Wed, 16 Jun 2004 02:44:19 GMT

George asks the right question and links to an int …. George asks the right question and links to an interesting article from the BBC: Is a Degree Still Worth Having?. An insight from the UK that applies equally well over here:

“The report found that the real skills shortage was not for degree-qualified workers but for skilled technicians in construction, engineering and information technology. It criticised the government's target of 50% of young people going to university as 'arbitrary' and said it reflected the needs of neither the economy nor young people.”

Doug often wades into this one and he wrote eloquently about the same topic this week:

“The status of any given educational credental provides little value when it's in abundant supply. There are an increasing number of highly educated, debt-laden, unemployed young people who are quite unhappy with those of us who implied that a college degree was a ticket to a healthy, self-reliant life. Those days are gone.”

I know, I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this stuff. [Jeremy Hiebert's headspaceJ -- Instructional Design and Technology]

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ask the wrong questions and get the wrong answers…. degrees are meaningless outside of the persons life. sometimes in a few circumstances they may indicate certain things about the human that possesses them, but never do they indicate anything past that. you can't ask if it's worth it, you have to ask is educating students worth it? do students find value in their education? etc. those are the questions that lead you to some understanding.