Do you know of any groups of people who devote any of their time for bridging the gap between degree and no degree. I am looking for people who are open-minded too. I hate seeing the two sides argue when they could be working together to accomplish something. I spent four years studying chemical engineering at UCSB. I then had to drop out due to financial problems. No degree for me because I didn't take Art History and Literature 3. Does this make me any less of a chemical engineer? I've never even had an interview. Some companies have called me though saying that they would love to hire me just for my personality over the phone. Unlike most engineers, I am not socially retarded. Usually, after winning every argument against why I am still a better candidate than all others, people will finally use the excuse of not being able to finish something that I started. This was true (TEN YEARS AGO)! Aren't we all different after a decade has gone by? I have everything that any other engineer has except for a framed piece of paper with signatures on it hung on the wall behind me. I two lovers get stranded on an island before they get married, does this mean that they will never love each other as much as they could have? It is JUST a piece of paper.

I have nothing against people with degrees. In fact, having to hire before, it is an amazing attribute, and it distinguishes them incredibly between those without . . . usually. Not always though. American Universities are a bureaucracy. We stress that we want our children to be well rounded, but we drive them into insanity with tons of homework in mathematics and English only. There are other kinds of smart. Now our schools have no music, art, or sports. Kids are only going to excel in what they are interested in (unless you are an amazing teacher). Amazing teachers do not motivate, although most will say that this is the most important thing that a teacher can do. Amazing teachers inspire. But you cannot inspire when having no creative freedom. People don't become teachers, or doctors, for the money. It's the passion.

In Brazil, they let their high-schoolers choose their own classes. True, some never take Portuguese, and some never take math. We can all teach ourselves these thing later though if we finally want to learn. Patch Adams stated a free hospital. I would like to start a free university. He had 4000 doctors in one week apply to help him. This is because doctors are tired of there situations. I know many Mexican now who go to med school to then practice medicine in their homes under the table. Regardless of how good they are, this is what happens when people do not have insurance. And I am glad the government would never be able to fully regulate this. I wouldn't be surprised one day though if a law was passed saying that everyone who is alive has to pay for health insurance. No matter what age or if the even have a job.

Many companies legally cannot hire me now because laws are passed that say people need degrees to work for them. If they get audited, and the powers at be find that their best employee has no degree, everybody else has their paychecks stopped.

The fact that a college is accredited means very little to me too. Like I said before though, I don't think that degrees and certifications are bad. I just think that people and companies can teach themselves skills and reach levels of experience that can even surpass those constrained by educational algorithms.

I've taught English, Spanish, French, mathematics, physics, chemistry, soccer, photography, art, and scuba diving under the table in over ten countries for the past ten years. I have no certificate in any of these fields except English. I received my ESL certificate only to find out that no company can hire me. Some of them have offered to pay me under the table, but I won't do this anymore. They gasp when they realize that it would be illegal to hire me. This is America's fault. We think that this is such a great country that everybody would try to come here if they could (I know Mexicans who want to go back to Mexico now). There is an increasing amount of people who want to leave this place now. All of you out there do not have to understand why. You just have to accept it. I am not 9 out of ten people. I know that I have always been different. I do love how clean America is, how I can be rescued if I am in a car accident, and how I can be given antibiotics for an infection. But all of this does not outweigh the freedom I feel in third world countries. Here in Ecuador (where I am now), I can drink a beer walking down the street. And I can ride on a motorcycle without a helmet. You might think that these things are small, but they mean the world to me. I spent 350 dollars on forms trying to renounce my American citizenship. They said no. I owe no money and am on good standings in all areas of life. They use the excuse of where will I go? This is bogus. A free country is somewhere that you can go to legally and prosper. They other side of a free country is somewhere that you can leave. Is there a price for freedom? If so, then it shouldn't be called FREEdom.

I just read a description for a ESL (I'll say it again - ESL) teacher need. The only requirement is a degree in ANY field. At the bottom it says that no ESL certification is needed. Ten years experience teaching abroad, dozens of references, and some guy who has never been out of his own state who just finished four years of studying software programming is going to get the job.

Paul L