What does it mean to be an educated person?

A thought-provoking video:
(Thanks to New Stede for sharing this in their house assembly)

 

So you want to get a degree? Why?
Let me tell you what society would tell you. It increases your chances of getting a job, provides you with an opportunity to be successful, your life will be a lot less stressful, education is the key.
Now, let me tell you what your parents would tell you. "Make me proud", it increases your chances of getting a job, provides you with an opportunity to be successful, your life will be a lot less stressful, education is the key.

Now let’s look at the statistics, Steve Jobs - net worth $7 billion (R.I.P.); Richard Branson  - net worth $4.2 billion; Oprah Winfrey - net worth $2.7 billion; Mark Zuckerberg, Henry Ford, Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates now here comes the coup de grace.

Looking at these individuals, what’s your conclusion? Neither of them in being successful ever graduated from a higher learning institution, now some of you would protest like, "You know money isn't only the medium by which one measures worldly success," some of you even have the nerve to say, "I don’t do it for the money", so what are studying for? To work for a charity? Need more clarity?

Let’s look at the statistics, Jesus, Muhammed (pbuh), Socrates, Malcolm X, Mother Teresa, Spielberg, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, Sean Carter, Michael Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Joseph Jackson were either of these people unsuccessful or uneducated?

All I’m saying is that if there was a family tree, hard work and education would be related, but school would probably be a distant cousin . . .

If education is the key, then school is the lock. Because it rarely ever develops your mind to the point where it can perceive red as green and continue to go when someone else said "STOP", because as long as you follow the rules and pass the exams, you’re cool. But are you aware that examiners have a checklist? And if your answer is something outside of the box, the automatic response is a cross, and then they claim that school expands your horizons and your visions. Well, tell that to Malcolm X, who dropped out of school and is world renowned for what he learned in a prison.

Proverbs 17:16, "It does a fool no good to spend money on education," why? Because he has no common sense.
George Bush. Need I say more?

“Education is about inspiring one's mind not just filling their head.” And take this from me, because I’m a educated man myself, who only came to this realization after countless nights in the library with a can of Red Bull keeping me awake till dawn and another can in the morn, falling asleep in between piles of books which probably equates the same amount I’ve spent on my rent, memorize equations, facts and dates, right down to the letter, half of which I’d never remember, and half of which I'd forget straight after the exam, or before the start of the next semester, asking anyone if they had notes for the last lecture? I often found myself running to class, just so I could find the spot on which I could rest my head and fall asleep without making a scene, ironic because that’s the only time I ever spent in university of chasing my dreams.

And then after nights with a dead-mind; identifying myself in the queue of half awake student zombies waiting to hand in an assignment, maybe that’s why they call it a "dead-line". And then after three years of mental suppression and frustration, my proud mother didn't even turn up to my graduation.

Now I'm not saying that school is evil, and there’s nothing to gain, but all I’m saying is, understand your motives and reassess your aims, because if you want a job working for someone else, then help yourself. But then that would be a contradiction, because you wouldn’t have really be helping yourself, you’ll be helping somebody else; there’s a saying, which says, “If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help build theirs.”

Redefine, how you view education. Understand its true meaning. Education is not just about regurgitating facts from a book or someone else’s opinion on a subject to pass an exam. Look at it, Picasso was educated in creating art; Shakespeare was educated in the art of all that was written. Colonel Harland Sanders was educated in the art of creating Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I once saw David Beckham take a free kick. I watched as the side of his Adidas-sponsored boot hit the patent leather of the ball at angle which caused it to travel towards the skies as though it was destined for the heavens. And then as it reached the peak of its momentum, as though it changed its mind, it switched directions . . . I watched as the goalkeeper froze, as though reciting to himself the laws of physics, and as though his brain was negotiating with his eyes that was indeed witnessing the spectacle of the leather swan that was sweeping towards it, and then reacted. But only a fraction of a millisecond too late, and before the net of the goal embraced the FIFA-sponsored ball, as though it was the prodigal son returning home; and the country that I live in erupted into cheers. I look at the play, and thought, "Damn; looking at David Beckham, there is more than one way in this world to be an educated man."

"I will not let an exam result decide my fate . . . "  Suli Breaks, Vanity Fair 2009

And that David Beckham free kick: