The formula for success is hardly infallible. There's no one correct path toward becoming a pillar of the community, nor are there rigid criteria for who or what is a highly educated person. We're all on our own to make our way, with only one axiom to remember - education means success.
To be sure, education comes in many forms. Collegiate success - a diploma - is the goal for some, but for others, college education serves little purpose given their calling. It's neither right nor wrong to admit that some people, regardless of background, are simply unfit for academia. It's reality that the classroom is not the epitome of intelligence.
We can all agree that without education of whatever form, a person is lost. Education is a marketable tool, a positive reflection of character and above all else, proof that we all seek to better ourselves or our way of life. While this has been true as long as humanity has sought knowledge, it's only been recently emphasized that a college diploma is the best - and only - representation of that.
Accordingly, the percentage of the population that holds a college degree is on the rise in the state of Michigan. Population figures from 2003 show that 23.3 percent of Michiganians over the age of 25 hold an undergraduate degree from a college or university. This is an increase of 1.5 percent from 2000, and all inferences suggest this progress will only flourish. Today, as compared to as recently as 25 years ago, a diploma is essential for a comfortable life.
It's indisputable that industry is shifting from hands-on experience to technological expertise. College degrees hold connotations of intelligence - even if it isn't true - and hints of prosperity. Our 23.3 percent, however, is in the bottom third of the national rate. Michigan is, and will be, seen as an industrial state; that is fine, even if it is academically limiting.
To see an increase in college graduation rates larger than 1.5 percent during four years, it's imperative to attract and retain college students to institutional learning. To invigorate the economy to the point of widespread beneficence, more Michiganians need to graduate from college, and, therefore, attend with intent to remain.
Establish in our younger students that college is not an optional method of worldly success. Divest our funding from standardized testing and invest it in offering high school students a broader perspective of life. Let young people get a taste of how they'll change the world before they're expected to actually do so. Promote the return to college to finish a degree that just barely got its legs years ago.
It's human nature to seek knowledge, but it's our personal responsibility to devote ourselves to that search. Education is infallible in its benefit, financially, personally or otherwise. Not every person is ready to experience that at a high level, but eventually, it's our civic duty to at least encourage others to do so.
Progressive totals of graduates are unilaterally positive for all of our welfare. Education breeds success, and no matter how that education occurs, a college diploma needs to be the goal.
