What do you consider uneducated?

[Anonymous]

I don't know what an associates degree is. The question for OP is whether she needs people who haven't met her to respect her, and that depends on her kind of work.

If I talk with you and you are smart, curious, and knowledgeable, I won't care about your degree. The degree matters if you want me to hire you for some position when I have little other information about you.

Also, I guess I decide whether someone is educated based on what they know of the wider world. I know people with graduate degrees who strike me as uneducated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The grandmother stories are touching but let's remember that they grew up in a time when women were not necessarily expected to go to college. Lots of smart women didn't in those days. I don't think that experience translates as well to today when a college degree is the minimum level of education expected in many professional fields.

This is what I was thinking as I read through all the previous posts. So OP, I was going to ask, "How old are you?" I had 3 grandparents who went to college and 1 who did not; were she still alive, she'd be 84 today. So, if you are in this age group, ok. Any younger than this, however, I do think people should at least get a 4-year Bachelor's.

Not everyone has access to college. Especially today.

More people from more varied backgrounds go to college today than ever before.

[Anonymous]

My inlaws who are very kind & decent people know how to do things in their little town in the UK, but the minute you take them anywhere else, they have the country mouse syndrome. They are definately uneducated by our standards.

My FIL had no idea Pepsi and Coke were different brands, has horrific table manners and feels physically anxious in anyplace other than pubs or fast food restaurants. He has never tasted garlic, pizza, spaghetti or any other "foreign foods".

My MIL had no idea what Merrill Lynch was when it came up in a conversation, didn't recognize the term neanderthal man and left school at 16.

[Anonymous]

I think it's so interesting how many people here think that educated = formal education. By that token, many of America's greatest minds were uneducated.

OP, you don't sound uneducated at all to me - you just sound largely self-educated, and probably with a lot of valuable life experences. In my mind, that's extremely educated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you speak a foreign language, give the dates of the French Revolution and the American Civil War, recite a classical poem, name at least five operas and their composers, solve a system of linear equations, explain how a microwave works? Have you read a work of fiction in the last year? Read any work of fiction considered a "classic" outside of school?

If you answer no to any of the above, and especially if you claim that one of the above is not necessary because you specialized in something else in college and graduate school, then I would consider you uneducated even if you have a PhD.

Now excuse me as I run to Wikipedia to read up on microwaves should any of you decide to call me on it.

My sister has a JD and my brother is an MD. I have an asosciate's degree. My siblings know how to say "I'm sorry, Where's the bathroom? and Another beer, please." in Spanish. Other than that they don't speak a foreign language. They might know the approximate dates of the American Civil War, but that's a big maybe. All three of us can recite a classical poem. None of us could name five operas, maybe my brother could solve linear equations. We could all mumble about a microwave oven but only because our dad is an engineer. We all read lots of fiction, but are not fans of classic fiction. How often do you need any of that stuff?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's so interesting how many people here think that educated = formal education. By that token, many of America's greatest minds were uneducated.

OP, you don't sound uneducated at all to me - you just sound largely self-educated, and probably with a lot of valuable life experences. In my mind, that's extremely educated.

I'm one of the pps who equates educated with formal education, but I also don't equate educated with great minds/smarts/brilliance. I find those mutually exclusive.

[Anonymous]

pp here again. In other words, I have found some of the most highly educated people dumb as rocks and some of the most uneducated people brilliant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Now, OP, here you go. This is a response from someone who is likely very uneducated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you speak a foreign language, give the dates of the French Revolution and the American Civil War, recite a classical poem, name at least five operas and their composers, solve a system of linear equations, explain how a microwave works? Have you read a work of fiction in the last year? Read any work of fiction considered a "classic" outside of school?

If you answer no to any of the above, and especially if you claim that one of the above is not necessary because you specialized in something else in college and graduate school, then I would consider you uneducated even if you have a PhD.

Now excuse me as I run to Wikipedia to read up on microwaves should any of you decide to call me on it.

My sister has a JD and my brother is an MD. I have an asosciate's degree. My siblings know how to say "I'm sorry, Where's the bathroom? and Another beer, please." in Spanish. Other than that they don't speak a foreign language. They might know the approximate dates of the American Civil War, but that's a big maybe. All three of us can recite a classical poem. None of us could name five operas, maybe my brother could solve linear equations. We could all mumble about a microwave oven but only because our dad is an engineer. We all read lots of fiction, but are not fans of classic fiction. How often do you need any of that stuff?

This is really sad. You don't learn this stuff because you need to, you learn it because it enriches your life. You need not have learned it in school (some of the most well-read people I know have highly specialized educations in math and science) but if you have any intellectual curiosity you will pick most of it up eventually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The grandmother stories are touching but let's remember that they grew up in a time when women were not necessarily expected to go to college. Lots of smart women didn't in those days. I don't think that experience translates as well to today when a college degree is the minimum level of education expected in many professional fields.

Exactly. How many of those grandmother people plan to have their children obtain associate degree and stop there? Yup, thought so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you speak a foreign language, give the dates of the French Revolution and the American Civil War, recite a classical poem, name at least five operas and their composers, solve a system of linear equations, explain how a microwave works? Have you read a work of fiction in the last year? Read any work of fiction considered a "classic" outside of school?

If you answer no to any of the above, and especially if you claim that one of the above is not necessary because you specialized in something else in college and graduate school, then I would consider you uneducated even if you have a PhD.

Now excuse me as I run to Wikipedia to read up on microwaves should any of you decide to call me on it.

My sister has a JD and my brother is an MD. I have an asosciate's degree. My siblings know how to say "I'm sorry, Where's the bathroom? and Another beer, please." in Spanish. Other than that they don't speak a foreign language. They might know the approximate dates of the American Civil War, but that's a big maybe. All three of us can recite a classical poem. None of us could name five operas, maybe my brother could solve linear equations. We could all mumble about a microwave oven but only because our dad is an engineer. We all read lots of fiction, but are not fans of classic fiction. How often do you need any of that stuff?

This is really sad. You don't learn this stuff because you need to, you learn it because it enriches your life. You need not have learned it in school (some of the most well-read people I know have highly specialized educations in math and science) but if you have any intellectual curiosity you will pick most of it up eventually.

How does naming operas enriches your life? I love music and can name dozens of operas. That said, I picked it up because I listen to music a lot. Some of the other stuff on your list I have no interest in. If having a PhD doesn't make you educated, neither does knowing random, superficial factoids.

[Anonymous]

There is so much bull here. All of a sudden, in one of the most credentialized areas of the country and world even, nobody cares about formal degrees. Yeah right.

[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?

I would probably consider you under educated if you have the aptitude for a higher level of education and choose not to pursue it. I also think place and context are important. I have a Ph.D., but when it comes to fixing my car, my mechanic with a HS diploma is more educated than me. I don't think traveling always equals a well rounded person. What people do while traveling is more important for self development than the how frequently the person has traveled.

[Anonymous]

someone with a 6th grader education (that is they only made it to the 6th grade) I suppose you can also include any adult that didn't complete high school (not counting those who dropped out senior year

[Anonymous]

Also, to answer your question, you have an associates degree--that is education. It would be ignorant to consider you anything but educated.