Dropping Out

OK, ok. I know I said I was changing this blog to be more artistic, but I must post this. It's important.

Lately in the news there have been tons of information about kids dropping out of high school. Call it the implosion of (Rome) the United States.

Rome collapsed on itself. It imploded in its greed, decadence and sheer weight. That same phenomenon is happing right now in the U.S.

The problem: Kids dropping out of schools, and parents letting it happen. The U.S. is one of the largest consumers of goods in the world. Those goods cost money. However, since kids across the U.S. have decided that "school isn't for them," it puts us in a pickle.

It is a proven fact that you can stand to loose hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, over your career if you don't attend college. Now amplify that by throwing on it less than a high school education. Now I am not saying that everyone has to have a doctorate, but you need an education. That education comes in different forms: A formal educational system; On the job; Apprenticeship. The latter doesn't exit anymore. The middle works, but it takes you a lot longer to get there. The former is the best route.

And here is the big misconception: You don't go to high school and college for what you can learn from a book. A book education will only get you so far. You learn to interact. You learn to think critically. You learn to be creative. Those are skills that a book can't teach you. But your educators can. Your fellow students can. Your experiences can.

I am not bashing anyone who did not finish high school. I am not bashing anyone who did not finish college (I attended 3 schools and only received an Associates Degree). I am saying those of you who are in school, stay in school and better yourself. If you have dropped out, educate yourself.

Can you make $150,000 per year working at a burger joint? Probably not unless you own it. And the likelihood of that is minimal. Just the facts.

Learning is something you must continually do. Its something you must do event after graduating. It’s the only way you can stay ahead of the very competitive game we call a career.

What's the evidence of this? Look at the trends of outsourcing. India has invested heavily in their education system. Their culture has changed to push education, as a way out of their 3rd world country. They are advancing and winning the jobs that were traditionally found here in the U.S. That's because they are paying attention to their education.

We have become fat a bloated over the decades. Gone is the time when working hard and having pride in what you did mattered. We have been over influenced by the media like MTV Cribs and the OC to know what it really means to make it in this world. To have pride in the journey it takes to get "there" instead of the shortcuts that we see.