or see the intricacies of war with Tom Clancy. (that list could truly go on and on)
So.
In the end.
Some people will never ever be interested in learning unless dragged, kicking and screaming.
My biggest hope is that we adults (the ones who don’t like reading) don’t hinder our kids natural curiosity about the world and still encourage them to read (it is unfortunate that kids typically do as they see … so … if you don’t read they don’t feel compelled to do so).
I do know that I will never quit trying to give everyone the opportunity to love reading and knowledge and encouraging curiosity.
Why?
Because not all of us have the privilege to travel.
And books give everyone the privilege to travel.
Doesn’t get much simpler than that.
travels of reading part 2
Sep 7th
“You get a little moody sometimes but I think that’s because you like to read. People that like to read
are always a little fucked up.” Pat Conroy
This is a follow up to my reading part 1 (which was serious about the importance of reading).
This is more a rant (and a warning) on how people who love to read abuse their joy of reading.
This possibly provides a counterbalance to my disdain for people who waste the opportunity to permit their minds to travel through reading … which is a luxury everyone can afford and has access to regardless of budget.
So.
Readers can take things to absurd levels (simply because they read).
Pretentious.
Pompous.
Treating people who don’t read (or are not “well read”) as lesser beings (and they can do it overtly or in sneaky but still pompous ways).
Oh.
And the perpetual idiotic rephrasing or quoting of literature (rather than seek their own words).
Using quotes can be lazy.
Just as using any words of others can be lazy.
For reading is only good if you are using it to increase your own intellectual thinking.
And to come up with your own ideas.
And to express your own thoughts and ideas better,
Reading is traveling.
Traveling through other people’s thoughts and ideas.
And, sure, it is okay to show pictures of your trips and travels but you don’t want to read from the guidebooks as you tell everyone about the trip … they want to hear your thoughts and experience it through your eyes and words.
Yeah.
I am certainly a lover of a well crafted written thought. That poetic turn of phrase. Even that full chapter of prose that when it ends you finally exhale. And then only to turn back upon on some pages and reread something because the way the words have been put together it stirs something inside you … it could be your soul … it could be your mind … it could just be ‘something’ but those words have created an imprint upon you.
But.
The imprint is often best used in your own words when shared.
Do I use quotes or literary references? Sure. You bet I do.
Do I use them to replace my own words? Rarely.
I use someone else’s words to either emphasize my own thoughts or introduce my thoughts or (in a business environment) to honestly “steal a moment.”
(note: ‘stealing a moment definition: that would be when the meeting is spinning in a direction and you cannot seem to stem the stream of unfocused idiocy spewing forth and you grab an appropriate quote out of your memory banks – because frankly your own words haven’t done shit to steer everyone away from whatever the hell it is they are saying – and you grandly toss someone else’s words out into the air. That, my friends, is the art of stealing a moment with a quote.).
Anyway.
Reading is useful only when … well .. you make it useful.
Reading and learning and saying nothing is a waste.
Reading so you don’t have to do your own thinking is a waste.
Reading to solely use other people words is a waste.
Reading to simply say things to show you are better and smarter (well, maybe more ‘well read’) is a waste.
Oh.
And not reading is the worst waste.
Beyond my quote/using others words rant.
If you are a reader and love books?
Don’t abuse your love for reading. Don’t just talk but listen.
And share after listening.
Your attitude with what you have gained from reading can either encourage someone to pick up a book or discourage some from reading.
If you love to read, you are an ambassador for reading and need to think of yourself as such.
Think of yourself as a curiosity fulfillment teacher. Think of it as your own personal “no person left behind” program.
Advocate reading don’t belittle someone who doesn’t.
And if you struggle to figure out how to encourage someone to read?
Maybe steal someone else’s words … Charles Schultz (Peanuts author):
“This is my report on the importance of knowing how to read. If you can’t read and you get a love letter, you won’t know what it says. That would be very sad. Although in the long run, it also could save you a lot of trouble.”
- Charles Schultz
College isn’t for Everyone
May 26th
So. This post may seem odd coming from me if you have been reading things on my site. I am a huge proponent of children’s education. All sorts and forms. But. No Child Left Behind and some of the other “increasing college ready kids” programs, while being discussed with the best intentions, may be off mark (I have already written “national program for childhood curiosity” which outlines some of the unintended negative aspects in schools).
