Fraud in Education

Many years ago, I was employed as a Job Placement Counselor with the responsibility of helping the handicapped find suitable employment. At one business, the owner offered me (an English major) a job for which I wasn’t remotely qualified. That wasn’t the surprise. The surprise was that he only employed English majors for all the management positions in his firm. I still remember his statement. “There is nothing about this business that I can’t teach a reasonably intelligent, motivated person. What I can’t teach them is how to read and write.”

At the time, I thought he was a bit eccentric. I have since learned that he was and is absolutely correct. The person who can learn to read well, comprehend and write is capable of almost any job.

I have recently been meeting more and more college graduates who do not have a real education. Today’s colleges seem more concerned with tuition, social issues and the college experience than with an actual education.

Today, many English majors are not required to take classes in Shakespeare, Chaucer or other classics on which our language and culture are built. Many of these graduates go on to become English teachers who do not and cannot teach classic literature.

As if that isn’t bad enough, the same English major who isn’t required to study the classics may only be required to take a few grammar classes.

Then it gets worse. Majors in other disciplines can graduate with even fewer English and Literature courses.

Although communication (both verbal and written) is my primary concern, other education is being neglected as well. Today, only three percent of colleges require a basic economics class for graduation.

This may explain the economic situation in America today. If our educated class which includes our teachers and political leaders do not understand basic economics, how can they make wise decisions?

Education is more than paying tuition and paying for a diploma. Education should be preparation for life and should provide the tools necessary for success. Anything else is a fraud.