Do you feel there is an arrogance regarding higher education?

United States
September 12, 2008 1:47pm CST
September 12, 2008 Do you know people who have obtained a higher education; do they have condescension about them? I think people who educate themselves are just trying to make a better life. I have a Bachelors degree and a Paralegal degree but I would never put down anybody who didn’t have an education. What are your thoughts?
16 people like this
61 responses
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
12 Sep 08
Yeah, i think most ple with higher education will tend to look down on those without much education, or ple whose education are not as high as them.. Just look at those profession, such as doctors and lawyers, to them, work will be work and as long as they are rich, they won't bother about u once it's out of their office hrs.. ANd to mix around with them, unless we are one of them, or equal to their status.. lol But there are still some humble ones, whom really work hard for their degrees, and thy believe in hard work, and those are the more approachable ones ^_^ hehe
• United States
13 Sep 08
There are some humble ones, I am. I want to better the people around me, not be better than them.
1 person likes this
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
13 Sep 08
YUP ^_^ I know that ^_^
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
12 Sep 08
I think sometimes there is but really it depends on the person. My daughter has a masters in Education and you would never know it while someone with a lesser degree might think they are a little better then someone on the street..but those people on the street sometimes have graduated from the School of hard Knocks and store much more valuable knowledge then someone who has only studied!
2 people like this
• United States
13 Sep 08
Ah, the school of hard knocks, I took a semester there.
@GardenGerty (157050)
• United States
12 Sep 08
I do not have a degree, but I do get arrogant, because I know I am intelligent. Not really. I mean, it is true, I have no degree, probably have 3/4 of one. I have found many people with degrees who are seriously lacking in intelligence, and who refuse to learn.Common sense is often missing as well. I think that is true whether you have all those alphabet letters after your name or not. If you can learn, you are fortunate. There are a lot of areas where I am able to learn, and some I am not.Really intelligent people recognize that they still have a lot to learn.
• United States
13 Sep 08
True, we all like to learn but we don't always like to be taught.
@newtondak (3946)
• United States
12 Sep 08
Some people with college degrees to seem to think they are better than those who don't have college educations. I don't have a degree, and I have worked with many people who do that certainly do not exhibit a great deal of intelligence. Many degreed people that I have encountered exhibit a great deal of "book knowledge" but little common sense or ability to learn things outside of their field.
• United States
13 Sep 08
See my reply for number 7.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
12 Sep 08
it's grat that u have that much eduation. & u feel the way u do. some people get a little arrogant & think themselves above people who don't have as much education. alot of times educated people don't have any common sense.
2 people like this
• United States
13 Sep 08
Very true, there are people that know the difference between pathology and analogy but don't know to look both ways before crossing the street.
@Arkie69 (2156)
• United States
12 Sep 08
I have spent my life educating myself in many different area but yet I would be considered uneducated by most people. A good education can be a blessing but it can also be a curse. No matter how much education you receive if you don't have enough common sense to use it correctly all it will do is get in your way. I admire anyone, man or woman that can educate themselves and then use it to make a better life for themselves and they families. People can also get too much education in a single field. When this happens if they get outside of their field they are completely lost. Most highly educated people I have known do look down on anyone that isn't up to their level. It is just something that is built into them in the course of obtaining their education.
2 people like this
• United States
13 Sep 08
I've worked for some attorneys who I swear paid somebody to take the bar exam for them. They did act arrogant for a minute and then I put them in their place. I would always tease this one attorney because he would say that he has a law degree and I don't, I would calmly tell him that he has more student loan debt than me, that would shut him up.
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
17 Sep 08
I have felt looked down upon because I don't have a high school diploma or a higher education. Now days most jobs require a high school diploma to even get a application. Unless it is a place like McDonald's or Burger King but to even get a cleaning job now days or a be a maid you have to have a high school diploma who needs a diploma to know how to clean? It is getting harder and harder for some people to find decent work. Yes I understand that is it to make kids atleast graduate high school instead of dropping out. I believe if you have the experience to do a job well that is what should matter.