Here are some things to think about:
- Not everyone is cut out for college.
I know. I know. That is no epiphany. But sometimes we seem to overlook that fact as we attempt to get everyone “college ready.” I went to high school with a bunch of kids who not only didn’t do well in school but didn’t really care. They went to work on their family farms. And continue to be successful and do shit I couldn’t even imagine knowing how to do if I were in their shoes. I have a graduate degree but I am “DIY Challenged” (I couldn’t put a bookcase with color coded instructions if you asked me) and I know people who never went to college who could build a frickin’ bookcase from scratch blindfolded. It takes all types for the world to keep rockin’ along.
- America has more than enough college graduates (in any skill set you want to measure).
Let me say that one again. We (America) have enough college graduates in science, engineering, whatever now.
As the 4/3 The Economist Special report notes “America colleges produced more than enough graduates in science, technology, engineering and maths to meet corporate demand (needs). The problem is that a growing proportion of them do not pursue careers in their field of study.”
And this doesn’t even count the massive number of liberal arts ((or non manufacturing type degrees) currently graduating seeking employment in non-hard goods manufacturing sector.
- America college system remains the higher education system of choice globally.
Notice I say system. There are locations of higher education outside the American borders that are certainly of higher or equal quality but the overall American higher education system is still the best, and most desirable, in the world. Many countries send their best and brightest into our college system. So. If an American kid is cut out for college (and isn’t just attending because he/she is ‘supposed’ to attend) they will receive as good an education as anywhere in the world if not better.
Next. It’s a nutty world out there and some of the numbers you look at can make your head spin when you start thinking about college educations.
Here is a factoid for you.
We have more students graduating with engineering and science and technical degrees than we have jobs (what’s up with that?).
So while we are all going nuts about increasing scores versus other countries and getting more kids in college it doesn’t really appear that the issue is “getting kids to go to college” or even “studying the right thing” its rather they just aren’t going into that career when they graduate.
(wrap your head around that fact)
What happens to these graduates?
They end up going into a non productive (that’s an incorrect word … a service industry career which doesn’t produce or manufacture goods but rather enhances the existing value of what already exists). For example, they get an engineering degree but go into consulting instead of entering into an engineering role in an engineering-oriented company.
So I could argue that we don’t need more college graduates (unless we can guarantee driving more kids into colleges increase the likelihood they will enter into careers that benefit our hard goods GNP).
Next.
If I combine that last fact with the fact there are a variety of non college degree required careers (jobs that maintain every day life) out there, why are we so focused on college for everyone?
Now.
Don’t ask me how to run this gauntlet in real life, but, the reality – we would like to have every child have the ability to access college should they desire it.
And insure the ones who will excel with a college experience get there with the highest probability of success.
Wow. Now there’s a concept huh?
Uh oh. Fraught with peril (but I have a thought a little later on that mitigates the risk ever so slightly).
Our main national program “No Child Left behind” is tricky. And it doesn’t really address the above thought. Yes. The overall intent is good. Very good. But. The challenge is:
1. College isn’t for everyone, and,
2. Raising our national test scores to compete against other countries is stupid.
Yeah. I said stupid. I don’t know that I care if our entire population tests well. I care about those who are pursuing higher education to test well.
Do I know how to design the right path in developing programs to increase success of non college high school students as well as encourage them to focus on something other than college (or judge whether the non-college population is getting enough education to be successful professionally as well as personally in life)?
No. I am simply pointing out that the concept to figure out is worth pursuing (but fraught with political correctness peril).
Look. I have seen opinions that we need to replace some colleges and universities with training academies. Also, the extra courses today forced upon high school students are commonly a waste of time and more of a jobs program for useless professors than anything else.
I don’t know that I agree with that.
Education is education. Learning is learning.
I would imagine I lean toward some sort of liberal arts teaching helps round people’s thinking point of view. But. I also don’t believe one path to education is right for everyone. And I certainly don’t believe liberal arts in high school are the way to go.
But I do believe people’s timing is different. And that includes “being ready to attend college.”
So. With all that said. Where would I ask the government to go in the development of a useful program?
Rather than no child left behind I guess (in my unreasonable way of thinking) I would rather it be “no person left behind.”
