Know Thy Worth

Human Capital Theory is the name of the game and it keeps bringing me back to relationships. Many times, I have over heard another female exclaim, "I know MY worth and I am too good for that!" The issue is always about a man and how he devalues her in a relationship and she deserves so much more. This statement can be applied to another relationship, the employer/employee relationship. Does one not provide a service to that employer? Are one's skills and talents not compensated for? And recently, the most commonly quoted statement in the office place is "that is above my pay grade." Although the employee may know the answer or have a solution to the problem, they place a value on the information that they provide to others within the company.

By this same thought, knowing ones worth in a work environment, appears to be directly related to their educational standing. From what I can tell at this moment is that one's productivity is higher because of a higher level of education which in turn creates a higher salary. Productivity is not directly related to one's talent, skill, or social setting and does not present the same outcome.

I am really going to have to roll this concept around in my head for some time because at the moment, I don't have that strong of a grasp on it yet.

More to come on HCT.....

Staying Afloat and Early Thoughts

Well, even though the first full week isn't completely over, I am still staying afloat. Unfortunately, the posting site is done this evening, but this just gives me a reason to watch the Skins game tonight. At any rate, the first postings have me thinking about what came first, education or the need for education.

Think about it, how was it decided that to hold a career and to be 'successful' in a job, you should train or become educated in that field. As I think about this, there seem to have always been apprenticeship programs. You studied carpentry under someone that had already learned the craft; you studied agriculture under a successful famer. The list can go on and on. But education, was completely different from these apprenticeship and training programs. Education was about literature and philosophy, but not about an actual application of the skills learned.

I can't help but think about when education started to transform into a training for your future. Even in watching the movie "300", it was stated that the Spartans were trained in all areas, the arts, philosophy, also how to fight.

So this is how I start off the semester, in thought of how training and education started to merge into one. How was it decided that there is preparation that a person should go through prior to starting a professional life? And is all education about becoming a professional?

And so, the semester begins, what came first, education or training?

Start of Fall 2010 Semester

Amazingly enough, I have made it through my first year of the MDE graduate program. Last semester was my hardest, with the travels, blizzard, changing jobs, and adjusting to life at home with school work. One would think that it would be harder to do schoolwork on the road, but I somehow found comfort in my schoolwork in the many Marriott's across the country.

At any rate, here I am, at the beginning of the Fall 2010 semester taking DETT621, Training at a Distance, and OMDE606, Cost of Distance Education. I am hoping that I will learn what goes into a distance education course, cost and training.

Currently, my courses are starting to merge with my professional life. When I started this program, I was an accreditation coordinator and was using my degree to develop a process for evaluations of distance education institutions. I determined that it was time for me to move on and now, I am creating an auditing/review/evaluation process for mortgage education schools. This is a different educational field for me as it is geared more so towards the training of mortgage loan originators. No longer am I responsible for ensuring that an entire institution is living up to the educational standards set forth by the accreditor, but rather, that training is being delivered effectively and in accordance with the policies set forth by the regulator.

Well, today being the official first day of class, I figured I would try to get a head start, seeing as how you are never caught up in dealing with school. My goals this semester are to be more vocal in class and not a classroom lurker. I am making the efforts now to make sure that my voice is heard, and that I also document my progress throughout the course. I think that only one course will require a learning journal, but I think that this will be beneficial as I track my progress throughout the course.

Here's to a new semester, filled with great opportunities!