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2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Mother of missing boy Kyron Horman: 'It doesn't get easier with time' ... Southwest Oregon's fire season starts Friday ... Craterian Performances announces 2015-16 season ... Mother of missing boy Kyron Horman: 'It doesn't get easier with time' ... Southwest Oregon's fire season starts Friday ... Craterian Performances announces 2015-16 season ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Three myths you were taught in school Comment By Bob Berkowitz MailTribune.com By Bob Berkowitz Posted May. 31, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Bob Berkowitz Posted May. 31, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News This is meant for all of you who are graduating from high school. Graduation time is here. It’s a time for new beginnings for those students graduating from our schools. It’s a period when the graduates decide what path they want to take to get to their future. They will be inundated with all kinds of advice from their teachers, parents and friends. A lot of that advice will be just plain wrong. It’s the myths that many people have considered gospel, but in my mind are just plain myths. Myth No. 1: You have to go to college to get a good job . Not necessarily true. Going to college sounds like a good idea on the surface, but unless you pick a degree that is in demand, you may come out owing thousands of dollars in student debt with no job prospects. BA degrees in philosophy, psychology, sociology or some of the other liberal arts degrees are, in my mind, worthless. Myth No. 2: Getting a good job will depend on the grades you got in high school. Not necessarily true. I have employed many young people who had just graduated from high school. I believe grades are just one component of what I want as an employer. More important than grades are what the person has accomplished in the past four years. Was the person involved in making the school or community a better place, such as being a member of Interact, FFA or Red Cross Club? Was the person involved in sports, such as basketball, football, track, volleyball, or other activitie? Did the person have a job after school or during the summe, such as working as a camp counselor or restaurant worker or even babysitting? No job should be considered unimportant. It’s the opportunity that counts. In other words, I look for a person who is well-rounded and who can work well as a member of a team. Myth No. 3: Your formal education is all that really counts. Not true. Your real education will begin when you start on the path to real life. Real learning begins when you discover that your parents are not as dumb as you thought and start listening to their advice. Real learning begins when you take responsibility for your own failure instead of blaming others. Real learning begins when you have to assume adult responsibilities like paying rent on time, getting along with roommates, planning and cooking your meals, doing your laundry, paying your credit card bill on time. Real learning begins when you take the time to register to vote, study the issues and actually vote in an election. One final piece of advice: Today, as a newly minted high-school graduate, you get a fresh start, a new beginning to make choices that will follow you throughout your life. You get a chance to become a winner or a loser. You can choose a life of crime, drugs and failure, or a life filled with opportunities that will lead to a fullfilling career and family life. The choice is yours to make. Don’t blow it! Bob Berkowitz is the owner and manager of 1st World Partners LLC in Crescent City, Calif., and a former high school teacher. By Bob Berkowitz MailTribune.com By Bob Berkowitz Posted May. 31, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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