I don’t mean we should de-emphasize the importance of education (and the possibility of college) to children but rather we open the lens to insure all ages have the possibility.
Why should a person be forced at 17 to make a choice on college or no college?
I would imagine there are a boatload of 26 year olds who look back at their decision to not go to college and rethink that decision.
Just as well I envision there are boatloads of 26 year olds who look back at their college experience as a grand event that added nothing to their lives but a loss of some brain cells.
The tricky part is that ideas like this sound dangerously like tracking (sorting students by ability level) a practice we repeatedly reject in the U.S> because philosophically (almost with maniacal focus) we believe that all students should have opportunity to meet their full potential.
But I think what’s getting lost is that too many students are going to college not because they want to, but because they think they have to. Through either peer pressure or parent pressure (and the parent pressure may be well intended but drives a lot of kids that are frankly not ready for
college).
We are force-feeding children the idea that you must go to college or you’ll be a second class citizen. I imagine it would be healthier (for person and economy) we should rather be attempting to find the right niche for those who prefer not to attend college. We need skilled workers in all levels of the work force. All work does not require a college education.
Look. I have seen the numbers. And I know the case looks compelling:
- As good jobs increasingly require more education, college is widely seen as the ticket to personal wealth/security (and to global competitiveness). Average salaries of college graduates are higher than those without college degrees (but, frankly, that piece of information is slightly useless in that a boatload of college graduates may simply be overpaid for their ability).
Sure. College is alluring.
“There’s beginning to be a lot of concern among the American public that … if you don’t get into that upper tier, you’re going to struggle your whole life,” says Public Agenda’s Jean Johnson. I would imagine the big worry with what I suggest (or maybe the fear within political correctness) is if high schools were to advise students that some education beyond high school is not necessary for everyone, “there’s a little bit of a concern that … we’re saying a lesser goal is OK for the populations of students who have been historically least well-served by higher education,” says Jane Wellman, executive director of Delta Project, which studies higher education spending. (fair enough, but, we have some relatively smart people who could solve this issue I imagine)
Some truth though. A four-year degree is no guarantee of wealth. About 25% of those with bachelor’s degrees earn less than those with two-year degrees, studies by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce have found.
Yet, we Americans, always good with a goal, have been driving toward this belief that a college education is necessary to be “successful”:
- The percentage of students who went on to college or trade school within a year of high school climbed from 47% in 1973 to 67% in 2007 (Census).
But some educators, economists and policy analysts are increasingly questioning whether it’s realistic and responsible to push students into college even if the odds of academic success seem low (and I am with them on this issue … and I am none of those three).
Unfortunately this kind of thinking is not real popular (for some really good reasons and some really stupid political correctness reasons). A small, but growing, number of states now require all high school students to take a college entrance exam. And since 2000, the percentage of Americans who believe college is essential to success in today’s world has gone from 31% to 55% “(that’s a pretty remarkable change in a fairly short period).
But. What happens to the students who don’t want to go to college (and start a professional career) or maybe are just not academically inclined and wouldn’t be successful in a college curriculum?
Well. Many high schools focus so much on college that low-achieving students find no place to be successful.
We could try apprenticeships, fairly common in Europe, but workforce oriented high school training is not nearly as common in U.S. schools.
So. I keep coming back to “no person left behind” versus the current “no child left behind.”
I bet a bunch of people are going to reach out and attempt to strangle this idea before it would ever get off the ground. All with good intentions (ok. most with good intentions).
If we worry about who is going to abuse the system, we will never get anything done.
And the ones who would benefit from the system get penalized.
Someone will not manage this idea well. Someone will get it wrong. And you know what?
We need to make sure that someone else is empowered to stand up and say “no, you are not doing it right.” And ‘someones’ will insure it gets done right.
In the end. There is a distinction in my mind.
Education is a requirement for success.
College is not.
Whether one is educated by a mentor, trade school, apprenticeship or college/university, it is the education, not the vehicle, which is needed.
Sure. We can have “the highest rate of college graduates” by 2020. But, to me, that kind of becomes a “so what” if we have a huge number of graduates that cannot do anything.
I would rather fewer graduates who rock the world than more graduates who raise the level of mediocrity.
College isn’t for everyone and we shouldn’t set up a system that says “you cannot be successful if you don’t go to college.”
