WORDS OF WISDOM

This week it’s me, Hattie Collier, writing my thoughts about a couple of things I’ve learned over the years.  I’d be the first to admit that although I think of myself as intelligent, I’m not a scholar.  I do read the newspaper and listen to the news every day so as far I’m concerned, that and the fact that I have sixty something years of life experience under my belt, has given me a degree of knowledge that I have come to appreciate.   At times I’m surprised at what I’ve learned about life.  So, I decided to put a few of those things in categories and write down my thoughts about some of the wisdom I’ve acquired.

AMERICA

As someone who has lived through some of the worse times when it comes to race in this country, it can be said that things have gotten a lot better than in the past.  However, despite the 2008 election which resulted in an African American president, America is not “post racial.”  The word post racial only means that as usual people don’t want to talk about the country’s racial problem.  So when the continued silence blows up in our faces in the form of racial strife, we shouldn’t be surprised.

THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS

My first thought was that I’ve never seen such a bunch of idiots in my life.  Then after I thought about it more, I could see that they might not be as clueless as I thought.  After all, if you’re an upper middle class or wealthy American (because poor people don’t run for office on a national level) who can raise a lot of money for a campaign (and I do mean a lot!) and win, you can enter the U.S. Congress under the noble disguise of wanting to “serve the people” and end your Congressional wealthier than when you entered!  What a deal, and at our expense.

THE PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES

In America, if you’re at the bottom of your college class or a C student in an Ivy League college, you can be considered a serious contender for President or become President of the United States, as long as your family is wealthy or well connected.  Obviously, intelligence does not matter.  However, if you’re  from the working class and you’ve gone to school on scholarships, grants and loans and  graduate at the top of your college class, and worked most of your life to pay back student loans you’re called an “elitist” if you run for President of the United States.  It all seems kind of backward to me.

EDUCATION VS SPORTS

If it ever came to a battle between the two, it has become obvious to me that sports would be the winner.  Over the years I’ve noticed that football and basketball programs have become more important in most colleges and universities in the United States than academic programs.   I bet that most institutions of higher learning would willingly give up one of their educational departments rather than disband its football or basketball programs.  Any male dominated sport in this country that brings in a buck or two is much more important than educating the future generation of this country.  I know where I live the city will build a brand new sports stadium before they fund the public school system adequately—as a matter of fact it has built not one, but two stadiums, both proof  of  what is more important in our city.

There are a lot more things that I’ve learned over the years, but I’ll share those with you later.  Right now I’d better sign off because the more I think about all of the things I’ve mentioned, the madder I’m getting. I’ll leave you to do the musing.

EDUCATION: WHAT’S THE POINT?

I recently I went back to college to take a few courses that were of interest to me.  Believe it or not, a friend asked me why.  His exact words were, “Beatrice Bell, you’re in your sixties so why would a woman your age go back to college?”  I chalked the question up as one being asked by a fool. Then one of my grandchildren heard about my going back to school and my grandchild told me that it was the dumbest thing that I’ve ever done.  Passionately, he tried to convince me how pointless it was to go to college at any age. 

He cited the statistic that the United States’ unemployment rate was 9.1%.   He said that companies are laying off workers at an alarming rate.  He further pointed out that the 401 retirement accounts of many workers have taken a serious beating to the point that people are wondering if they’ll be able to retire at all.  He rambled on about how instead of senior citizens having a nest egg in their golden years, they’re ending up with egg on their faces.  (Ain’t he precious?)  It was at this point I wanted to tell him to get out of my face and sit down. 

That’s when he hit me with the bombshell.  “Grandma,” he said, “why should I waste time and money going to school when there are no jobs out there.”  I finally got it.  Mr. Know-it-all had been working up the nerve to tell me that he wasn’t going to college, and his argument was that not only would he and his parents spend thousands of dollars on a “worthless” diploma, but he could be saddled with well over $40,000 in debt and no job to pay it off.  “Have you ever thought about that,” he asked smugly?

I put on my best grandmother face and sweetly explained to him that a college education never guaranteed anybody a good job.  “It does, however, increase the likelihood of employment,” I told him.  “It gives you options for your future and makes you an appealing candidate for a job.” 

I reminded him that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a person with a Bachelor degree generally earns $51,000 a year or almost double the $27,915 a year that he could earn with a high school diploma. As for the astronomical cost of school, everybody doesn’t have go to an Ivy League school or even one of the Big Ten colleges.  I reminded the boy that in the city where we lived, there were fourteen—count ‘em—fourteen community colleges to choose from.

As for the cost of going to college, we did a Google search together and found enough scholarships, grants, and contests to make your head swim.  “But I don’t qualify for any of those!” he complained.  “My grades aren’t that good.”

I told him that he might not have a perfect grade point average but he still might qualify.  “Oh, and miracles of miracles” I said, “First you have to actually apply for a scholarship or grant.  If your grades are at the bottom of the class, that’s a definite problem, so study.”   Actually, I knew that the boy would have to be pushed to do that as well as write an essay to apply for grants or scholarships because he’s kind of lazy.  I read that a lot of free money is not awarded because the students are too lazy to write an essay.  I had to explain to him that, yes, even in the computer age, employers expect you to be able to string enough sentences together to form a cohesive thought.

I went on to enlighten him on the fact that a person didn’t have to get a four-year degree.  Even an associate’s degree could open up more opportunities, and having a plan for the future could help a lot.  Attending college just to have the experience of a 4-year party binge is not the object.  Knowing what fields are losing jobs and avoiding those might work.  Also it would be wise to aim for a degree in fields that are gaining jobs.

A blog entitled “Why College” written by Terrell Halaska and Kristin Conklin, who are partners of HCM Strategies, a Washington, DC public policy advocacy consulting firm, notes that in 2009 and 2010, an average of 20,000 jobs a month have been added in the health field.

So why college?  The answer is more options, additional knowledge and a broader future. I looked at my grandchild and reminded him that life is ever evolving and when an opportunity rolled around, he wouldn’t be able to seize the opportunity if he hadn’t prepared for it. Who knows what new jobs might come along, but would he be ready for them?  Besides, for him, college is two years away and he will be going. 

With that I gave my last piece of advice, “Get your behind in your room and study!”  And he could muse on that for the next two years!