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Sep 08
Sometimes experience is really what they are really after, if you have a college degree it just gives you a chance to boast about your alma mater.
@gewcew23 (8007)
• United States
12 Sep 08
I have a Bachelors degree from a local state university. If someone decided that a college degree was not for them then that is no big deal to me. I always think about a plumber and a lawyer, one has spent a lot of year in college and the other may have never spent a day in college. Even though a plumber may have never have gone to college, a plumber on average still makes as much as a lawyer. Even bigger question, which one do you really need the most? If you have a stopped up pipe all the degrees in the world that you can hang on the wall will not unstop that pipe. The same can be said about a mechanic or a heat and air repairmen.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Sep 08
One day a heart surgeon had to call a plumber for a stopped up drain. The plumber fixed the problem and handed the surgeon a bill for $150.00, The surgeon's jaw hit the floor. "You were only here for 15 minutes! that's $600.00 an hour!I'm a Heart surgeon and I don't make that kind of money!" The plumber said,"Yeah I didn't make that kind of money when I was a heart surgeon either." ok It's funny when you are an apprentice plumber.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Sep 08
Well stated, I've always told my kids if a lawyer and a trash collector didn't do their job for a week you'd find out fast who has the more important job.
1 person likes this
@SViswan (12051)
• India
29 Nov 09
Yes, I know quite a few people like that...especially OLD friends of mine and few classmates. I couldn't understand their logic because I knew a few people myself who were smarter than these so-called 'educated' people. The 'educated' ones would look down upon the ones who didn't have a college degree and wouldn't deign to speak to them. That really bugged me...because I just wished they would talk and realize how smart these people were....most of the times it was circumstances which kept them from getting 'educated'.
1 person likes this
@SViswan (12051)
• India
1 Dec 09
lol..yes, that's the kind I'm talking about...and there seems to be quite a lot of that kind where I live!
• United States
30 Nov 09
I know a few people who have degrees and the student loan to prove it but they need Map Quest to find their way out of the bathroom.
• United States
15 Sep 08
I have three degrees, one bachelor's and two masters. I am better than all ya'all. Just kidding. I was a college professor and my husband is a software engineer. I will admit when I was dating, guys would ask what I did for a living, I would say teacher. Then they would ask what kind and when they found out college, I was done being a possible date. But, my husband laughed at me when we met and he found out I was a professor. Now I am a stay at home mom and all that education doesn't add up to a hill of beans. I guess it matters what you hold important in life. My education took a long time, but it doesn't matter a bit to my kids. All they care about is that I am available to get them what they want.
• United States
17 Sep 08
I am not sure how to read your response, I hope you are joshing with me.
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Sep 08
I am, sorry, computers are so impersonal. I guess I should have put in a smile face. I was joshing with you.
• United States
15 Sep 08
Oh Janet, quit it, just quit it. With all my education I'm a stay at home dad so my education is now in teaching and refereeing. I may go the route of teaching when we settle down and send them off to college. Thanks for your response.
@poohgal (6845)
• Singapore
13 Sep 08
Yup. Some of the scholars in my country behave in the exact same way. They know nothing about humility and they tend to look down on others. I have a Bachelors degree in Accountancy but it's certainly no big deal. All of us have different strengths and weaknesses. We are also blessed with different gifts. So what if some of us can study better and some of us can't. Ultimately, success in life is not measured just by the amount of education with have.
1 person likes this
@poohgal (6845)
• Singapore
13 Sep 08
Thanks! *oink*
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Sep 08
Very true, success is different for everybody. Love the pig!
1 person likes this
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
12 Sep 08
Hi gitfiddleplayer, We are all different, some educated people are condescending, but certainly not all. Blessings.
