Well when one thinks about it seriously one might form an opinion that because you earned a degree or more, maybe a masters or even a doctorate you must be intelligent and smart. In most cases and perhaps for the great number that is a very fair assumption. However, it can also be a very serious miscalculation depending on what is involved. You know- don’t judge a book by its cover type thing. Why, because having an education does not guarantee you are smart. Why say this? Well let’s take a look at the state of affairs in the nation and world.
Well you say it has always been this way. Well once again I defer to the argument at hand. You might say it has never been better. I would ask in what way, environmentally, wars and famines, poverty, sickness, etc or just about a limited number of this planet making money? I guess we need to clarify how that was arrived at?
I think it is fair to reiterate that we all recognize that if you finished your schooling that is of itself a significant accomplishment. However, there are really other factors that come into consideration for a person to be considered smart, above average, “gifted" or intelligent and even one who can get the job done.
In my opinion your work, deeds, actions, thought processes, reasoning, weighing of outcomes and character values all are major factors in determining the intelligence or a person or how smart and capable they are.
Why you might ask? Certainly you can pull off the greatest theft in history but when you weigh everything into consideration you really were not that smart. Then againyou may hold an esteem position but your decisions are all failures and impact the company, people, the nation andother nations negatively so what does that say? So, once again, those degrees, while important, don’t really say you are intelligent.
However, without detracting from an all important education, the truth be said there are many successful, intelligent people who have become great leaders, scientists, teachers, professionals, military leaders, etc, etc, etc and they never achieved a degree. Some never made it out of Elementary school. Many of these people had something many who are considered intellectuals don’t and that is logic, reasoning and weighing of outcomes and those other attributes mentioned above. There are many achievers who, because they lack a degree never got the plaudits and had to take a back seat to someone who did.
Quite frankly I am an advocate for education and I have been fortunate to work side by side with some very intelligent graduates and doers and well others who had no degree but accomplished the same and more. Perhaps there is a message here that it is the person and how they apply what they have and know that makes them smart and not what someone says they are because they finished school?
As example, it’s that old question, “When are we going to get good teachers"? Well are not these teachers educated? Do they not have a degree? Are they not licensed? The answer to all is yes. Then why is it that someone without these credentials might raise the level of a class or a student when educators couldn’t?
My only answer is the use of their talents, skills and abilities learned and implemented in life. Certainly it is a combination of experience, learning, listening and doing which developed the skills necessary to teach and reach and perform the task successfully. Does it say those educators who failed were stupid? Certainly not, it just says that the perception of their capability may have been directed at the wrong aspects used to evaluate? In other words the perception was since they finished college they were capable.
Now for the last few years I have been writing to current events. I acknowledge I am not the best writer and can use help in many area’s however, that is just the point. If persons who might be considered “uneducated", simple average Americans can see real concerns, how come only recently in the newspapers and on T.V. we hear the things many average people have been espousing for years? Just where have these smart or intelligent leaders been? It might be they are right on target according to their agenda or perhaps they really do not have the character, skills and education necessary to solve these opportunities but it is perceived they do?
In closing I must say that I certainly cannot claim to be smart in all things and I certainly need the educated and those with experience to help me. There are so many smart, intelligent and thinking people out there one has to Wonder Why such a mess?
I am not so proud that I thinkanyone can do it all alone. My success has been listening, reading, working and learning from and with others. But I can tell you this as an average American and as I have said time and time over, all is not well in this Lollie Pop World and one wonders why when we have all these educated people?
Robert T. Melaccio Sr. 2007 Copyright ©2007 Robert Melaccio
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