I fear you have confused me with someone else. I earned my degrees at the school of hard knocks over the past 40 + years.

As for my dogs? well there’s Smokie in the SEC and the General in the SOCON

Advanced degrees, beyond the Bachelors level, are fine as long as there is a balance between practical experience and academic achievement. According to news reports, it would appear that many recent graduates, rather than face the currently-dismal employment picture, are opting to remain in the world of academe for the purpose of gaining advanced credentialing. I don’t know if this is a good idea or not for the following reasons: 1) ROI (Return on Investment)…can the graduate reasonably expect to “make that much more money”, or other forms of “psycic income”? 2) With a prospective employee being “top-heavy” in schooling and with no practical experience, the would-be employer would probably view the candidate as either “overqualed” (too many letters) or, with no hands-on knowledge, “unqualed”.

Are there any “ideal” scenarios? In the end, it’s all one big guessing game…what works under one set of circumstances may be disastrous otherwise. To the recent grads of trade schools and universities everywhere, I can only say “Good Luck and Godspeed”!

A degree alone does not prepare someone for success or job security. To make it in the future a person needs to get rid of the “employee” mindset and think like a business owner. This means acquiring skills that can be offered as an independent contractor as well as an employee. As the saying goes, “If you can’t find a job, make one”. Also, a degree is useless unless you have passion, experience and creativity. Academics will only get you so far. Math was not my strong point in college and I earned more than my classmates with technical degrees(Engineering & Computer Science). I jumped into sales after college and currently own a business. Neither one of these professions require a degree. There are a lot of plumbers and auto mechanics that earn more than a lot of advanced degreed professionals. My degree in Marketing and minor in Spanish helped on a small scale. It was not a total waste of time. However, the real education and skill building began after college.

So what’s the first thing Andre Jackson, representing the editorial conscious of the AJC, wants to make sure the readers do?

He wants us to make sure that APS higher ups, whose actions haven’t been defended by a single educational or political leader in this state gets “credit”?

“Credit” Andre?

The AFLAC duck just did a double take; then soiled himself.

APS after stonewalling to the point that even the governor and state DOE officials felt they had to intervene, does the least possible thing it can do to claim it did something, by finally placing an assistant principal on leave, and Andre Jackson, above all else, wants to make sure we give APS “credit”?

And this is the same paper that prides itself on being a “watchdog”?

Sure, Jackson followed with some words that, while in no way could they be described as hard hitting, were at least mildly critical, but by that point his intentions were so transparent, one could make the case he should be forced by truth in advertising laws to legally change his name to Saran Wrap.

What’s next for Jackson, an editorial demanding we give Bernie Madoff “credit” for his charity work?

Maureen, we haven’t forgotten that you promised us a column on the CRCT scandal as well.
We can only hope that you can summon your inner watchdog and go where, for whatever reason, Andre and the editorial board dare not tread.

In public schools, you want more money, go back to college and get your (Masters, Specialist, Phd).

As a result, it is no surprise that those in the education field would emphasize the college prep track.

Unfortunately, many students, myself included, tend to wander aimlessly until our career path is thrust upon us. I envy those students who “know” what they want to do at the ripe old age of eighteen.

I think we should do more to help students determine fields of interest in high school. Too many students “pick” a career because it sounds good, without having the slightest idea what it entails to be prepared or what the career actually DOES.

I think our vocation education departments in Georgia high schools should be strengthened and we should do far more to ease the transition into GOOD vocational colleges (unlike so many we have now with the same, 1970s, worn out curriculum). Articulation is the word I am looking for.

I think we should quit dumbing down our requirements and expectations. And we should put a lot more money into educating the gifted and advanced students, and get them out of lump lump classes filled with dumb, unmotivated, disruptive students.

The world is a pretty unforgiving place, but we seem to think everyone deserves one more chance, over and over and over again ad naseum.