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Exactly what constitutes a formal education?

Did you know that in the 1930's law school could be attended without first having gone to college? Did you know that you could also become a lawyer via a 5 year clerkship under a bar certified lawyer, take the Bar exam and if you passed, become an attorney?

Education is derived in many different ways besides the formal path.

I have 2 degrees, a BA and an MA. In my profession, sales, the art of selling isn't even a subject in our educational system. In candidates that I have hired over the years,degrees have never impressed me as a primary indicator of probable success. Besides, with no formal training path in High School or College available, exactly how would a person become formally educated for the sales part of the job?

Is management something that requires a formal education? Is carpentry? Is the world of IT? Think it through and ask yourself how many people you know in positions like that who learned by doing or were self taught.

We seem to value the credential of a diploma derived from a formal education as a qualification for entry level jobs. Advancement also seems pinned to it. When did we stop valuing the person and their acquired skill-set? When did we start to forget about mentoring as a path to learning? When did we start to forget that skill and ability are acquired or sometimes natural and formal education is only one of many routes towards learning a craft, skill or profession.

My wife's uncle was a house painter by trade. He was also an archaeologist. No training, just inquisitiveness. He found and excavated Thoreau's actual cabin in Waldon woods. He researched letters, articles anything Thoreau. Piecing what he found together, he pinpointed the elusive actual footings of Thoreau's famous Cabin on Walden pound, something nobody else could do. He next set out to find the original Saugus Iron works, our very first colonial iron plant during the colonial era. He found it buried under 2 centuries of mud and headed up the excavation and restoration of what is now the complete original factory complex. Its a US National Landmark and Park. Remember, he was a house painter with no formal education in archeology.

He became renowned and revered internationally for his work and discovered many more of our national treasures. His books, and yes he wrote many, were like textbooks and were used as such in formal education settings where folks studied the science and techniques of archeology. Remember, he had no formal education, just a natural curiosity to research, learn and discover.

All professions or skilled position's necessitate an acquired knowledge and the ability to apply it. There is no getting around that. My contention is that acquiring that knowledge need not be through a formal education path. Learning is inquiry in search of understanding. No formal education assures that. commitment will and comittment assres that. The steps taken to acquire the "learning" should be open ended.

Formal education is on path for work preparation. It does deliver the basics and the theory in an organized fashion. Its not the end product however. Its a path and only a path to learning the world of work and the skills needed for it.

Learn more about this author, Neil Licht.
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