Although America guarantees its citizens the right to an education, that doesn’t mean that everyone is afforded the same quality standards. Some people just don’t get the appropriate amount of learning to help them compete in society. Someone’s level of education does not define their worth or their intelligence. It does, however, explain some behaviors and characteristics that show a lack of formal education and opportunities for learning.
Limited Vocabulary
People who do not have a quality education tend to use simple words and phrases. As you progress through school, your vocabulary expands and you begin to use more complex words. For those who don’t get to experience exposure to higher learning, vocabulary can be extremely limited and a dead giveaway.
Poor Grammar and Spelling
When someone does not have a proper education, reading and writing can be problematic. Things like spelling and grammar fall by the wayside. Focusing on the basics with limited exposure means that those who aren’t given a proper education never learn the basics of phonics and grammar lessons.
Lack of Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is a higher learning skill that takes experience and skill. When people aren’t given a proper education, they never get to find the necessary resources to look at situations objectively. They also don't think deeply to find a resolution or to form a well-rounded opinion.
Close-Mindedness
When you ask children what they think, things are often black or white. That is also how someone with a limited education would answer. Being able to discuss other people’s opinions and to examine things that are outside of the norm of thinking is a skill that develops as you grow and progress in school. Therefore, they can’t grow or progress if you aren’t allowed to let them
Inability to Listen
Listening differs from hearing. To be an active listener, you have to be constantly paying attention and following along. Those are skills that need to be developed. Once more, those who have never been exposed to higher learning, never learn to listen intently and thoughtfully. Without those skills it makes it hard to form an intelligent opinion.
Misinformation
When you aren’t taught to think for yourself and are just fed facts and information, you tend to believe exactly what you hear. You also learn never question its validity. Those who aren’t given appropriate instruction learn to just take things at face value. They never to dig below the surface or verify if what they have heard is true.
Low Literacy Skills
Not everyone in America who graduates from high school can read. Once more, of those who can read, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they can read past a very low level of functioning. Statistics tell us that the average American reads at an eighth-grade level. Considering United States education is supposed to go until the twelfth grade, that means many are missing the mark and have very low literacy skills.
Difficulty with Problem Solving
Children are not born with the natural ability to problem solve. It takes many steps to go from a question to a reasonable answer. School is supposed to be a time where you learn to think in stages and problem-solve, taking it from start to finish. When you don’t have a proper education, it makes it difficult to come to a reasonable solution to complex problems.
Limited Curiosity
Curiosity is peaked through exposure. If you don’t know that you are ignorant about something, then you don’t ever search to find answers for things that you don’t know, you don’t know. Those who are not afforded an appropriate education take things as they are and don’t thirst for more knowledge.
Poor Time Management
When you are educated, there are certain skills that, although not directly taught, are necessarily learned. One of those skills is time management. As school gets more complex, you have to learn to allocate time to get things done. If you are never required to do much, you never have to learn time management.
Unwillingness to Learn
Having a limited education means that you aren’t really challenged. When you aren’t, that can lead to boredom. No child is going to want to learn boring things and if there is no peak in curiosity or push to be creative and think outside of the box, memorizing things can become extremely painstaking.
Limited Awareness of Current Events
Those who are taught only the basics aren’t exposed to things like culture and current events. When your education is focused on just learning the basic curriculum, it can feel as if you are in a bubble. An excellent education ties in real life with the past. If all you learn about is the basics of history, and it is never connected to the here and now, you have no reason to care about the present.
Superstition
When you don’t have the scientific answers, you need to explain things, and you tend to look outside of reality and base your opinions on things like the supernatural and superstition. Humans have a desire to make sense of their surroundings. If that can’t be done through scientific facts and knowledge, then explanations are usually based on storytelling.
Naivety
Education exposes you to knowledge, and it also gives you the necessary skills to be cautious in the world. When you aren’t instructed about real-world dangers, you tend to enter into things naively. One of the signs of poor education is a lack of internet safety or failure to be aware of your surroundings, which can put someone in danger.
Rigidity
People who are not exposed to a proper education tend to cling to things they are taught and what they know and not stray away from them. When you learn that education is about digesting what is told to you, you don’t question things. You also have a very limited frame of mind for which to critically think or accept anything that goes outside of what you already believe to be true.
Unwillingness to Accept Criticism
A poor education leads to someone not learning how to be questioned or questioned. If you meet someone who is extremely averse to accepting feedback, that is likely because they have never gotten the opportunity to voice their opinion or think objectively. It takes practice to be able to accept constructive criticism and not see it as a personal affront.
Shallow Understanding of Culture
Those who never learn about the culture of other people or countries believe that there is only one right way to do things. Their limited understanding of how other people behave and act stems from not having the appropriate exposure to things outside of their frame of reference. Bigotry and racism both stem from a lack of understanding and education.
Inability to Adapt
People who have never been challenged to think abstractly or to do more than the basics, never learn the ability to adapt. With a limited education comes limited exposure to things outside of your comfort zone. If you never have to pivot to fit in, then you never learn to.
Impulsiveness
An adequate education comes with the ability to control yourself in a setting and consider others around you. It also comes with learning cause and effect and the concept of consequences. If you never have a formal education where you are taught to think rationally and consider all options before making up your mind, you tend to be impulsive.
Lack of Empathy
Empathy is not something you are born with, it is developed over time. The way that you form empathy is through learning about and trying to understand the differences between people. If you have a very limited frame of reference and no one guides you to acknowledge and consider other people, then a poor education can result in you not learning how to walk a day in someone else’s shoes.
Education is Guaranteed, Quality is Not
One of the biggest problems with our education system is that some people get to attend great schools, and others do not. Your education is not a reflection of your intelligence, yet, if you don’t have a proper one, then you will likely lack essential skills to get ahead in life. The things you are exposed to from your ability to be empathetic, adapt, and accept criticism, but if you aren’t taught the basic skills necessary, it shows.
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