"Is education important to you?" (#37; Topic E)

At 8:30 last evening, a representative from a respected magazine (I have been a subscriber ever since my Wharton days) called me. Anticipating that I would leave this world before my wife does, I have accompanied her to many courses that would make her less finance-illiterate; a year or so ago, we went to one offered by that magazine. (Finance-literacy is an unending process. Even I, probably ranked in the 90th percentile on financial matters, learned a thing or two in every course I attended.) The purpose of this representative's call was to sign her up for a new course. Though receptive, I said that the tuition for the course, in four figures, seemed high. He then blurted out with a provocative question: "Is education important to you?" Answering it in the affirmative and adding that we have four Wharton MBAs in our family, I asked him: How about you? He did not go to college. Being an educator most my adult life, I realize that many worthy people could not go to college for a variety of reasons; to them, I have nothing but understanding. Indeed, people from China also appreciate that learning is not necessarily the same as going to college. However, by asking "Is education important to you?" when the inquirer, in my view, is in need of same is a bit too much. I said so and ended the call.
Posted at 11:33 am, Wednesday, January 18, 2006