Educated?

This essay was written in response to a class discussion about what it means to be an educated person. While a few ideas were brought up during this conversation, most ideas and thoughts are my own feelings on what it means to be "educated."

Most scholars agree that one of the most intellectually stimulating times in history took place in the Ancient Grecian era as a result of the thought-provoking discussions of scholars such as Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato. Yet, underneath all of their theories, thoughts, discussions, and hypotheses, these men were no different than other men of their time; they were simple citizens without formal college education. Their only differences lied in their ability to think outside the boundaries constructed by the rest of society. Certainly each of these philosophers was taught to learn under the direction of a previous scholar, but they did not attend college and lacked any other type of formal training as we know it today. Though they were brilliant, does this lack of schooling mean that they cannot be called "educated people"?

It would be difficult to argue that Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato were not educated citizens. First of all, among others of their time, they had much more education to draw their thoughts and opinions from. Rather than accepting the norms of society, they began to question them, forcing their culture to adapt new rules, break traditions, and better the world in which they lived. They did not simply stumble upon explanations for certain aspects of life, but analyzed what the causes of a problem were and then brainstormed to come up with a plausible solution to those problems.

What, exactly, makes an educated person, then? Though this term cannot be fully defined, it does suggest that there are many facets that combine to form this type of scholarly person. I believe that there are three very important aspects that need to be mastered before a person is labeled "educated": schooling, experience, and practical wisdom. Though these factors seem simple, they can each be broken down into numerous sub-categories that may take a lifetime to grasp fully.

The first facet, schooling, is rather straightforward. A huge part of being titled an educated person obviously deals with your actual amount of education. Today's society encourages high school graduates to attend college directly after they complete their final year of high school. Ten years ago, it was likely for a guest at a graduation party to inquire whether or not the graduate would attend college. Today, the question is more one-sided; the guest asks where the graduate will be going to school in the fall, immediately implying that the graduate will further their schooling somewhere.. It is difficult to succeed in today's job market with only a high school degree, so today's students are being forced to work toward higher levels of education.

Education provides three basic skills that aid students on the path to "becoming educated." First of all, college forces students to learn how to learn. Through trial and error, the student will find which methods of studying work for him or her. Secondly, college classes build a sturdy foundation of knowledge and key concepts that can be applied to a variety of situations throughout life. Third, a college education enables workers to develop general competencies and capabilities related to "long-term career and personal development" (Sheckly, Lamdin, and Keeton). A college career can help a person to gain enough competence to improve themself and their career.

Despite some people's beliefs, one cannot become educated by being forced to attend school. Sitting in a lecture hall and listening to a scholarly professor talk will only have as much impact on the student as he or she allows. If the student is not willing to actively pay attention, attempt to understand the material, and participate in ways such as asking questions, he or she cannot expect to comprehend the lessons. In the same way, memorizing facts immediately before a test only to forget them as soon as the exam is handed over to the teacher will not leave a student any more educated than he or she was before the class started. For a student to truly learn, he or she must have the motivation to put forth a true effort rather than trying to learn lazily. If the students makes certain he or she learns the material fully enough to understand it and is able to think about it critically, he or she is on the right track to becoming an educated person.

College is the beginning of this transition from lazy-learning to active participation for many students. In this stage, they begin to take classes that interest them, not just ones that are required to graduate. When a student wants to learn material because it is interesting, he or she will put forth a greater effort and, in turn, come out of the class with a greater understanding of the material.

The second part of becoming an educated person lies in one's experiences. A person who has had no type of learning besides reading out of a textbook can hardly be described as educated. The most helpful learning often takes place outside of the structured classroom on field trips or internships. A person must have a well-rounded resume of both classroom learning and experiential learning to be considered educated.

Knowledge already attained through classroom education can be strengthened and clarified through these outside experiences. It provides a student with the chance to apply his or her knowledge to a real, existing situation. This, in turn, forces the student to associate his or her knowledge with a method of solving the problem. Being able to see the results first-hand strengthens the information's plausibility in the student's mind and becomes an connection that makes retrieval of the subject from the mind much easier.

