This is horrifying to read, notice how they have gone backwards too... Now college is a no no again. These are people's lives they are flip-flopping with!
Education is not all about making money or getting amazing jobs, only JWs and conservative oldies are preoccupied with this idea. It's about knowledge, self development, expanding a passion, meeting people from around the world, finding your strengths and weaknesses and interests and for me, most importantly, learning how to critically appraise information. Not to mention the countless academic and sport activities outside your degree.
I am still in my degree but thanks to the university ethos of positive development, access to information, research facilities, research grants and networks of intellect and experience.... I am now an inventor, with a patent. I have a business with a Russell Group University as a partner (50/50). I have lead research for the invention with government funding, I have written papers, I hope to publish papers and audit healthcare policy next year. Most exciting, in may I have free reign to start my own 9 week research project, where I will make my first contribution to the worlds knowledge. What a privilege! There is less geeky stuff too, I have had the cool experience of working at cool sporting events too (f1 etc) and saving the best until last... I have helped people. This being by far the most rewarding! I spent my youth wanting to save lives, I help do it daily, all day now.
The invention has been evaluated to potentially prevent hundreds of thousands of people having a reduced quality of life and disease annually in the Uk. Also halting amputation and preventable irreversible damage. It has conservative estimates of saving 3000 lives a year in England and Wales, and saving the equiveant of a crashing jumbo jet full of people every 3 days in the USA ( odd analogy but the numbers equate.) The annual global figures, who knows!? In the uk it will save £300 million to the health service (conservative) a year. In addition to all this it will allow new unique research in saving lives. I am hoping we can build it in the uk and create jobs too.
Yet according to the Watchtower there is no future in my activities and I could make better use of my time.....
Would I give it all up to become a window cleaner / preacher for a book company again ? Would I swap it for my job back in Bethel? Would I in a million years swap my seat in University in exchange for my life of free labour building halls, assembly buildings, knocking endlessly on empty doors persuading middle aged men they needed a magazine on coping with the menopause, or keeping on the watch or that they just had to read the article on Jamaicas Coconuts, natures milkshakes! Nahhhhh I wouldn't.
Education is THE BEST thing you can do with your time, hence from 4 to 16 yrs old, modern society compells you to pursue it. Learning and contributing to the worlds knowledge base is something anyone and everyone can do! How many JWs actually pioneer? How many elders/elders wives pioneer? I don't mean the token 1 month to 3 months a year, I mean believing this shit so much you give your life to it!? Hardly any.... yet there are not paragraphs talking about the futility of those non pioneering people and their mindless careers and JW businesses! If a JW doesn't want to pioneer, easily 95%+ of them, then their argument does not stack up, if it's work in a shoe shop 3 years or better yourself with education with POTENTIAL for a better job, then do it! The reality is there are jobs after education, and when post grads can't get jobs, well duh guess who REALLY can't get jobs!? The no high school grades worth peeing on, experience in mowing lawns and public speaking JW!
As for the debt, this is spouted by people without an education debt for if they had been to uni they would know how the payback scheme works and it is perfectly fair (well...it was). If you can't afford it, you don't pay it. If you can afford it, you pay VERY little. I am accumulating £1300 a year fees to study Medicine + living costs of about £5000 a year. It's a 6 year degree, but the last 2 years are covered by the health service. It's a bargain!
I am shocked to hear how many JW children are taught at home nowadays and so insufficiently its at the point of being illegal. 7 hrs a day of organised curriculum for 12 years does not equate to baking cakes for cookery, cleaning the yard for DT and an hour of maths after a morning of ministry. It's disgusting and in my eyes tantamount to abuse, they are denying the child a future, autonomy and a fair chance at life!
Knowledge is power....... It's a saying for a reason!