Several years ago, there was an article in the Rotarian by Grayson Kirk titled “The Four Marks of an Educated Person.” It is my privilege today to pass along Mr. Kirk’s article to see if you agree with him. After reading this article I personally agree with him, but I also know that we need a great deal of common sense, which in many cases is sadly lacking. Now to the article:
No. 1 “The educated person speaks and writes clearly and precisely, no matter how much information he may have tucked away in his brain. (A man is not educated until he learns to use his mother tongue with grace, precision, and clarity.) No. 2 The educated person has a set of values and knows how to defend them. Knowledge and experience have given him the capacity to discriminate, not only between right and wrong, but also between the trivial and the significant, between that which is cheap and that which has integrity. No. 3 The educated person tries to understand his society and how it differs from others. He views these differences with compassion and respect, where the uneducated man sees them as evidence of his own superiority, regarding the customs of others with condemnation or contempt. No. 4 The educated person looks squarely at the world and all of its problems, but always with hope. He neither fears nor rejects the trials and tribulations of modern life but accepts as his responsibility the task of making order out of complexity and opportunity out of danger.”
Well, what do you think? It sounds great to me. I’ve known a few people who didn’t possess each of these qualities to any real degree that I believe to be educated, but nevertheless, this is still a good set of guidelines by which to check ourselves. That is, of course, if we consider ourselves to be educated people.
To summarize these four marks again so you may fix them clearly in your mind:
* Speak and write clearly and precisely.
* Have a set of values and the courage to defend them.
* Try to understand our society and how it differs from others.
* Look squarely at the world with all its problems and always have hope.
For my final thought today, I would like to suggest something that may be of value to you. As you read each of my columns here in this great newspaper you will always ask yourself the question: What does the moral or central idea mean to me and how can I apply it to my own circumstances? You know, good ideas are everywhere, but they are only of value when we can use them to change or improve our lives in some way. To be sure, I am grateful that this fine newspaper runs my column.
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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)