I think we should radically change the way we view education and labour as a whole. Right now we see higher education as a status symbol while ‘lower’ education is not. People with a lower education tend to do more practical and physical jobs. Construction, cleaning, factory work just to name a few things. They often have lower pay, less workers’ rights and are often more physically damaged by their jobs. And we accept this all because they are seen as lesser due to their education.
Education should serve as an enrichment to life where people can develop sets of skills free of status. My father never went to college or university. He barely finished high school. He is a very practical man though and the people in the neighborhood we grew up in, often rich and educated, all came to him because he was the only person who could fix bicycles. The same people look down on him solely because he doesn’t have a degree.
Education should be provided to everyone, for free, in any forms whether it be practical or more theoretical. And we should stop viewing different degrees as lesser of as more valuable. We need carpenters. We need lawyers. We need doctors. We need cleaning personnel. Even in a socialist society. But we should not see the cleaning lady at an office building as less valuable as a doctor in a hospital.
If, for example, a janitor decided he wants to do something else in life and become a psychologist, just to name something, I believe he should be able to and should be encouraged to do so.
In our current situation, to get back to your question, I’m not sure if we should actively encourage socialist to study in higher education. If they want to, sure. But actively encouraging, imo, leads to a divide in the working class where the more blue collar job people might see us as elitist. After all, why SHOULD you persue higher education just for the sake of it? Isn’t being a worker in a factory not good enough? The message you send is really important here.
I think we should radically change the way we view education and labour as a whole. Right now we see higher education as a status symbol while ‘lower’ education is not. People with a lower education tend to do more practical and physical jobs. Construction, cleaning, factory work just to name a few things. They often have lower pay, less workers’ rights and are often more physically damaged by their jobs. And we accept this all because they are seen as lesser due to their education.
Education should serve as an enrichment to life where people can develop sets of skills free of status. My father never went to college or university. He barely finished high school. He is a very practical man though and the people in the neighborhood we grew up in, often rich and educated, all came to him because he was the only person who could fix bicycles. The same people look down on him solely because he doesn’t have a degree.
Education should be provided to everyone, for free, in any forms whether it be practical or more theoretical. And we should stop viewing different degrees as lesser of as more valuable. We need carpenters. We need lawyers. We need doctors. We need cleaning personnel. Even in a socialist society. But we should not see the cleaning lady at an office building as less valuable as a doctor in a hospital.
If, for example, a janitor decided he wants to do something else in life and become a psychologist, just to name something, I believe he should be able to and should be encouraged to do so.
In our current situation, to get back to your question, I’m not sure if we should actively encourage socialist to study in higher education. If they want to, sure. But actively encouraging, imo, leads to a divide in the working class where the more blue collar job people might see us as elitist. After all, why SHOULD you persue higher education just for the sake of it? Isn’t being a worker in a factory not good enough? The message you send is really important here.