WE'VE BEEN HAD! HOODWINKED! BAMBOOZLED!

"Work hard, get a college degree, use that degree as your ticket to a successful career. Or so it was sold. The social contract young grads believed in, were taught not to question, has been broken." ~New York Times


In their article on "The Downsized College Grad", the NYTimes shed light on the fact that college students are experiencing increasing difficulty as they graduate and cannot find jobs. The go on to state that the new grad is unwilling to make mistakes in the learning process and beg for structure as they try to carve out a career path for themselves. Sadly, I see this in the classroom all the time. Unoriginal thinkers; those who cannot fathom that taking chances and making mistakes is a more effective way to learn. 


This is a subject that my sister and I have discussed several times and now the New York Times seems to be onto our wavelength as well (bring on the onslaught of Dateline, CNN, and CSPAN debates and specials on how college students are floundering in today's economy). Going the traditional route of accumulating more and more education does not ensure success, especially in this economy. Yet, people are so unwilling to take risks, push themselves and "think outside of the box"...an all to familiar phrase that I used to hear growing up...that they are often running in the same direction as everyone else and similarly disappointed with the lack luster results. 


It comes as no surprise then, that the current job situation in the US has caused many to make the MAD DASH back to education, particularly the college classroom...ironically the same torture chambers they despised as youths and could not wait to escape...as the only way to achieve success in a floundering economy. Yet, the many of us who have college degrees and even some who have degrees with boatloads of experience don't find it to be of much help in an economy where employers have all the power and can choose to be ridiculously choosy!


Nevertheless, ads for going back to school persist everywhere and with few people wiling to take real risks, deviate from the norm and be an original in society, most of us will become slaves to what we know and continue to pursue impossibly unaffordable educations with little return from accumulating that massive debt. Only a select few will venture out into the unknown. 


Despite all the evidence to the contrary, many in society will continue to GET THOSE DEGREES!