Educated, Indoctrinated or Degree Holder?

The Inverse Relationship between ‘education’ and common sense/wisdom

A cursory scan of reports covering the education industrial complex, one would think that getting the “Most Educated State” title, is as valuable as getting the Pulitzer Prize for Fake News. But it’s more like a race to the buttom

According to WalletHub financial writer Adam McCann in a July 2 article titled “Most & Least Educated Cities in America” (2024,) Ann Arbor, Michigan, was No. 1 on WalletHub’s list of most educated metropolitan areas with an overall score of 93.7 out 100.

Meanwhile, Newsweek’s Joe Edwards reports that Washington state has not only seen the biggest influx of college-educated Americans, but Seattle is the least-religious large metro area. In addition. Washington not only has several student loan forgiveness programs that are specific to just the State of Washington, but residents can also qualify for various Federal student loan forgiveness programs. Consistent with the Law of Bilk; Residents who want to bilk the system go where they are welcomed and stay where they are protected and well treated. Soon, passing the bar exam will no longer be a requirement for becoming a lawyer in Washington.

While Americans have grown less religious over the past couple of decades, and attendance at religious services is down across the country, new survey data shows Seattle and AnnArbor are of two of those places.

OnFocus‘ David Keech reports that A new study has found that Massachusetts is the most educated state in America, based on the percentage of the population that holds a bachelor’s degree or higher. “Massachusetts is the most educated state in America, with 46.6% of its population aged 25 years and above having at least a bachelor’s degree, “

Educated, Indoctrinated or Degree Holder? 

Recently an influential committee of the UC Academic Senate couldn’t agree on how much math to take to qualify to attend a four-year California State University.

The Blinder Leading the Blind

But the good news is that  Sixteen and 17-year-olds in California will be able to vote for the school board by mail and in person in November.  While most  California high school seniors don’t meet requirements to apply to UCs or CSUs. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers think students are too stupid to figure out which college courses to take to transfer to the University of California, so they make it easier with AB1291.

So why not let the blinder lead the blind? Is it any wonder California ranks around 40 in academic performance?

The same people say the California University System is not good enough for Black Students. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that grants community college students who transfer to historically Black colleges and universities a one-time grant of up to $5,000

Then there’s is the $1.7 trillion student loan debt after the trade school option was stigmatized, and trillions more on useless degrees. That the US Education is Broken is a well-accepted premise. 

So, why is it that trade school is not normalized? Sir Ken Robinson, for example, argues that our current educational systems are still based on a industrial paradigm of education – education is increasingly standardised and about conformity, and kids, who are living in the most stimulating age in history, fail to see the point of going to school, which is about ‘finding the right answers to pass the tests’ rather than about stimulating divergent thinking

Ironically, the most in-demand jobs in the next decade do not require a college degree.

When a Degree Meant Something

In the past. a degree meant something: the degree holder was responsible, hard-worker, independent and most of all, was well versed in their field of study.. If that person left and went to another state, that would be a brain drain. It is no longre brain drain but more like dead weight augmentation for the receiving state.

Now, consider Saint Catherine of Siena.
Catherine of Siena was of low social status, uneducated, illiterate, from an ordinary family who in the course of a very short life, became an object of fascination to thousands and a counselor to kings, queen and popes. Though she never studied theology and never learned formally to read and write, she came to be recognized as Doctor of the Church and a master of the spiritual life.

Meanwhile, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, nee Edith Stein, a noted philosopher raised in the Jewish faith, turned atheist, turned Carmelite nun died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz in 1942. St. Teresa Benedicta is not yet a doctor of the Church, she should be one.

In case you are wondering, the Church teaches there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason (CCC 159) that; “Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth.” “Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are.”

So, when the likes of Adam McCann and Joe Edwards report about the Most and Least Educated Cities in America, they should really be more precise and identify whether they mean Educated, Indoctrinated or Degree Holders.

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