I am writing this in partial response to another blog, but I didn't write it AS a response,because the person who brought this topic to mind did NOT say college was the only route to education. It would have been a horrible thread hijack for me to include this as my response.

I spent two years in college, but didn't finish my degree because life intervened. I was 22 years old, and to receive financial aid for the following year, needed to obtain a statement from each of my parents that they were unable to provide for my education in order to receive financial aid (this was in 1993, when the rules were changed requiring all unmarried individuals under 23 to be considered dependents unless they proved otherwise. I missed the deadline for that year by 5 months). I had no idea where my mother was,and thus, could not complete the paperwork. So, I decided to take the year off and move to transfer. The following year, things got in the way and limited me from going back.

The older I get, the less I regret it. While my college years were valuable, I have learned far more in the "real world" than I ever could have learned in college.

I hear liberals speak about the plight of underground miners. But has any of them spent time underground? Does any of them KNOW the day to day existence of underground miners? I do.

I hear people speak about the rights and needs of disabled individuals. But many of them have not worked directly WITH these individuals to understand firsthand the frustrations, limitations, and desires of these individuals. I have.

I hear liberals speak of life in the inner cities of American urban centers. But I am willing to bet most of them haven't lived in a slum with a crackwhore for a downstairs neighbor or had a gang leader shot down 20 feet from their doorstep. Again, these are things I know firsthand.

Life, in short, is more than what can be obtained from a textbook. John Steinbeck obtained his information for "The Grapes of Wrath", "Cannery Row", and many of his other excellent works through FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE that even the best educator would be hard pressed to convey in any meaningful way. The same applies to Woody Guthrie and much of his work.

So, if education is your calling, your passion, go, and know that the world needs you. But do not, for a moment, assume that it in ANY way makes you better, or more knowleadgeable than anybody else. You may be more properly oriented to your specialty, but not necessarily more educated.

After all, you still take your car to a mechanic who may not have even graduated high school.