Scott Walker bashed for not having a college degree, called "Unknowledgeable".

I will use me as an example...
I went to college and got a degree in psychology with a 2.3 GPA while drinking beer and joining a fraternity. I went to class every day, but never really studied...am I the best person to solve your personal problems, marital, child, PTSD???
Got a masters in organizational leadership....do I have more drive and vision than Gates or Zuckerberg??
Education is good, go ahead and get one...but it isn't the end all, be all...
Of all the things this country needs in a president, a degree is only a small part....and is interchangeable with many other things...
I would vote for the farmer!!!

You know, these college educated guys have messed things up over the last few decades. It might be time to replace Harvard with Hard-work.

This seems to be a common thread among people. "I don't like what you say, so I'm going to insult your intelligence instead of actually debating any issues."
Sad. And to me it says that the person doing this couldn't win a debate on the actual topic, so the only option is to attack the opponent.

Hypocrisy comes to mind. You can have my educational background when you publish BO's transcripts.

Howard Dean in yet another example of foot in mouth disease. He might want to check our history and current industry leaders for those without a college degree. By the way, there is no Constitutional requirement for a college degree so it is a meaningless argument.

The democrats may try to use that as a weapon but most Americans do not have a college degree and it may fall on deaf ears. Let's look at someone's experience and track record of accomplishment not a piece of sheepskin on the wall.

Mike Rowe posted this on Facebook:

Off The Wall

Kyle Smith writes...

Howard Dean recently criticized Gov Scott Walker for never finishing college, stating that he was "unknowledgeable." What would your response be on college as a requirement for elected office?

Hi Kyle

Back in 1990, The QVC Cable Shopping Channel was conducting a national talent search. I had no qualifications to speak of, but I needed a job, and thought TV might be a fun way to pay the bills. So I showed up at The Marriott in downtown Baltimore with a few hundred other hopefuls, and waited for a chance to audition. When it was my turn, the elevator took me to the top floor, where a man no expression led me into a suite and asked me to take a seat behind a large desk. Across from the desk, there was a camera on a tripod. On the desk was a digital timer with an LED display. I took a seat as the man clipped a microphone on my shirt and explained the situation.

“The purpose of this audition is to see if you can talk for eight minutes without stuttering, blathering, passing out, or throwing up. Any questions?”

“What would you like me to talk about,” I asked.

The man pulled a pencil from behind his ear and rolled it across the desk. “Talk to me about that pencil. Sell it. Make me want it. But be yourself. If you can do that for eight minutes, the job is yours. Ok?”

I looked at the pencil. It was yellow. It had a point on one end, and an eraser on the other. On the side were the words, Dixon Ticonderoga Number 2 SOFT.

“Ok,” I said.

The man set the timer to 8:00, and walked behind the tripod. He pressed a button and a red light appeared on the camera. He pressed another button and the timer began to count backwards. “Action,” he said. I picked up the pencil and started talking.

“Hi there. My name’s Mike Rowe, and I only have eight minutes to tell you why this is finest pencil on Planet Earth. So let’s get right to it.”

I opened the desk drawer and found a piece of hotel stationary, right where I hoped it would be. I picked up the pencil and wrote the word, QUALITY in capital letters. I held the paper toward the camera.

“As you can plainly see, The #2 Dixon Ticonderoga leaves a bold, unmistakable line, far superior to the thin and wispy wake left by the #3, or the fat, sloppy skid mark of the unwieldy #1. Best of all, the Ticonderoga is not filled with actual lead, but “madagascar graphite,” a far safer alternative for anyone who likes to chew on their writing implements.”

To underscore the claim, I licked the point. I then discussed the many advantages of the Ticonderoga’s color.

“A vibrant yellow, perfectly suited for an object that needs to stand out from the clutter of a desk drawer.”

I commented on the comfort of it’s design.

“Unlike those completely round pencils that press hard into the web of your hand, the Ticonderoga’s circumference is comprised of eight, gently planed surfaces, which dramatically reduce fatigue, and make writing for extended periods an absolute delight.”

