Education ~ Knowledge

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Education ~ Knowledge

When we talk about education, what do we mean? Literacy? or Knowledge? In general, we imply institutional/academic education when we talk about an individual?s educational background. I find it little different. I know many PhDs that don?t even know how to talk or behave well. They don?t know how to present themselves effectively. Although they are institutionally highly educated, they simply don?t have an overall understanding of life itself. All they have done in their life is just reading books, scoring high in their exams and holding a job that pays high salary. These people are not balanced because they lack knowledge. So I see a serious difference between the word ?education? and ?knowledge?. Education for today?s society represents degrees/certificates and some specific aspects of knowledge, while knowledge is what we all need for every day life. A person may not have a degree, however, he could have read many books or he could have more real life experiences that could make him a more knowledgeable man than those so called degree/PhD holders. The question is why society recognizes a person highly who is holding a degree (Masters/PhD etc) more than a person who is more knowledgeable?

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JP: He was MD: Mentally Dysfunctional?? hahaha..I am kidding...btw, there are desi cab drivers in WL?? I didnt know that..hehehehe

Well said,
Freak_of_nature.....

just another small point....getting ahead in life (career wise) is abouting landing you're first job and moving hopefully up the ladder from there....when you're in an interview it doesn't matter how many phd's you may have on paper...if you can't converse and win you're interviwer over with your charm and personality you ain't going to get anywhere. And thats not to say that all phd people are 'personality-less' but they do tend to be pretty 'bland' :op

i totally agree with you....i also know 'academics' who don't know their elbow from their butt or have any sense of 'common knowledge'....not to mention are struggling to find a job.....then you have those who may have not have been so 'highly educated' (ie on paper) and yet have a vast amount of life experience, knowledge and wisdom because they have 'lived'.

Humble_Soul, Sorry I didnt notice your comment.Thanks for your prayers and consolation.I wish it for all of us :)

Interesting discussion! A few points...Bill Gates was a dropout from Harvard MBA...he already had a BA from Harvard. Secondly, i think people with Masters/PhD are unconsciously elevated to a higher level than they deserve. In a bachelor's degree (atleast in the US) one is exposed to wide array of subjects, hence the knowledge base in any one specific area maybe small, buts its very wide across various disciplines. On the other had Masters or PhD one is exposed to vertical knowledge in one particular field....that person may very well be ignorant in other areas of arts or sciences. And ofcourse by gaining more knowledge in one particular area that person by leveraging it maybe able to earn big dollars. The higher earnings is by no means a reflection of his/her knowledge base across, but in his/her specialized field and if that field (such as medicine) happen to be in high demand, that person wud be able to command greater income.

Oh Staj, Reality is harsh...It really makes sense from what I understand from your comments.But one thing I really dont want to accept is the way our society judge people.

BTW I know lots of people with PHds and masters degree, they are not very smart people. Most of the time they dont even know what they are talking about. I think they got burnt out. And some of these even taught us in classes and didnt know what they were talking about...

Musafeer: You are successful and you should be feel proud that you are doing well in your life. We all have to go through hard times to get some where. Since I moved to the US, I have always had to work to get me through life. My parents didnt hand me money...we all had to work. I started delivering newspapers at the age of 11 and worked up my way to working at fast food chains, had jobs through out college and have a job too. But we all have to work hard..putting yourself through college was not easy. What I am saying to you is that you seem smart and if you believe in something, it will happen for you. Have faith in Allah and yourself :)

I understand what you are saying but in this society, you have to have a college education to be accepted. For instance, my college education cost a heck a lot which I am still paying for. Whatever I learned in college, I am not using any of that in real life but what I did experience in college, has taught me a lot in life and has helped me understand people and made me a very strong person. I would say reading books and all doesnt make you smart but being in college teaches you a lot and your experiences make you a stronger person. Also you have to realize that, in a relationship its hard for one person to be college educated and the other not having any education. You will always run into problems..one will have complex over the other...

Sam, very good observation and explanation.

Musafeer, I think the problem is that those PHd types that you mentioned only read books on their specific field of expertise but don't read books on other topics. Those who do read alot, but all sorts of things, (not just text books on what they study) tend to be more 'knowledgeable' in the sense hat they have alot more general knowledge and alot more common sense. I personally can tell just by talking to someone, wether they are a 'reader' or not. Someone who does read alot can have better conversations, understanding, better arguments, conversational abilities, than a PHd person like you mentioned who knows nothing outside their own field. Now, Why the latter is regarded with more esteem?! I think they are because they are seen as successful, but when one has to deal with such a person on a personal level, they aren't regarded with as much esteem and regard if they don't have the type of real 'knowledge' about life and the world like you have mentioned.

No JP, so far I had no luck for anything.I had to work hard to earn everything that I have. Wish me luck girl, I really need it. :)

JP,I dont think I need to take a Taxi to understand the difference between an 'educated' and 'knowledgeable' person.

Formal educations mean very little for most situations. I am a college dropout, I studied biochemistry, but this did not keep me from ending up the chief of information security for a 200,000 student public education system. I have worked for most of the "big names" and, alhamdulilah, have managed to do pretty good. By the grace of God. I have a lot of respect for people who hold degrees, but I do not let that fool me into thinking that they are qualified for a particular task. When I interview for subordinates or chime in on the hiring process for a peer I tend to focus on wether or not they can demonstrate if they are right for the tasks that they will bear responsibility for. My executive director and CIO are the same way, this is probably why we have such a great team, mashallah. Always remember that it is God and not that piece of paper that provides your success and wealth.

Just a side point to consider: much of what the educated read in graduate level courses was written by knowledgable persons with very little formal education. Marx, Einstein, Freud, ... and the list continues.

Bill Gates actually comes from a respected and well educated family. I am sure he went to some exclusive private schools and high schools before dropping out of Harvard.

I agree with you Musafeer, it shouldnt matter what educational background you have but i think it depends on a person having some common sense, understanding,logic as well as being knowledgeable in all aspects of life to a certain degree...there are people in this world with all the degrees and Phds that cant be somewhat versatile in other things in life other than what they went to school for, which i think is somewhat of a disadvantage, and i'm not hating on that but i think being mentally open to the world is always good...one person that came to my head when i first read this topic is Bill Gates, he dropped out of college and used his knowlegde to become the billionaire he is today..

JP, Sorry I have to disagree with you.Why do you think a knowldegeable person would not be able to talk or behave better than educated people?

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Education ~ Knowledge

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Village Journals

Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.