What do you consider uneducated?

[Anonymous]

An acquaintance of mine has a Harvard degree. As soon as she opens her mouth she sounds like a dim bulb. I really don't know the educational background of 99% of my friends. But because she flaunts her degree religiously and it flies in stark contrast with her behavior, it is noticeable. My other friends have a wide variety of careers within which they are successful and invested. That makes them interesting and engaging. I have no idea what their degrees are but they seem well educated. I imagine some of them could have an associates, just like some of them have PhDs. A college degree does not automatically mean someone is educated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a J.D. But my grandmother grew up on a farm and only finished high school. She's the one who taught me how valuable traveling is. She taught herself about music and art, and was the one who took me to museums and classical concerts. She also taught herself another language. She worked in a library and was by far the most well-read person I've ever known, even now 20 years after her death.

I respect and admire her knowledge of life, culture, etc. much more than my degree, even though I'm very happy to have it as one of my accomplishments in life. But more importantly, I cherish how she motivated me to learn through living.

I write all this so that you will truly believe me when I say I'd consider you well-educated.

Your post is so touching to me--I would have loved to have known your grandmother and have the highest admiration for people like her! I have an older friend in east Tennessee who has a high school diploma and a small pension from working in a furniture factory for over 20 years. She has said she is sometimes embarrassed by her writing skills, yet her artistic abilities, work ethic, and interest in music, art, and theatre are an example to everyone who knows her!

[Anonymous]

I consider someone uneducated when he/she is not a critical thinker about what they are told by the government, person has no interest in current events, in the arts and literature, and is racist and bigoted. Has nothing to do with the number and level of degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I consider someone uneducated when he/she is not a critical thinker about what they are told by the government, person has no interest in current events, in the arts and literature, and is racist and bigoted. Has nothing to do with the number and level of degrees.

+1

Also, Party Pooper needs an editor.

[Anonymous]

When snobby teenage me made some comment about people without education, my father mentioned being jailed during the Civil Rights Movement with a man who had only a 3rd grade education. He was the one to come up with the legal argument that they all then pursued. The guy with the 3rd grade education.

A couple of decades later, my father's heart closed to the asshole I'd married after he mentioned quite proudly that he didn't read. In my father's eyes this meant that he was---without a doubt---beyond redemption. (And, Daddy was right.)

The bigger piece in what you're asking, OP, is do you make an effort to think without regard for the herd; do you make the effort to expose yourself to things outside of your everyday circumstance? Are you thirsty?

Many of the women of the mother's generation are largely "uneducated" because they married (as expected) before attaining a degree. This doesn't mean that they haven't sought out knowledge in other areas of their lives or haven't made judicious use of the NYTimes reviews and a local library card. It doesn't make them ignorant.

I needed a Ph.D., it suits me. I wanted it. Here I am. If you want a degree, go for it. Enjoy getting it. Have the classroom experience, bond with a professor if you can, debate classmates every chance you get....if you want a degree. Find a place that will allow you to take the courses you want, subjects that interest you. I think it's great if this is about you quenching a thirst. But, if this is just about you trying to erase a disparity you think others may hold against you, I'd recommend a big can of Fuck You. Carry it in your purse. Use as needed. DC's a ridiculously competitive town. Someone will always try to find a way to out do you.

Either way, I wish you success!

[Anonymous]

If you've been to the the chabad community in crown heights, Brooklyn, the girls wear long skirts but they are skin tight. Pants would be more modest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you've been to the the chabad community in crown heights, Brooklyn, the girls wear long skirts but they are skin tight. Pants would be more modest.

This was supposed to posted on the skirt thread. Ignore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I consider someone uneducated when he/she is not a critical thinker about what they are told by the government, person has no interest in current events, in the arts and literature, and is racist and bigoted. Has nothing to do with the number and level of degrees.

+1

Also, Party Pooper needs an editor.

+2. i think this hits it on tha nail.

[Anonymous]

I consider my ILs to be uneducated hicks. When they speak shock, horror, and disgust all cross my mind. DS is 4.5 and heard a redneck on storage wars and commented to DH "that woman speaks like your mother, things she says don't sound right". When a 4 yr old knows you don't speak properly you are a blundering idiot.

On a less personal note, op you sound very intellectually curious and that is key. At 18 (and living in a bubble that my parents both had excessive advanced degrees for fun) I would have said you were uneducated. Now I know paying for a few yrs of college doesn't always equate to being educated.

[Anonymous]

I've met Harvard-educated people that I would consider uneducated. If you grew up in the lap of luxury and regurgitate uninformed viewpoints about international affairs, developing economies, etc. Then you really have no appreciation for the life of an average American much less the needs of people from developing countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
When snobby teenage me made some comment about people without education, my father mentioned being jailed during the Civil Rights Movement with a man who had only a 3rd grade education. He was the one to come up with the legal argument that they all then pursued. The guy with the 3rd grade education.

A couple of decades later, my father's heart closed to the asshole I'd married after he mentioned quite proudly that he didn't read. In my father's eyes this meant that he was---without a doubt---beyond redemption. (And, Daddy was right.)

The bigger piece in what you're asking, OP, is do you make an effort to think without regard for the herd; do you make the effort to expose yourself to things outside of your everyday circumstance? Are you thirsty?

Many of the women of the mother's generation are largely "uneducated" because they married (as expected) before attaining a degree. This doesn't mean that they haven't sought out knowledge in other areas of their lives or haven't made judicious use of the NYTimes reviews and a local library card. It doesn't make them ignorant.

I needed a Ph.D., it suits me. I wanted it. Here I am. If you want a degree, go for it. Enjoy getting it. Have the classroom experience, bond with a professor if you can, debate classmates every chance you get....if you want a degree. Find a place that will allow you to take the courses you want, subjects that interest you. I think it's great if this is about you quenching a thirst. But, if this is just about you trying to erase a disparity you think others may hold against you, I'd recommend a big can of Fuck You. Carry it in your purse. Use as needed. DC's a ridiculously competitive town. Someone will always try to find a way to out do you.

Either way, I wish you success!

1) You still call your Father "Daddy"?
2) You needed a PhD and it "suits" you? What the heck does that mean?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't necessarily find you uneducated, OP, and probably wouldn't know you had an associates' degree unless you told me. (I have a BS and an MBA.) And even then, I wouldn't necessarily judge you if I found you interesting. You might be projecting your feelings about yourself onto other people. If it bothers you so much, you should consider finishing your degree. I know people who are doing that now, and they're nearing 40.

I do find some people "dumb" but that doesn't have to do with whether they went to college.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I don't think "uneducated" = "ignorant." As many people have pointed out, it's the rare family who doesn't have many uneducated people in previous generations.

That being said, I do consider people without a four-year degree to be "uneducated." Of course, I never know that unless you tell me and if you're competent in your field and not also ignorant in other ways it would never cross my mind to wonder about your level of education.

[Anonymous]

I really don't equate formal schooling with being educated.

To me, ignorant is uneducated. Even if you have a Ph.D.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I speak well, I have travelled, I like to read and learn new things, but I
only have an associates degree. I feel like people look down on me, so I have thought about going back to school for my BA just so people see me as "educated."

Be honest, would you consider someone with an associates to be uneducated?

Yes. Sorry.