I pointed out the “enhanced eraser,” which was “guaranteed to still be there - even when the pencil was sharpened down to an unusable nub.”

I opined about handmade craftsmanship and American made quality. I talked about the feel of real wood.

“In a world overrun with plastic and high tech gadgets, isn’t it comforting to know that some things haven’t evolved into something shiny and gleaming and completely unrecognizable?’”

After all that, there was still five minutes on the timer. So I shifted gears and considered the pencil’s impact on Western Civilization. I spoke of Picasso and Van Gogh, and their hundreds of priceless drawings - all done in pencil. I talked about Einstein and Hawking, and their many complicated theories and theorems - all done in pencil.

“Pen and ink are fine for memorializing contracts,” I said, “but real progress relies on the ability to erase and start anew. Archimedes said he could move the world with a lever long enough, but when it came to proving it, he needed a pencil to make the point.”

With three minutes remaining, I moved on to some personal recollections about the role of pencils in my own life. My first legible signature, my first book report, my first crossword puzzle, and of course, my first love letter. I may have even worked up a tear as I recalled the innocence of my youth, scribbled out on a piece of looseleaf with all the hope and passion a desperate 6th grader could muster...courtesy of a #2 pencil.

With :30 seconds left on the timer, I looked fondly at the Dixon Ticonderoga, and sat silently for five seconds. Then I wrapped it up.

“We call it a pencil, because all things need a name. But today, let’s call it what it really is. A time machine. A match maker. A magic wand. And let’s say it can all be yours...for just .99 cents.”

The timer read 0:00. The man walked back to the desk. He took the pencil and wrote “YOU’RE HIRED” on the stationary, and few days later, I moved to West Chester, PA. And a few days after that, I was on live television, face to face with the never-ending parade of trinkets and chochkes that comprise QVC’s overnight inventory.

I spent three months on the graveyard shift, five nights a week. Technically, this was my training period, which was curious, given the conspicuous absence of supervision, or anything that could be confused with actual instruction. Every few minutes a stagehand would bring me another mysterious “must have item,” which I’d blather about nonsensically until it was whisked away and replaced with something no less baffling. In this way, I slowly uncovered the mysteries of my job, and forged a tenuous relationship with an audience of chronic insomniacs and narcoleptic lonely-hearts. It was a crucible of confusion and ambiguity, and in hindsight, the best training I ever had.

Which brings me to the point of your question, Kyle.
I don’t agree with Howard Dean - not at all.

Here’s what I didn’t understand 25 years ago. QVC had a serious recruiting problem. Qualified candidates were applying in droves, but failing miserably on the air. Polished salespeople with proven track records were awkward on TV. Professional actors with extensive credits couldn’t be themselves on camera. And seasoned hosts who understood live television had no experience hawking products. So eventually, QVC hit the reset button. They stopped looking for “qualified” people, and started looking for anyone who could talk about a pencil for eight minutes.

QVC had confused qualifications with competency.
Perhaps America has done something similar?

Look at how we hire help - it’s no so different than how we elect leaders. We search for work ethic on resumes. We look for intelligence in test scores. We search for character in references. And of course, we look at a four-year diploma as though it might actually tell us something about common-sense and leadership.

Obviously, we need a bit more from our elected officials than the instincts of a home shopping host, but the business of determining what those “qualifications” are is completely up to us. We get to decide what matters most. We get to decide if a college degree or military service is somehow determinative. We get to decide if Howard Dean is correct.

Anyone familiar with my foundation knows my position. I think a trillion dollars of student loans and a massive skills gap are precisely what happens to a society that actively promotes one form of education as the best course for the most people. I think the stigmas and stereotypes that keep so many people from pursuing a truly useful skill, begin with the mistaken belief that a four-year degree is somehow superior to all other forms of learning. And I think that making elected office contingent on a college degree is maybe the worst idea I’ve ever heard.