2 people like this
@ellie333 (21016)
12 Sep 08
Hi Gitfiddleplayer, Some learn through the corporate route and through life experience and others learn the total academic way but either is fine by me but having a balance of education and lifeskills is important but no I would never put anyone down in any way and definitely not over their education. I have one daughter going the university route and another works fulltime already although younger and is very creative. Everyone has their niche and one is not beter than the other for it. Ellie :D
2 people like this
• United States
13 Sep 08
Thats true, thanks.
15 Sep 08
here in the UK I know a lot of people who have degrees but, they are not neccesarily better of for it - they have huge debts from tuition fees and yet are still doing a job they could have done without the degree so it's not always something to brag about and yet they do like they are better than everybody else.
1 person likes this
• United States
15 Sep 08
Good point.
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
13 Sep 08
My father does not know how to read and write but he has done his utmost that I get a University degree. He has helped all my three brothers and sisters to get good education. Despite this I consider him as an educated person. He has mingled with people from all sorts of life and knows how to behave in every occasion. I can never look down on my father or people who don't have enough schooling. There is always something to learn from these people.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Sep 08
Very true, we all like to learn but we don't always like to be taught.
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
13 Sep 08
Er...I don't think education is a qualifying demographic for arrogance. Take me, I've mostly educated myself (Mom homeschooled me and the rest is my own doing, with books and the wonderful internet) -- college reading level, and an IQ above average. I have a hard problem with self-esteem, I have a tendency of thinking that I'm not as good as other people because I work harder and their lives are more relaxed than mine. I'm slowly learning that this isn't true, but I'm usually the one put down because I'm young, I grew up on a farm, and I'm not very-well off. Intelligence isn't measured by what school you go to, or how much you completed -- though it can be a good gouge. It's measured by the work you've put into your life and the wisdom you've gained through living.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Sep 08
We home school our children too. I worked for a law firm and many of the attorneys had their degrees on the wall and I used to envy them but there were some who were arrogant and I didn't care for that. I knew my importance in the work place and that's what I used to get ahead. You're right education isn't really a flag waving factor when you meet someone, aren't we people first?
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
13 Sep 08
[i]Hi git, It's hard to judge people..I met a lot of friends who never finished College but they are smart and they have common sense as well as right attitude..But, I didn't say that those who have a degree lacks these things..I want to stress the idea that with or without a degree, people deserves to be respected! In my life, I met few people who underestimate those who have no degree but for me I am very proud to have a Parents who never finish COllege but smart and determined in life! I have a Bachelor's Degree as well as my Sister but never we look down friends, cousins and neighbors who have not finished College![/i]
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Sep 08
My parents didn't finish college. When I graduated it wasn't met with any approval since they didn't understand the sacrifice. They still worked hard like yours did. I just think its become a requirement nowadays to get anywhere in life.
@derek_a (10874)
13 Sep 08
I feel that this is the way the system works. From being very young children our education systems get us to be competitive and when we realise success praise may be heaped on us - it drives the economy of whatever country we are a citizen of. Too much praise then may turn to arrogance, yet I do know some very accomplished people who are extremely modest about their achievements and work with the under-privileged.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Sep 08
If some would take the attitude they had in school while learning and carry that into the real world it would make a difference. Very cool that you know people who are modest and work with those who need help.
@walijo2008 (4644)
• United States
13 Sep 08
I wouldn't put anyone down that didn't have an education either, I would encourage to continue their education if there was something they wanted to do. I think educated people are trying to make a better life for themselves too, its something that I wished I would done now when I got out of high school. I have a high school friend that has her bachelor's degree and her paralegal degree too, I know she's worked hard to get it, I'm proud of her.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Sep 08
Very cool. It is hard work and that's where people should be humble but sometimes they think they are owed something, that's when it turns to arrogance.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
13 Sep 08
Right! One's high educational attainment is not a license to degrade any one. In fact his education should have taught him rather to respect others. But indeed other people tend to go so proud when they get a degree and attain success in life. Tsk!tsk!tsk! Some relevant Bible verses worth reading: James 4: 6 "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." James 4:10 "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." James 4:16 "But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil." God bless!
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Sep 08
Amen! Thanks.