The Value of College

Since there's no other posts here this week, I thought I'd post something I've been thinking about for a little bit.

As tuition rises everywhere, and unemployment increases, I've heard a lot of talk about whether college is worth the time and money that it requires. For awhile I've been of the impression that, aside from certain fields (I'm not sure what to call them, but things like lawyers/doctors/therapists/etc that require a significant knowledge base and training that would be unavailable or incomplete without a post-grad education), the main value of college is getting to hold up a piece of paper to an employer and point out that you managed to get through 4+ years of school competently (or as a really good faker).

Over Thanksgiving break, my boyfriend drove both of us down to be with his family for the holiday. With a long car ride ahead of me I worked on a knitting project, and about half way through the ride realized that I'd made a mistake. We got into a conversation about whether or not I should go back and redo it, and he commented that after all of his work in applied computer graphics he'd learned that it is far better to go back and start again when there's a mistake than to try to fix it halfway through and get a shoddy product.

That got me thinking about things that can be learnt in college that are either not the emphasis of the major being taken, or that can be applied to many things outside of it. This is layered with some thoughts I've been having about the sustainability of my job, since it seems that most people in my position either go back to school to move higher up into positions that don't currently appeal to me, or move on to something else.


So here are things that I learned as a pre-credential teaching student that are still applicable even though I'm not a teacher:

• how to either plan out everything wisely, or deal with crunch time to get them done (I'd say the former is healthier than the latter, but without at least one of these I wouldn't get anything done).
• how to deal with conflict in a professional setting - even though I don't like it - by being clear about my own intentions and expectations, and working with someone else on what can be done better next time or to prevent the situation at all.
• that I don't have to only rely on my own creativity and knowledge. Google is my friend, as are blogs dedicated to niche subjects. In school, I used this to look up lesson plan ideas; now I use those same skills to troubleshoot technology, figure out how to make something, or find creative ways to engage the kids I work with.
• that there are always going to be people that I have to work with even when I don't want to. Whether it's a client's parent now or a slacker group member in school, I've gotten significantly better at seeing things from their perspective to be able to get through the interaction (and sighing a breath of relief when it's over).
• how to correct mistakes. I was lucky enough to have several teachers that, after grading our papers, handed them back to us and had us revise them. As annoying as this was at the time, it helped ensure that I wouldn't keep making the same mistakes. While I'm not writing a whole lot of papers now, this makes it easier to adjust when I receive feedback or procedures change at work.
• how to write in a formal tone. This is helpful for resumes, work emails, or trying to sound smart if I'm with someone I want/need to impress (I still write clearer than I speak, but college has helped).

That's all I can think of for now, but I think that's a list that alters my life significantly. (And just so we're clear, I also learned a lot of specific knowledge and skills related to teaching, and while I don't use it, having that stored helps me make connections when I learn something else that is relevant to my life).

What have you learned so far through college? Do you think it will still be applicable outside of college, or if you end up on a different career path?