But of course, Howard Dean is not the real problem. He’s just one guy. And he’s absolutely right when he says that many others will judge Scott Walker for not finishing college. That's the real problem.

However - when Howard Dean called the Governor “unknowledgeable,” he rolled out more than a stereotype. He rolled a pencil across the desk, and gave Scott Walker eight minutes to knock it out of the park.

It’ll be fun to see if he does.

Mike

I did not read the full post, just the first part but I can tell you this: The degree itself is not important, I shelled out 60K for an MBA that is really only ever a door opener and a "yes we can talk to him" sign behind my name (In some European countries you MUST list your Academic or risk loosing it) .

What I learned did not make me better, as a matter of fact it made me more cautious, more weary and less entrepreneurial- It took me over 3 years to get my "groove" back!

I could care less about a degree but unfortunately many see it as a minimum qualification for many things. Then if you qualify and you start getting good, they research to see if your degree is real or if you studied underwater basket weaving or something.

Then if you have an MBA no one gives a damn, yes so you have the title that means you are the business Guru but I know enough that could not open their own company or lead a business to save their life.

The on the other side I know guys who have no degree who are wiser, more personable, less stuck up in their own business and very succesfull. Actually I know more of those then I do massively succesfull people with college degrees...why is that so? I tell you why:

Very FEW go to College to become self employed or start a company, most go to get that job that society say is really amazing; CEO, COO, Ops Director or for some company like Apple, IBM or other multinationals.

Many are successful in this arena and they are the picture perfect corporate shiny person, I was one I know. As the Director for Europe for a Multinational British company, I ran operations in Europe and America at the age of 35...I HATED it, I had given up my 2 bars and 1 Disco in Berlin to peruse a "real job"...it did not last long, I stayed working for this company until this December but as a contractor WHEN I wanted and where I wanted.

Examples of those who never attended or dropped out of College becasue they believed in themselves and refused to be one of many.

Richard Branson worth 4.8 Billion
Micky Arison owns the Miami Heat and is worth 4.2 Billion (dropped out)
John Paul DeJoria the founder of Paul Mitchell products and Patrón is worth $4 billion

...and there are hundreds and hundreds more of the richest, most succesfull people on the PLANET...much more successful (maybe not as powerful but 100% free as opposed to the CEO) as the most well known CEOs.

I just took the leap again, I went broke twice in my life, I dove in the cold water in the .com boom and lost a substantial amount, then again the Mortgage industry crash killed our Mortgage business that was so successful we started to produce films in Hollywood!

Now I am off to it again; I founded a pay day loan company in Europe, starting in Poland in April/May...I dont expect,nor strive to be a billionaire but if I were...I would give much of it to my brother and sister Veterans...

There you have it; it is the Person, not the piece of paper they hold...if you know what you are saying, show common sense, can connect to those around you and listen...you are my man for the job!

Jefferson said something to the effect that he'd trust a farmer over a life long politician. I think a corollary can be gleaned. A formal education doesn't make you wise. It may give you knowledge, but you can get that for "a buck fifty in late fees at the public library." Wisdom, knowing how to apply knowledge in accordance with principle can't be taught. It must be learned. For Gov. Scott to come as far as he has and be as successful as he has without a formal education makes him more - not less - of an attractive candidate to me. I want someone with principles and wisdom. The Ivy League has run things for too long.

Great discussion item. I am a huge advocate for higher education because I do believe that it helps in life. That being said, college is A tool and not THE tool in life. Classroom time does not make one a good (or bad) leader.
Now, for my troops my advice remains the same: As long as there is 100% tuition assistance, you are downright stupid if you don't take advantage of it. I've only ever seen education open more doors in life. I have never seen it close them.

"Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity."

Scott Walker is no less knowledgeable than any other legislator in the system today. Formal education is only an indicator of ability to apply knowledge to solve problems... it is not proof positive (see nearly every elected official with a JD).