the value of a college education

School is drawing to a close. It's the same every year for me... the last week of classes has crept up on me and now there are so many things to do in a short period of time. First, there are the papers and projects to finish and present. Next, there's registering and getting everything arranged for my trip to Oklahoma. Also, there are summer living arrangements to be finalized. Oh and did I mention presenting my senior writing project and preparing for and taking final exams? This is what college is about. being capable of taking on so many things and still managing to do them all well.

I don't think the things I have learned in college will help me much once I graduate; however, I do think the skills we obtain by taking courses and completing so many tasks at once will. I'm not discounting my education courses. Yet, I think that a lot of teaching techniques are not learned in college, but rather, in the first few years I will spend in a classroom of my very own. The truth is most careers will train you to complete the job you were hired to do. To enter into these careers you usually are required to have a college degree. Often, the degree does not even have to be in a certain field, any degree will do. (I know this is not true in my case; I need to be certified to teach...duh) However, your job does not cover much of the material you were taught in your courses at college. Rather, the purpose of you college degree is to show you can handle multi-tasking, responsibilities, and critical thinking.

I'm not discounting the value of having a college degree, but I do think its value differs from our perceptions. I guess I'm about to find out when I start my job in 4 weeks. However, I do have 2 weeks of intense training and 4 weeks of loose supervised training following that. I've learned a lot about balancing multiple responsibilities in the past 4 years. This is a lesson I will take with me all throughout life, and that is the most important thing I think I will take away from my college education...that is all.