- Jul 26, 2010
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One of the most unassuming people I ever met was an oil trader for a huge international oil company. He wore cheap, average clothes to work, no costly watch, and most people had no idea what he did. One of the wealthiest businessmen I ever met loved to spend the weekends on his farm, driving a tractor or a bulldozer, or laying rock for a stone wall. And before anyone suggests he was 'just a hobby farmer', he did a very good job and worked very hard at what he did. He was no 'hobby' farmer.
Reverse snobism against people with a formal education is just as bad as putting people down for NOT having a formal education.
I don't ever assume someone with a formal education is "only" book smart.
I don't ever assume someone with no formal education is 'dumb' or only has 'street smarts'.
The person who taught me the most about a great literary author installed washing machines and spent about three days in college. But I learned about other authors from a very highly trained professor with a PhD in literature.
The person who taught me the most about drawing and painting was a philosophy student. On the other hand the person who taught me the most about printmaking, had no education in things like philosophy or English, was formally trained at a very old, established institute of art, spent years in one 'school' (style) under a famous artist, and then invented his own style!
The person who taught me the most about how to deal with angry teenagers was illiterate. But the person I learned the most about CDD had spent most of her life researching it in a formal setting. I learned an awful lot about mental illness from listening to a couple nurses with no specialized psychiatric training, but decades of experience dealing with mentally ill people in the state hospitals.
One of the most fascinating views I ever heard about our prison system came from an 'uneducated' prison guard. But I also learned a lot from a PhD candidate who did studies of prisons.
I can't even imagine how many opportunities I've missed along the way of learning not to judge books by their covers, but also to be open to what an education and study really can do.
Reverse snobism against people with a formal education is just as bad as putting people down for NOT having a formal education.
I don't ever assume someone with a formal education is "only" book smart.
I don't ever assume someone with no formal education is 'dumb' or only has 'street smarts'.
The person who taught me the most about a great literary author installed washing machines and spent about three days in college. But I learned about other authors from a very highly trained professor with a PhD in literature.
The person who taught me the most about drawing and painting was a philosophy student. On the other hand the person who taught me the most about printmaking, had no education in things like philosophy or English, was formally trained at a very old, established institute of art, spent years in one 'school' (style) under a famous artist, and then invented his own style!
The person who taught me the most about how to deal with angry teenagers was illiterate. But the person I learned the most about CDD had spent most of her life researching it in a formal setting. I learned an awful lot about mental illness from listening to a couple nurses with no specialized psychiatric training, but decades of experience dealing with mentally ill people in the state hospitals.
One of the most fascinating views I ever heard about our prison system came from an 'uneducated' prison guard. But I also learned a lot from a PhD candidate who did studies of prisons.
I can't even imagine how many opportunities I've missed along the way of learning not to judge books by their covers, but also to be open to what an education and study really can do.
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