...educated or degreed? what's the difference?

An associate I know said, “Erin, I am so proud of you for continuing your education and getting your PhD. There is nothing like an educated woman”. I did not know if I should have been honored or offended. I was educated before I graduated high school. I certainly was educated before earning my Bachelor’s and Master’s. In fact, I think I have been educated since I was 12 years old. How?

“I speak what I speak what I speak; I feel what I feel what I feel

I do what I do what I do; Always true…always Dee…I flow. I keep it real!

In the Dedeeictionary, Educated does not equate knowledge”

from the Dedeeictionary by Erin Adams-Phillips © 2009

A person does not have to own a DEGREE to be educated. I know many uneducated people with degree; simultaneously, I know many educated people with no high school diplomas.

 Dictionary.com defines educated as—having undergone education. Characterized by or displaying qualities of culture and learning. Based on some information or experience.

To me, educated means to have “working” knowledge of a trade and diverse “growing” knowledge of life’s past and present current events, etc…the key word is “growing”. You will often notice I use the phrase, “Thank you for watering my roses”. That phrase simply means, “Thank you for educating me on that topic!” I have a big head and there is always room for growth.

Imagine this; I grew up in a home with two parents who did not receive their high school diplomas. I did not say they are uneducated. They are educated; they just don’t own degrees. I’m not sure of the validity of this  ~chuckles~ but my Daddy said he dropped out of school in the 3^rd grade, I think it was the 7^th. However, not only can he read extremely well, the man can do Math, not basic math either, in his head! He can read and draw blueprints and build homes. He ensured he taught himself those trades. Regardless, society says my Daddy is uneducated; I beg to differ, my Daddy does not have a degree, but he is educated. 

~Water your roses by reading DAILY~

My mother left school to marry my Daddy. She married him when she was 15 years old. The daughter of one of the smartest men in Monroe County, Alabama, she knew that in order to succeed, one must be able to not only read, but COMPREHEND. To this day, you will find my Mahm reading 3-4 times a day. As children, we had to read, mostly spiritual material, but we had to read and apply what we learned by telling her what we read. She would ask us questions challenging our thoughts. She drilled in our head, “Yall better pay attention and read!” “Turn off that TV and read!” My Mahm runs her own business successfully. She is not degreed, but she is educated. 

In the 4^th grade at Monroeville Middle School, I had a teacher by the name of Landon Sawyer. Mr. Sawyer taught me music. However, his teaching went deeper than singing; he wanted us to have an understanding of what we were singing. Two songs caught my attention, I have taught these songs to my children (1) My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean—it’s BONNIE not Bunny; the song can be a lost love or someone who died and ashes scattered at sea. The symbolism helped me to understand the song; hence, I educated myself on this song. (2) Happiness Runs in a Circular Motion—as a 4^th grader, I was intrigued by “how does happiness runs in a circular motion? I want that happiness!” I would sing that song over and over and finally, I got it. People say what goes around comes around; right? That was not the meaning of that song! The song tells us we are in control of our own happiness and we are our own limitations.  I believe that is the message Mr. Sawyer tried to teach us in 4^th grade!

Throughout my schooling, I have meet teachers, like Mr. Sawyer, who were more than a teacher, they were mentors. Ms. Doris Lee, I love her for life! She pushed and challenged me so much. I hated science. She instilled in me, “You don’t have to love a subject to learn it! Your goal is to be well-rounded!” I love her! To this day, I am very close to her and credit her to my being educated ~with her giving pop quizzes self~. 

Ms. Paralee Broughton! Everybody loves her…I do too, NOW! ~lol~ In 10^th grade, I looked at her sideways; come on, how you gonna give me a C! Marking up all my papers? Always smiling. I told my Mahm, “She doesn’t like me!” Mahm was like, “Bring another C in here!” One day, I sat in class and waited and talked with her. When you are from a small town, everyone knows everyone. I was like, “My Mamma gonna kill me, I need to pull up that C!” She said, “Adams, you are better than the work you give. You want an A; you need to present A work!” I was like WHAT? Oh hell no! I remember my buddies, Quentin, Sam, Lanette, & I sitting talking and I just listened to them. That day, I learned I could grow continuously. I was blessed to have a teacher/mentor and friends who taught me the art of constructive criticism, and I needed it because my 11^th grade year, I had the honor of being taught by the best English teacher known to mankind—Mrs. Timmons! 

Mrs. Timmons always spoke correct grammar. When you were in her class, you were going to speak correct grammar! She may not know this, but she is the reason I pursued my degree in English. Through her, I developed a passion for debating and critiquing literary work. She never let me settle for less. She pushed me so hard. She would tell my Auntie Jessie that I was slacking off! I would get so angry, because Auntee stayed on me about my grades. Some people don’t know that at the age of 10, I was reading far above my grade level. I not only read, I could comprehend…devise an argument on what I read, and challenge another person by supporting what I interpreted. When I entered college, my English 101 teacher was like, “WOW! You know your literature!” I would just smile because Mrs. Timmons taught me well.

Too, my friend Sam, was an avid reader. Sam always had his own thoughts and would not back down from his beliefs. He introduced me to the second best book ever—the Dictionary ~the first is the Bible…it’s full of symbolism, metaphors, principles and laws~ . 

I allowed my roses to be watered by my peers. I accepted constructive criticism. I landed at job with the Department of Defense as an Editor at the age of 21 because I scored so high on the test. I have 2 degrees and neither of them have anything to do with my education. They were personal for me. I wanted them—lifelong dreams! I didn’t need them; however, I wanted to set an example for my daughters as well.

Too, my husband and I do not allow our daughters to speak slang in our presence. Sure they make grammar errors; sometimes I correct them, most times I don’t. I don’t even speak correct grammar daily; I’m sure  have 100 errors in this blog (laugh to self); the difference is I CAN speak and write correct grammar; my written and verbal communications are fine-tuned; why….because I have a BS, English? No, because I am educated. I could speak and write fluent grammar effectively before I graduated high school. 

My roses are watered by my colleagues. I love to read their work. I love to type debates. I do peer-reviews for my professor. Yes, I am continuing my education. My childhood goal was to be a college professor. In order to do that, I need a PhD. However, I am already educated. I have been educated since I was 10-years old…I continue to grow. I know the difference between educated and degreed. 

Charles Murrays states, “… an increasing number of people attending college do not have the cognitive abilities or other attributes usually necessary for success at higher levels of learning”.  Why? I say, because they are not educated.  I will conclude with one of my favorite analogies, “Educated is to degreed as knowledge is to WISDOM!” It is about more than knowing; it is about applying what you know. 

People, water your roses…educate yourselves, challenge yourselves…and never settle for less than what you are worth.