"It is only the ignorant who despise education" - Publilius Syrus, Moral Sayings, first century B.C.E.As quoted in Awake! of March 8, 1998
The special September 2006 issue of Awake!, entitled "Is There a CREATOR", exposes, perhaps unwittingly, one of the dilemmas with respect to the current tightening position with respect to education. (For more on the history of this issue, please see my post "Jehovah's Witnesses and Education - A Brief History" here: http://nicodemusjw.blogspot.com/2007/03/jehovahs-witnesses-and-education-brief.html)
On pages 21-23 of this Awake!, there can be found an article entitled "Why We Believe in a CREATOR." In this article, 5 different Jehovah's Witnesses are interviewed as to why they personally believe in the existence of a Creator.
The first point that may jump out at the thinking reader is that it happened to be five highly-educated Witnesses who were selected to be interviewed. While their specific educational credentials are not listed, it seems safe to assume that individuals actively working in the fields of genetic mutation in plants, laser physics, planetary geology, molecular biology and microbiology, and theoretical physics--and for the employers listed--are the possesors of college degrees, possibly even advanced degrees. At the very least, it could be considered a badge of honor within the Witness community to be directly quoted in an issue of Awake!, particularly a special issue such as this one. At least in this instance, a quality education led to this privilege.
But it seems to me that there is another underlying issue that should be mentioned. Some time back, speaking to a group of assembled elders, a senior Bethel representative went to great pains to explain that the Society was not anti-education. He clarified that individuals could take trade courses, technical courses, all manner of things to pick up skills. However, the Society seemed to take the position that it was the process of obtaining "a four-year degree," with all of the associated general education and other requirements, that should be considered undesirable. (See paragraph 6 of the article Parents—What Future Do You Want for Your Children? in the 10/01/05 issue of The Watchtower)
The "credibility dilemma," however, is that in many fields it is precisely the acquisition of such a degree that makes one employable, that opens the door to opportunities in the field.
In this Awake! issue, there isn't one carpenter, janitor, truck driver, landscape maintenance technician, or similar included in the article referenced above. Why? Because they lack the credibility needed to make the point the article wished to make. And it's not necessarily a matter of intelligence, or understanding. It's a matter of credibility. For example, it is entirely possibly that there is a brillant truck driver among Jehovah's Witnesses. This man (or woman) may have a keen mind, a fascination with the question at hand, may have done extensive personal reading, and be quite able to converse eloquently on the topic.
But, for the goal the article was trying to accomplish, and the target audience it was attempting to reach, such a person would simply not have had the necessary credibility.
If the writers of Awake! felt they needed a level of credibility to reach their target audience, why ask a young person to invest the time taking courses to develop a skill, but not follow it through to the extent of obtaining the very thing necessary to be credible to their target audience?
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3 comments:
Obviously there are plenty of individuals who have these degrees that became JW'a later and therefore no need of seeking this edu is needed.
Matt,
A couple of comments.
First, I think you may have missed the main premise of my post. The premise of my post was not to address who among Jehovah's Witnesses has what level of education and when they received it. I am well aware that your statement could well be true.
The main premise was that when Awake! sought to make a given point or argument, it selected individuals with the credibility to buttress or support that argument. Absent the necessary documented education, such credibility would have been lost in the mind of at least some, if not most, of the intended readers of that particular issue of the magazine.
With respect to education and the individual, the simple fact is that an individual applying for virtually any type of professional position these days must demonstrate the necessary educational credentials in order to be considered. And this is how it should be. Would you want a nurse or doctor whose credentials you could not establish treating you? Or would you want a person with no credentials as your tax, legal or business advisor? Or to live or work in a building which had not been designed by a qualified engineer? Similarly, most employers will not consider individuals for trusted professional positions who are not adequately educated. Sadly, many individuals, knowing this, have been guilty of falsifying resumes to improve their chances of gaining a position.
So, my simple point was that to say to a young person "go ahead and get some extra education, but don't worry about getting the degree or credential" is, in many cases, to ask them to waste their time.
A second point I believe worth considering is this: While we should indeed use our education to serve Jehovah--even with that as the primary purpose--it is still not the only purpose. There is still the small matter of the scriptural principle at 1 Tim 5:8. I would emphasize that this is not simply my thinking. In The Watchtower of November 1, 1992, the Society stated "If married, a man should be able to provide properly for his wife and any children that may be born, with a little extra to give to those in need and to support the local and worldwide preaching work."
Good Afternoon
I am a JW I was raised one. I am married and have a family and we all attend our local congregation. I also hold an Honors degree along with a Masters. Personally I find this stand on education totally unreasonable and to such an extent I decided to resign from serving due to the demands it would make of me when teaching it in the congregation. I felt like a hypocrite to teach something I could not agree with. To ask people who have no natural skill in a particular direction to become a plumber for example because the course is not 4 years long is not logical (the fact he/she has a natural interest and ability in art or legal matters, physics or chemistry) The reasons I understand for this is that bad association occurs and will influence the young brother or sister for the worst, but does that really stack up? Is it okay to have young ones go to college for less than 4 years because thats one or two less years of bad influence? What type of association will the young brother or sister find at the work place when they do qualify as a plumber for example? Will it also not have a bad influence over them? The only thing that I am pleased to see is that this time around the organisations stand on education is being resisted/ignored by many young people. As I stated above I have qulifications and my personal experience is that when you have such qualifications as the ones ruled out by the 2005 article it will be fully utilised by the organisation.
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