John Watson sent a note to billy, in response to a short concern billy had voiced earlier. It read as follows:
"I. Know. I am. The. Same don't. Want to. Look back and see. This is. What I did for las (sic) part. Of. My life
If I knew what. To do as an alternative I would. Try it
You. Realize late that. In school. You were. Trained to gain skill to. Present yourself for. Employment.
We. Were not trained to think or create
Jonn
Sent from my iPhone"
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Funny you should bring this up John, I was
just discussing this same topic with Sherlock today.
It is the age old argument between College
and University educations, between practical and theoretical. Should
educational institutions be charged with preparing individuals to take on a
specific job and job skills or should they be developing in you the knowledge
and understanding of how to learn. Any job whether you have been trained on the
specifics or not, requires you to learn additional environmental aspects of it
which are different no matter where you go, even seasoned professionals
experience a learning curve when they take on a new job. This is not difficult
for most individuals, when given the know-how and skills to learn. Adaptability
and progression may be more difficult for someone only versed in the rules and
practical aspects of a particular discipline. On the other hand an employer
many not care if you fit in with the culture and methodologies they employ,
initially anyway, and are just interested in having a particular task finished.
You can almost liken the two paths of
educations to contract versus full-time employment, what should these
institutions be training the masses for? Another thing to note is the graying
of the traditional college/university educations lines, brought about by a
realization that neither approach is ideal in today's North American (and
perhaps elsewhere) work force. Colleges now offer more cerebral orientated
courses and universities offer hands on opportunities, and both now seem to
embrace the outside placement, internship and co-op options. So where does that
leave the post secondary masses today when they choose to pursue further
education? Well in all practicality it would appear more and more frequently,
that if you want to advance and be considered for progressive employment
opportunities in the future you will require that piece of paper and letters
after your name. It appears employers are more interested in hiring putty that
they can shape and continue to mold into objects that will undertake and
continue to perform functions the way they desire, and have a stable of paper
certified numbers that they can claim some kind of surrogate ownership of. They
appear to be willing to sacrifice expediency at the price of appearances.
Practical experience removed from the equation, I believe most individuals,
given enough time and access to suitable resource, are able to complete an
assigned job. This does not guarantee any particular level of quality or
satisfaction, it only means that the employers immediate desire to have a task
completed is addressed. A wise individual I know, once said to me years ago,
and I paraphrase; "As much as employers say they want intelligent, full of new
ideas, interacting, vocal, contributory, participating, new blood, employees to
hire, this is not true. What they really want is malleable, brain or
neuro-plasticity embracing shells, that they can bend and hammer into yes-men,
that tow the line and don’t rock the boat" (Sorry for the over use of cliches,
but I hope I made my point).
bd
be seeing you
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