What Does It Mean to be Well-Educated?

How can a person define the concept of being well-educated? This query may appear simple, but it is quite complex and has led to a significant debate in the modern society. There are different definitions that one can apply to this question. There are those who believe that this concept is merely receiving certification of the highest level of a particular discipline. To another bunch, it will serve as a state of mind where one has spent time learning at institutions considered to be of the highest quality. For myself, I believe that a well-educated person is one who can adapt to various situations that life presents through a state of mind, hand and heart (Stevens, 2010). This depiction brings about more questions than answers. So what does it essentially mean?

This description of being well-educated refers to the primary aspect of getting an education and learning through interaction with others and the environments as well. As depicted by Kohn (2003), aspiring to receive the form of certification is not the actual definition of being well-educated. His ex-wife had just completed her doctoral degree in anthropology, yet she was not fluent in her English speaking and could not do simple multiplication. She had spent over 29 years in school learning to become prepared for the workforce. For many people in the modern society, this achievement would automatically consider her to be a well-educated person. However, this calls attention to the purpose of the current system of education and what it is all about. Does it mean that these basics of English and Math are unnecessary to becoming a highly successful professional with multiple credentials? Does it mean that becoming the concept of being well-educated significantly changes in meaning?

If the qualifications of a person as per their respective field of choice are the basis of good education, then Kohn’s wife and many other individuals perfectly achieve the description. However, by looking at some of the most successful persons in the society, many of them can barely put together a grammatically correct sentence (Kohn, 2003). These people have gone to become millionaires and billionaires of the world in their respective fields giving them a high status in the society. Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are just a few of the individual members who have had success despite dropping out of school. The latter left Harvard in his sophomore year to complete his project that turned out to be the most popular social media site in the world. Subsequently, he amassed an enormous amount of wealth that places him as the fifth richest man in the world. So, what is the purpose of education?

For many, schooling is a basis for preparing individuals for future economic activities where education is an investment in future workers who will provide corporate profits. Others will claim that its intended purpose is to create a democratic society where all members can present their views on an issue (Kohn, 2003). Evidently, it is impossible to come to a common understanding as these given notions are correct in their right. Nevertheless, education should serve as a guideline that provides the members of society on what they would like to become (Kohn, 2003). The community should first identify the outcomes intended when providing education before questioning whether or not it has achieved success. For instance, test scores can overestimate the intellectual gift of a student only to result in disappointment in future. 

References

Kohn, A. (2003, March). What Does It Mean to Be Well-Educated? Principle Leadership, Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/mean-well-educated-article/ 

Stevens, S. (2010, Nov 10) What Does It Mean to Be Well-Educated? Huffington Post, retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sabrina-stevens-shupe/what-does-it-mean-to-be-w_1_b_781240.html