What ‘uneducated’ means?

[MothD]

Who is an uneducated person? Someone who didn’t go to college or uni?

I’m feeling a little low about this. I’ve got A levels but I didn’t go to college or uni. I did 3/4 or a course that is related to the industry I work within but that’s it. I worked my way up… earring around 40k now but I feel like a massive failure for not having a degree or college/uni experience.

I suppose uneducated strictly does mean a lower level of education but I often think of it in terms of being uneducated (or ignorant) about certain issues. You can have a high level of education and still be ignorant.

My DH left school with absolutely no qualifications. Not even any GCSEs. He considers himself uneducated. I don't agree. He has gone onto gain vocational qualifications and worked his way up to earn a good salary now. He is also willing to learn, has an interest in broadening his horizons, enjoys travelling and reading. I would consider someone uneducated to be someone who sits on their armchair bemoaning about the state of the world while never leaving their own living room.

I would have thought it means someone who has not received any education. You were in full time education until you were 16 or 17. You have done well and worked your way up, what do you think you would have gained by going to university or college, millions of people didnt and have very good and rewarding jobs. Why do you feel like a failure.

I have a master's degree but I wouldn't regard someone with A-levels as being uneducated. For me, it isn't about what qualifications people have, but rather how informed or ignorant they are about stuff. Someone without formal qualifications who reads widely, gets information from a range of reliable sources and pays attention to stuff that's happening in the world would seem far more "educated" in my mind than someone with a PhD and years of academic research who takes no interest in anything outside their very narrow field. Education is about so much more than qualifications.

I don't think it's so black and white.

My DGM only finished primary school (was a child during WW2 living in a small village) but I wouldn't call her uneducated at all, her mental maths is quicker than mine, she reads lots, and watches the news and has political opinions.

An uneducated person to me is someone with very little schooling. Perhaps someone who left secondary school at under 16 and has no formal qualifications. If you have studied for and passed exams then you are not uneducated. You have passed GCSEs and A Levels, and studied for a vocational course.

Sometimes people use uneducated to mean someone with little general knowledge and no interest in anything outside their own sphere. Which also doesn't sound like you.

You cannot possibly describe yourself as a failure. That's just plain wrong. You've worked hard and moved up in your career and are now earning a decent wage. That's evidence of your abilities and education, it shouldn't be dismissed as nothing. Give yourself a break.

It depends on who is saying it but for me uneducated actually has nothing to do with level of education received. It has more to do with how people live in the world, their views, their politics, where they get their information from - for example people who got their covid information from facebook posts and memes. It had nothing to do with whether or not they had degrees or primary education. That's just my opinion though.

I think it might be about lacking the skills for independent learning and not having any interest in acquiring those skills. Being uneducated to me means being content with not knowing how the world works and only caring about what's going on in your own little bubble!
My dad was thrown out of school at 15 and had no O Levels etc. But he is very intelligent and interested in the world around him. So he is widely read, and knows a lot about how things work, is knowledgeable about politics etc. I have a degree and don't think I'm as 'educated' as he is because he is genuinely interested in a wide range of subjects and therefore motivated to learn about them.

Uneducated has absolutely nothing to do with qualifications! Though we do tend to equate having a basic school education and those exams at the end that you did, with being educated. I didn't have one, so no GCSE's or A levels. I also don't have a 40K a year job.

I also used to feel the same as you about it all.

I self educated for free on the internet and have taken myself to university late on.
It's been useful in understanding what a university education actually is (especially if you throw yourself at it, and know how to maximize an opportunity) but it's also been an eye opener at the serious lack of basic knowledge, basic English, and tbh even intelligence of some of those walking away with a degree.

Not sure how old you are but I bet it's way younger than me, so you do know you can get in and go to university quite easily if you really want to?
Subject choices can be a bit more complex.

You can also do a degree from the comfort of your own home these days.

If you want to get an understanding of university level education for free, try FutureLearn short courses. www.futurelearn.com/ You can do as many as you want. I have and still am.

If I refer to someone as uneducated I don't really mean in an academic sense, it's more about the attitude they have.

Please don't beat yourself up! A degree isn't everything x

I don't think "uneducated" actually relates to formal education at all. It relates more to people unable to think for themselves, ignorant of mainstream issues or lacking conversational rigour.

Agree with those that say it’s not about qualifications, more political and cultural knowledge

Uneducated to me means just generally being unwilling to learn new things and living in a bubble. Absolutely nothing to do with formal qualifications in my opinion.

You said it better than I could! It's the unwillingness to learn.

Uneducated is used as a slur for people deemed not to, let’s say, think very critically. You’re not uneducated and there’s nothing wrong with not having been to uni.

For me, it means not being able to read, write, do maths etc at a very basic level (ie primary school level). Possibly too a high degree of ignorance regarding general knowledge.

Some may say it’s about education, others about being wide read and open to experiences

i felt uneducated when I moved to England and hadn’t had pimms before and couldn’t understand why there was salad 🥗 n my glass. Didn’t know how to prep an avocado or a mango. But I did know no elbows on table, hold a wine glass by the stem and don’t clink glasses when toasting

People who lack intellectual curiosity. Who are not interested in the world about them, or finding out about things. Who may have been to school and passed a few exams, but who have no interest in anything like travel, art, current affairs, sport, music, history.

Bit like some members of my extended family who left school at 16, got a job in an office, still there 30 years later. Get up, go to work, come home, watch telly, repeat. They know nothing about anything.

I don't think it has anything to do with qualifications. You could lack some because of illness at a particular time, being in the wrong place as it were.

I agree with this view. To me, "uneducated" is someone who has no curiosity about the world, or a very fixed view of something and no interest in finding out or trying to understand alternatives. Formal education is only a small part of life and any perceived inadequacy can be overcome with an inquiring mind.

Exactly this

Uneducated in general to me means someone who missed lots of schooling or didn’t manage to gain even basic levels of maths or english
However someone can be completely uneducated on a specific subject, topic or interest

I went to uni, my other half left school at 16…. I absolutely don’t think of him as uneducated.

By the sounds of it you have good qualifications, a career and a good salary, you’re definitely not a failure.

FWIW I’m a reasonably well paid lawyer, he earns more than me - so he’s also definitely not a failure!

Couldn't agree more

To me, 'uneducated' would suggest a lack of intellectual curiosity or an unwillingness to learn or expand your mind.

I know plenty of very bright and successful people who don't have formal qualifications, but have a drive and sharpness of mind that pushes them on.