The Uselessness of a Degree

It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not to deserve them.
—Mark Twain

Imagine spending four years, or more, in school being trained to be the best. You have spent hours studying on Saturday nights instead of spending time with friends. You do your homework, you go to bed late after studying and wake up early to continue studying. Your entire life has been built around learning everything you can from your teachers.

Finally, after all the sacrifices it’s the day of graduation and you walk up to get the diploma you’ve been working so hard for. The president is holding that precious slip of paper up for you to see, then, in front of everyone, he rips it up into little pieces and burns it.

How would you react? Would you be angry or depressed? Would you cry or scream? Would you laugh hysterically or stare in disbelief? Or, would you smile corrigibly and walk away with confidence? How could you not walk away confidently, even with out a diploma you still know everything have you learned.

Nothing can take away what we have learned in college, but are we doing everything we can to learn something new or are we just sitting idly knowing that passing is good enough, because in the end both good and bad students get a diploma. After taking several classes from the same teacher it can be hard to learn something new, but that is our job as students. Being able to look at a problem and finding a way to over come it is what college should teach us. So stop being lazy and take charge of your own education. Unless of course you’re already doing that, then you should take a break and hang out with friends.



Michelle Current