Late last winter I started looking at opportunities to use the tuition assistance that the Air Guard provides. Despite some less than stellar undergrad transcripts, I applied to a couple of different masters degree programs here in North Dakota. My optimal choice would have been a Space Studies program at UND, but they turned me down.
My second choice was a Public Administration program from the University of Mary in Bismarck. They recently accepted me (on probation at first, but I’ll take it) and I will start in September.
Why am I doing this? Why, when I have an undergrad already and two associates, and a job that doesn’t require a masters? Good question, as despite the Air Guard TA, I will still have the expense of books and a few dollars in fees. Not to mention the workload that this will involve – goodbye free time. Two reasons. First, I have a benefit that will pay for tuition, and a benefit like this not used is not a benefit, it’s a wasted opportunity. Second, I feel that no matter what your degree is in, high school, undergrad, masters, or PhD, continuing education is one of the most important things you can do with any spare time you might have. Striving to continually learn and better yourself is one of the pinnacles of what it should mean to be an American.
A recent Pew Research Center survey uncovered that 58% of right-leaning Americans now think that college and university education is harming our country. (http://www.newsweek.com/republicans-believe-college-education-bad-america-donald-trump-media-fake-news-634474)
Try to unpack that for a minute.
People now think that education, higher learning, intellectualism and expertise is bad for our nation.
THAT is why, after barely getting out of school 20 years ago, I am going back again. Because secular education is rarely ever a bad thing. The desire to improve oneself, to contribute more to society and to your neighbors (all your fellow citizens, not just the folks on your street), and to leave the world a better place in your wake are central to what it means to be a part of this great nation. We were founded on those principles.
If you aren’t keen on obtaining another degree, there are of course a wide variety of option to continue your lifelong education. The easiest method is to simply go pick up a non-fiction book and read it. History, politics, science, arts, crafts, theater, sports, economics, law, mathematics, or anything else you want to know about is as close to you as the local library or book store. Or try getting out of your neighborhood more. Travel can be highly educational, especially if you get a little off the beaten path and interact with local people.
And if you are looking for a formal educational experience without dealing with the high costs of a college or university,the options are vastly superior than they used to be. Companies like Coursera (www.coursera.org) and edX (www.edx.org) offer college level on-line classes from a wide variety of institutions. Most are available for free in an audit style mode, or you can pay a small fee to take them for a certificate. Some allow you to purchase college credits from the institution offering the class if you achieve a passing grade. There are even “degree” programs available, like “micro-masters” programs from MIT and the University of Pennsylvania via edX.
So make the time. Educate yourself. Improve yourself. Be better. Be more.
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Why do people think higher ed is hurting us? A book I just started might be worth looking at. “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters” by Tom Nichols takes a deep look at how our modern world is creating a situation where even legitimate experts in their fields – doctors, PhD scientists, economists, politicians, civil servants…people who have spent decades if not their entire adult lives on a subject are no longer viewed in esteem. Instead of being held up as eminently qualified individuals, they are scorned, looked down on, and dismissed.
The internet certainly plays a role in the modern phenomena of anti-expertise. We have the entirety of human history, all of the information and knowledge we have ever learned, literally in our pockets and at our fingertips. Who needs a doctor to diagnose you when we have “Web M.D.?” Why should 99% of climate scientists be believed that climate change is real and happening when I found ten articles that say otherwise? Why should we believe an economist that tells us that trickle down never worked when my employer’s say tax cuts for the wealthy are why I have a job?
The book also explores how the explosion of social media, with all the abilities it has for us to connect with people around the world, has actually limited our exposure to people with differing ideals and principles. We used to talk about things at church, with our neighbors, at work, with people that we had fundamental differences with. And we talked about and through those issues, learning more about those differing views and understanding why people thought the way they do. Now, we rush home, jump on the device and hang out virtually with people that, by and large, share our views and reinforce our ideals. Never challenging us. And when the rare interloper with a differing opinion comes around, the wagons are quickly drawn, and they are shut out or shot down. And we never gain that understanding.
It is this world we live in, that has turned into a society where knowledge is to be questioned and feared, and not embraced and celebrated. That sort of world is not one ripe for innovation and progressive moves forward. It is ripe for totalitarianism and loss of liberty, where others can twist your opinion with a single post, multiplied by a million shares.
Educate yourself. Improve yourself. Be better. Be more. Become an expert. Not just because you knew how to Google and can quote a Wiki entry. But because you put the work in, and you have the paperwork to prove you know what you are talking about. Your self-improvement is what this nation was founded on, the reason it exists and the hope for its future.
Go out and learn.