May 25, 2005

College ain't for everyone

Virginia Postrel comments on this story in the NYT, which concerns a supermarket produce buyer who returns to school to get a teaching degree.
Blevins sounds like a fine man, the kind of person who makes communities--and supermarkets--work. Too bad the Times won't honor him for his real accomplishments, including finding a demanding career he's good at. (Most of his buyer colleagues have college degrees.) Instead, he's portrayed as a victim and the "happy ending" is that he's going back to college so he can get a job he's totally unsuited for. A guy who hates school this much doesn't belong anywhere near a classroom, least of all in front of one.

The whole emphasis on a college education is ridiculous. Not every career demands a college education--produce buyer anyone? Perhaps if businesses stopped insisting on it, the totally-unrelated-to-reality cost of a college education would come down to earth.

Also, it would be nice if someone entered the teaching profession because they were passionate--and knowledgeable--about a subject rather than because it's easy to get an education degree. Education degree, indeed.

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