Experience is essential in adult life, too. To continue furthering one's education, he or she must try new things, expose him or herself to new experiences in order to learn new things. This continuation of learning will ultimately result in a more-educated person. If a person instead decides to participate in the same activities day after day, year after year, he or she will improve in those specific areas until the enhancement ceases and he or she stays in a stalemate. A person who chooses varying situations over monotonous ones will continue to learn new things and become well-rounded in multiple different areas.

Employers not only look at how much information a person has attained, but also at how easily they learn. According to Barry G. Sheckley, Lois Lamdin, and Morris T. Keeton in their article Employablility, "workers must learn how to learn so that they can keep up with changing technologies." No employer wants a slow-learning worker hindering the performance of other teammates. In learning one's own method of learning and understanding new material, that person can aid their learning by concentrating on strengths and weaknesses, resulting in a person whose base of knowledge expands with each experience (Sheckley, Lamdin, and Keeton, 14).

Everyday experiences are the most influential factors in gaining overall experience. By being put in different situations, one will learn different things about themselves and the world. Robert Smith, in his essay Learning Systematically From Everyday Experience pointed out that reminiscing about a past experience is an almost "universal technique for etracting meaning from experience" (Smith, 56). By thinking about a past situation, one can not only rethink their reactions, but begin to understand why something took place and how it might have bene changed. Another great way to learn from past experiences, as Smith pointed out, is to keep a diary or journal of daily experiences. By recording down what happened along with thoughts and feelings, a person can re-visit memories that he or she would have otherwise forgotten. As he put it, "Exploring one's past and the events in which it is embedded can lead to understanding throught hte discovery of some things that are timeless" (Smith, 56).

The last facet of being an educated person, practical wisdom, is a bit more difficult to define. It deals with applying the education one has gained to his or her daily life. As an example, imagine a woman has just completed all of her schooling to become a teacher. She may have wonderful grades and good internship experience but completely lacks social skills. She puts off applying for a job position until it is almost too late and loses many potential jobs right away. Luckily, some schools are still looking for a teacher for the following year, so she is invited to interview at a few schools. Because she lacks this practical wisdom, she comes to the interview late, answers questions poorly and is not prepared, which results in her not getting a job at any of the schools.

This situation may be a bit extreme, but it illustrates that without the skills necessary to survive in today's job field, one cannot possibly be considered educated. This practical wisdom is necessary to succeed and gain experience, both of which supplement the title of an educated person.

Another aspect of practical wisdom is the ability to solve problems. By being able to apply one's knowledge in order to come up with a plausable solution, the person is connecting what he or she has learned to what he or she needs to know. This ability to synthesize information is labeled as "cognitive skills" by Sheckley, Lamdin, and Keeton in their essay The Skills Employers Seek and Employees Need. To be educated, one must be posess the capabilities to "reason, evaluate, and solve problems" (Sheckley, Lamdin, and Keeton, 213.

While it may be impossible for a person to be considered educated without covering all three areas effectively, it is possible for a person to have all three areas covered and still not be "educated." Though it is impossible to pin down, a truly educated person has an air about him or her that makes him or her good at giving advice, confident in their skills without being self-absorbed, interesting and intriguing, trustworthy, convincing, and simply knowledgeable. Few people can truly achieve this eminence of attitude and wisdom.

Above all, an educated person is one who is well-rounded and understands many concepts. He or she must be open-minded about new ideas and situations and have opinions on issues important to him or her. This educated person must posses the knowledge, experiences, and street-smarts necessary to overcome any problem and still be willing to learn and improve.

Bibliography

*All sources used in this paper came from:

Steltenpohl, Elizabeth, Jane Shipton, and Sharon Villines.Orientation to College1996, Wadsworth Publishing Co., Belmont, CA.

-The Skills Employers Seek and Employees Need.

Sheckley, Barry G., Lois Lamden, and Morris T. Keeton. Employability. Pages 14-15.

Smith, Robert M. Learning Systematically From Everyday Experience. Page 56.