So, you don’t walk around for 50 or so years with out gathering some labels.  Some of them I’ve gathered are positive: Funny, Passionate, Nurturing.  Some less so: Sanctimonious, Nerd (I can go either way on this– could be a positive), Slob (although recent studies are showing the creative people of high intellect tend to be the slobbiest.)  I also think it’s funny that there is either “slob” or “neat freak”, and neither of those is terribly flattering.

In any event.

To my knowledge, I’ve never been labeled a “Snob”. I was thinking about this today when I saw someone’s business card that not only included their undergrad letters, but also some certificates and diplomas.  I was reminded of a conversation with a couple of PhD’s who snorfled* at the very IDEA of listing ones BEd or BA or (horrors) a BFA, and really an MA was pretty gauche too. I, with my BEd and MA and no EdD or PhD, didn’t know whether to snorfle too or just shut up. I remember thinking that seemed unfair, as proud as I was of my academic achievements, my degrees weren’t Doctorates, so they were “Less Than”. That sort of snobbery has a trickle-down effect, for if anything less than a terminal degree is, well, less, that suggests that anything less than a University degree is not an equivalent accomplishment.

If you are even remotely connected to education, you know who Sir Ken Robinson is, and have undoubtedly seen his TED Talks, the most famous: “How Schools are Killing Creativity“.  The more jaded of my readers might be thinking “So?”, but in fact, without creativity, there is not only no art, entertainment and spontaneous joy, there is also not any creative problem solving, design thinking or rapid prototyping.  There is no room for “Aha!!” moments.  There is only rote learning, cursive writing practice until you graduate high school, and then there is another 4 or 6 years of the same. For, one MUST go to University, mustn’t one….

Ah… there it is…

One of the most learned men I’ve ever been in the same room with (Sir Ken) faced a room full of educators, business people and undoubtedly a few Doctors and said:

“We have got to stop suggesting that if kids don’t go to University after high-school, anything they choose is somehow Less Than. Not every child goes to university, and nor should they.  We need people to do all the things that do not require a University degree, and those career choices should not be seen as second best.”

He went on the tell a story of a young man who wanted, his whole life, to be a firefighter, even when his school counselor tried to dissuade him: “You can be ANYthing you want– dream bigger”, and another who excelled at art, but couldn’t consider being anything other than an accountant, as that’s what his parents decided he would be.

*I know snorfled isn’t a word… I made it up especially for this post…